KOSOVO: POST-STATUS TRAVEL DOCUMENTS FOR KOSOVO

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRISTINA 000074 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, S/CRS, CA NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV SMIG KV SUBJECT: KOSOVO: POST-STATUS TRAVEL DOCUMENTS FOR KOSOVO CITIZENS REF: 07 PRISTINA 380 Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: USOP is working with UNMIK and Kosovo's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to ensure Kosovo's citizens can travel freely into and out of Kosovo post-independence. UNMIK has developed a plan to transfer responsibility for issuing travel documents to the Kosovo Government that should go live on the first day after what is expected to be a 120-day transition period. During the transition, UNMIK will continue to issue its travel documents and they will retain their two-year validity. USOP, through ICITAP, will provide an adviser to assist UNMIK and the MIA with implementation of the plan. Gaining recognition of the Kosovo passport from other governments will be key to the success of this program, and UNMIK has committed to helping Kosovo do this, though in fact the diplomatic hard work may have to be done via Washington and other capitals. The Kosovo Government has the capacity to implement this plan, but continued international supervision for a limited period of time will be in our view necessary to ensure it remains on track, and UNMIK has approached the EU requesting its assistance in this regard. END SUMMARY Current Travel Document Regime -------------- ¶2. (U) Kosovo citizens are currently eligible to apply for an UNMIK travel document. The UNMIK travel document is valid for two years, and is issued by UNMIK through the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). Though not considered a passport, it is recognized by 39 countries as a valid laissez passe document. A majority of these countries also require a visa for entry. About 300,000 Kosovo citizens (including a number of Albanians) have Federal Republic of Yugoslavia passports. Kosovo citizens were eligible to apply for the FRY passport if they held a valid FRY identification card. Those who met the requirements could apply for FRY passports in Serb enclaves at the Serbian Ministry of Culture offices. The FRY passport is valid for 10 years and entitles holders to visa-free travel in 32 countries, an attractive alternative to the UNMIK travel document. Some citizens have chosen to obtain both the UNMIK travel document and the FRY passport. FRY Passports phased out in 2008 -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In March 2008, Serbia will cease issuing the FRY passport and FRY passport holders will be required to obtain a new Serbian passport before the end of 2008. On January 1, 2009, Serbia will no longer recognize the FRY passport. All citizens of Kosovo who hold valid Serbian identity cards will be able to apply for the new passport, which will be valid for 10 years. Kosovo citizens can apply for the Serbian identity cards and the Serbian passport beginning March 1, 2008 at Serbian Ministry of Culture offices in Serb enclaves throughout Kosovo. The new passport meets EU standards and has the required security features, including biometrics. Our sources at UNMIK believe that Kosovo Albanians will first apply for the new Kosovo passport and wait to see how broadly it is accepted before deciding whether to apply for the Serbian passport, if they qualify. Transition from UNMIK Travel Documents to the Kosovo Passport -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The UNMIK travel document is not considered a passport and is often rejected because it does not meet most countries' requirements for a passport (i.e., that citizenship or nationality be listed on the passport),and this includes the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially granted a one-year passport waiver and allowed the UNMIK document for travel to the U.S. While this waiver was not renewed, DHS has continued to recognize the UNMIK travel document. ¶5. (C) According to the UNMIK transition plan, the Kosovo passport will be issued using the same standards and procedures established by UNMIK, which are also incorporated into the new Kosovo Law on Travel Documents. The passport will include the same security safeguards, personal data, and biometrics as the UNMIK document, and it will be valid for 10 years (five for persons under 18). ¶6. (C) While UNMIK currently has executive authority for most of the functions related to the issuance of travel documents, some related competencies have already been transferred to the Kosovo Government. The Central Processing Center is run almost exclusively by the Kosovo Government. Its personnel, whose salaries are paid by the Kosovo budget, have been producing identity cards and travel documents for the past 18 months. UNMIK says this unit is functioning well and does not anticipate a significant post-status staffing turnover. A New Travel Document, A New Passport Regime -------------- ¶7. (U) Under UNMIK, the four entities involved in the process of issuing identification cards, granting citizenship and issuing travel documents are the Central Civil Registry, Central Processing Center, Department of Registration Services, and the Municipal Registration Centers. These entities all rest under the MIA but currently lack coherent structure. UNMIK, in consultation with the MIA, plans to link these offices under one agency and empower Kosovar authorities to run it. This agency, the Executive Agency for Civil Registration, will be formed within the MIA and will be responsible for drafting legislation to ensure freedom of movement; issuance of identity cards and travel documents; determination and registration of residents of Kosovo; and processing, verifying and securing data in the Central Registry Database. ¶8. (C) As proposed, the agency will have an UNMIK and Kosovo Government co-registrar, both appointed by the SRSG, who will work together to ensure that all competencies related to freedom of movement are transferred to the Kosovo Government during the expected 120-day transition period. By day 121 Kosovo should be ready to produce and issue its own passports. Logistical Issues -------------- ¶9. (C) The MIA intends to use the same system and contractor for the production of passports that is currently used by UNMIK, which has the capacity to produce 1 million passports over the course of a year. In order to use the same contractor and forego a 90 day open bid process, the MIA will need a waiver of the Kosovo Government's procurement law. The waiver has been drafted and MIA is ready to submit it once status is resolved. Actually producing the passport itself will take time, including six weeks just to procure paper stock from the supplier. UNMIK is additionally concerned that passport production will be held up if the symbols issue is not decided quickly after status and UNMIK has recommended to the Minister of Internal Affairs that he ask the Assembly to approve an interim passport without a symbol in order to expedite production. (Note: Recently, the Kosovo Government established a Symbols jury to choose three symbols from hundreds of submissions to forward to the Assembly for selection on declaration day or shortly thereafter. End Note.) Handover of Responsibility -------------- ¶10. (C) UNMIK is confident that with its proposed plan, Kosovo will be ready to take on passport issuance by the end of the transition period. However, it also believes it would be useful to continue international oversight of the work of the Central Processing Center for a limited time, once UNMIK's mandate ends. It has approached the EU to determine if the ESDP mission would be willing to take on this function, as well as oversight of the citizenship, asylum and immigration departments. (SEPTEL on citizenship, asylum and immigration issues to follow.) ¶11. (C) COMMENT: Recognition of the Kosovo passport will hinge on which countries recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state. UNMIK says they will assist the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (once established) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in their efforts to secure recognition of the Kosovo passport, but the diplomatic work necessary to accomplish this may in fact need to be done via Washington and other capitals. In the interim, UNMIK travel documents will be considered valid until their expiration date, even if issued during the transition period. Embassy Skopje is working with the Bureau of Consular Affairs to determine the necessary measures for DHS to continue recognition of the UNMIK document at U.S. points of entry until this expiration. USOP will also assist UNMIK in the technical transition effort by providing a border and immigration specialist (through DOJ/ICITAP) to review the plan and work with the MIA to develop an action plan for implementation of the new passport regime. While the MIA has the technical capacity to issue passports, USOP concurs with UNMIK that continued international oversight (for a limited time) will ensure a smoother transition. We will encourage the EU to take this on through the ESDP mission. KAIDANOW