From the beginning of the year through June 30, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has issued a total of 4,533 temporary residence permits and 126 permanent residence permits.

Statistics show that the Serbian community leads in terms of the number of temporary residence permits, with 1,266 issued. Meanwhile, 50 Serbs have obtained the right to permanent residence.

During this period, the daily average of residence permits issued to Serbs was 9.

Selam Shkodra, a former deputy minister of internal affairs, considers this a positive development, linking it to the beginning of the integration of the Serbian community into society.

According to Shkodra, issuing these permits is appropriate if the applicants have a clean record, demonstrate that they have traditionally been citizens or residents of the Republic of Kosovo, and undergo the necessary checks by the security institutions. He considers that this process can be viewed as a form of integration and recognition of Kosovo’s citizenship.

He emphasizes that Kosovo’s local security institutions have sufficient mechanisms to select foreign nationals who may be granted residence permits.

Shkodra says that Kosovo has highly consolidated security institutions and that such permits are not issued without checks. However, if there is a mistaken case, he believes the opposition should also help identify individuals who do not deserve a residence permit, which is distinct from Kosovo citizenship, let alone citizenship itself. He adds that all applicants go through the rigorous screening procedures of the security institutions.

Meanwhile, lawyer Hasan Shala calls for the legal basis on which these permits are issued to be carefully reviewed, as the consequences could be significant.

Shala believes it should be analyzed whether these citizens have political motives. According to him, if their registration is approved without meeting the conditions and criteria established by law, then this would constitute a major mistake by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Public data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs also show that a considerable number of permits have been issued to Turkish citizens.

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According to the Centre for Strategic Litigation Cases, the issue is not limited to the two environmental permits, but concerns the way institutions make decisions and whether citizens’ voices have been heard in the process.

The organisations are asking the court to annul the environmental permits for HPP Deçani and HPP Belaja and return the procedure to the public consultation stage. They are requesting that the Ministry organise a new public consultation, provide timely access to all relevant documents and information, and explain how it considered the comments and evidence submitted by citizens before making its decision.

The statement says that citizens and civil society organisations have for years sought the public’s right to participate in procedures related to environmental permits. According to them, the demand was raised after permits were issued for hydropower plants on the Lumbardh River in Deçan in 2020 and was supported at the time by the current Environment Minister, initially as an MP and later as chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment.

The organisations stress that, under the 2025 Administrative Instruction on Environmental Permits, a public discussion should have been held on the permits for the hydropower plants in Deçan.

According to their response, organisations and activists submitted comments, technical analyses and evidence raising serious concerns about the procedure, relying on this right. They claim that the public was not provided with timely access to important documents and information, making full and informed participation impossible. The organisations say that, although the Ministry was aware that the process was not being conducted in accordance with the law, it proceeded with issuing environmental permits for HPP Deçani and HPP Belaja without responding to or taking into account the comments and evidence submitted by the public.

The Centre for Strategic Litigation Cases operates as a platform established by the Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS).

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