Kosovo: Hidden Opportunity or Unsolvable Situation?
00:00 Intro
00:55 Where is Kosovo and the Status of Kosovo
03:04 Residence Permits in Kosovo
04:18 Citizenship of Kosovo
05:02 Advantages of Kosovo
06:32 Disadvantages of Kosovo
Kosovo Verdict
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Where is Kosovo and the Status of Kosovo
Kosovo is a disputed territory in Southeastern Europe. According to Wikipedia, its official status is of a partially recognized state.
There are basically three types of states currently in Europe. Fully recognized states, such as Montenegro. Then, there are situations like Transnistria, which is a de facto state inside the boundaries of Moldova. And there is the situation of Kosovo, which is recognized by a number of UN members, but at the same time, it is also not recognized by another important number of countries in the UN. This partial recognition creates a number of problems for Kosovo, which we will discuss later in the video talking about the advantages and disadvantages of the country.
Usually the places which no one is talking about might have opportunities that other more popular places already do not offer. If we take the case of Portugal, a great country, good options in terms of residence permits, but quite expensive especially if you want to move to Lisbon, high taxes for most types of activities.
Residence Permits in Kosovo
Unlike other countries which have a lot of different types of residence permits, and many focused on investments, the options are a bit simpler in Kosovo.
Apart from getting a residence permit by being married to a Kosovo national or finding a job in Kosovo, you can actually get a residence permit by opening a company in Kosovo.
So if you want to move to Kosovo independently, opening a company is currently the only route available. You don’t need to hire any Kosovo nationals for that, so it might be an option if you are a digital nomad.
According to recent news Kosovo Abolishing Residence Permits with Albania, so in theory, in the very near future citizens of Kosovo will be able to live in Albania without having the go through the usual residence permit process for foreigners in Albania.
Citizenship of Kosovo
Now let’s talk about the rather unique citizenship of Kosovo and how you can get it.
Kosovo currently has the weakest passport in Europe that is recognized by at least a few countries which are in the United Nations.
But you can still travel to some countries visa free using a Kosovo passport, such as Turkey, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia.
If you want to become a citizen of Kosovo you have to live 5 years in the country before you can apply for the Kosovo citizenship
-Cost of living, safety
The first huge advantage of Kosovo is its low cost of living. This applies to most aspects of daily life, including real estate, regardless whether you are buying or renting, food as well as entertainment. Kosovo uses the euro which adds stability to the economy in the country, but it is at the same time very cheap.
-Great place to travel, location
The second advantage of Kosovo is that it is a great place to travel. Prishtina is a quite safe city and if you like mountains, Kosovo is one of the most beautiful places to be in Europe (the same applies to Montenegro and Northern Albania). Despite its relatively small population, Prishtina is well connected with flights to most of the main European cities.
-Using Euro currency
The last advantage is that Kosovo uses the euro as a currency. This is an advantage considering the size of the territory and its relatively unique situation. If it were to use its own currency, I believe this currency would be more subject to devaluation and lack of international acceptance.
Disadvantages of Kosovo
-Its status creates a number of problems in terms of doing business
So for example if you are a remote worker, living in Kosovo and running a Kosovo company, there are many payment services that do not work in Kosovo, so charging your customers might not be the easiest task. So for example, PayPal or Stripe, quite complicated to receive money using these payment processors in Kosovo.
-Citizenship not recognized in many countries, barred entry
Another huge disadvantage of Kosovo is that since its status is disputed, its citizenship is also not recognized by the countries that do not consider Kosovo as an independent country.
Verdict
-Kosovo is a great place to travel
-Great place to hire qualified staff with a relatively low cost
-Not the best place if you are looking for a job.
-Not the best place to start a business and to get a residence permit. Albania and Montenegro are probably better options in the region.
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