Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbian citizens to get new passports in 2008

Belgrade, 26 June 2007

Head of the Office for International Cooperation and EU Integration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Drazen Maravic announced today that Serbian citizens will get new passports next year and from 2009 they will most likely not need visas to enter EU countries.

In a statement to the Tanjug news agency, Maravic specified that a group of EU experts should arrive in Belgrade in September to determine the white Schengen list criteria Serbia has to fulfil so that its citizens could travel to EU countries without visas.

Our plan is to adopt the necessary laws by the year’s end, such as laws on asylum, movement and residence of foreigners, travel papers and surveillance and control of state borders, he said.

According to Maravic, if the law on travel papers is adopted by end-2007, new passports may be issued as early as 2008. He added that the interior ministry will begin issuing new ID cards in autumn, which is another basis for the citizens to get travel papers.

Maravic recalled that Serbian borders were demilitarised in January and the police took over control of border crossings. He said it will now take some time for borders to be equipped with modern technology and added that staff will also have to be trained to use the new equipment.

Serbia will have to prove it is capable of controlling its borders efficiently, that it has an appropriate visa policy, modern and forgery-proof travel papers, efficient judiciary and that it has engaged the fight against organised crime, said Maravic.

He added that an indirect condition is cooperation with the Hague Tribunal since Serbia will have to prove its structures are efficient when it comes to law enforcement.

Maravic added that one of the conditions for the white Schengen list is successful implementation of the Agreement on Visa Relaxations and Single Readmission Agreement which should come into force early next year.