As of midnight Monday, the validity of passports bearing the country’s former name “Republic of Macedonia” ceases.

Citizens who have not renewed their travel documents so that they bear the constitutional name of the country, the “Republic of North Macedonia”, will not be able to travel abroad.

Today, February 12, 2024, marks five years since the Prespa Agreement came into force. Under the said agreement, citizens wishing to travel abroad had to replace their travel documents within the five-year period, so that they bear the new name of the state.

The Ministry of Interior of Skopje, in a statement last Sunday night, informed citizens about the development. Further, the Ministry advised those with old passports not to make any travel arrangements as they will not be allowed to travel. The same applies, always according to the Ministry of Interior, to old driver’s licenses.

The Prespa Agreement came into force on February 12, 2019. Based on the provisions of the agreement, all official documents of the Skopje public administration for international use as well as documents for internal use that can be used abroad such as passports, licenses, and driver’s licenses had to be replaced within five years at the latest, in order to bear the new name of the country.

Skopje started issuing new personal documents for the country’s citizens (IDs, passports, driving licenses) in July 2021. Due to a lack of logistical infrastructure, a large number of the country’s citizens have so far not been able to replace their personal documents, which resulted in complaints being strongly expressed and the said issue dominating the Skopje media.

According to the latest figures, 1,280,528 new passports, 1,100,497 new identity cards, and 570,227 new driving licenses had been issued by January 31, 2024.

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