Wrote: Festim Rizanaj
At the beginning of May (2024), The Government of Kosovo has announced that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has issued a decision that allows citizens to switch from driver's licenses issued by illegal Serbian institutions in Kosovo to official ones issued by the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. The decision entered into force on May 9 and was scheduled to end on August 9.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, shortly before the end of this deadline, announced that it had been extended until August 23. This decision was made after Minister Sveçla noted the high interest in applications.
After this deadline, it will no longer be possible to drive in Kosovo with illegal Serbian licenses issued to Kosovo citizens. They will be treated as invalid and drivers with such documents will be punished as if they did not have a license.
In connection with this, narratives began to be published in the Serbian-language media that Kurti is preparing a new loot for Serbs starting from August 23, through which he will fine Serbs from 500 to 1500 euros. (here)
So, in the Serbian-language media, the decision to convert licenses and the fines foreseen in case of catching drivers with illegal driving licenses (after August 23) have been interpreted in a disinformation way, that Prime Minister Albin Kurti, through these fines, aims to rob Serbs. But, the truth is that from August 23, those licenses are considered invalid in Kosovo and drivers who are stopped and present them, will be fined like all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo who are caught without a driver's license, according to the traffic law.
What does the law provide?
Traffic law provides that a person who drives a motor vehicle without having obtained the right to drive (without a valid driver's license) or without a driver's license of the relevant category, is punished for a misdemeanor with a fine of 500 to 1500 euros, which applies to all citizens of Kosovo.
Deadline and conditions for converting a driver's license
The deadline for converting illegal Serbian driver's licenses has been extended until August 23rd due to high interest, the minister announced. Sweden on Facebook, warning that after this date, action will be taken according to the legislation, while so far (August 20) over 6 thousand citizens have applied.
Kosovo does not recognize documents issued by Serbia for Serbian citizens in Kosovo. Kosovo Police for the media has said that after the deadline for converting driver's licenses passes, all drivers of vehicles that have these documents issued by Serbia will be considered to be driving without a driver's license.
The police have stated that, according to the decisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, individuals will be issued fine from 500 to 1.500 euros, with the possibility of confiscation of vehicles.
Deputy Commander of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani, has emphasized that the Kosovo Police, through its superiors, the Ministry of Interior and the government in Pristina, has identified several problems that people have encountered during the process of exchanging permits. One of them is that some drivers do not possess a Kosovo ID card. For these cases, Elshani hopes that the Ministry of Interior and the government will find a solution, which may require a government decision or even a legal change, but how long this process will take depends on the government.
Meanwhile, regarding the driving of vehicles with Serbian registration for which the driver has authorization, Elshani emphasizes that they will not have problems. He explains that the questionable driver's licenses are those issued by, as he says, "parallel structures", while others that were issued in Serbia do not pose a problem.
"We are not talking about Serbian driver's licenses, but about those issued by parallel, illegal structures. We treat such a document as if it does not exist and for us it means that the driver does not have a driver's license."
To apply To switch from an illegal Serbian driver's license to a Kosovar one, citizens must have a driver's license issued by the Republic of Serbia for those who passed the driver's test after June 10, 1999 and until May 9 of this year. The application must include a copy of the Kosovo ID card, the original Serbian driver's license, a medical certificate from Kosovo institutions, and proof of payment of the fee, while the process for obtaining a Kosovo driver's license takes 15 days, with the return of the Serbian license as an invalid document.
The process of providing Kosovo driver's licenses was preceded by the process of re-registering vehicles with illegal Serbian license plates with RKS (Republic of Kosovo) license plates, license plates which were issued by institutions in Serbia and contained acronyms of Kosovo cities (such as KM for Mitrovica in Kosovo).