Holders of a biometric passport in Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia exempt from visa requirement as of 19 December

The Council of Ministers of the European Union has decided that citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, holding a national biometric passport, will be allowed visa-free travel to the EU Member States and Iceland, Norway and Switzerland as from 19 December 2009. The decision is not enforced in the UK and Ireland.

Visa-free stay applies to up to 90 days within six months.

The exemption from the visa requirement does not apply to persons living in the Kosovo region holding biometric passports granted by the Coordination Directorate of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia in Belgrade. These passports, marked PEC.REBULIKA SRBIJA and MUP R SRBIJEK, KOORDINACIONA UPRAVA, must be accompanied with a visa.

Further information: Counsellor Vesa Häkkinen, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 160 55219