VisaMetric Accused of Unlawfully Profiting Over €1 Million From Mandatory Passport Delivery Charges in Kosovo

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• VisaMetric in Kosovo is being accused of unfairly charging for courier service.
• It has been estimated that the company unlawfully benefited over €1 million.
• Affected Kosovo citizens have been called to join legal proceedings against VisaMetric.

VisaMetric in Kosovo is facing accusations of having made more than €1 million from unfairly charging citizens of the country for delivering their passports.

The company, which provides support services related to visa applications, made it mandatory to pay a €30 postal service fee for the return of passports, not permitting applicants to withdraw their documents for free at their offices.

This raised concerns among citizens of Kosovo, and action was taken by lawyers to return the money to all those who were obliged to pay for the courier service

The issue is now in courts, with Flamur Abdullahu, who is a lawyer in Kosovo, revealing that expert calculations show that VisaMetric has unlawfully benefited from the obligation to pay for courier service in the amount of €1,579,530.

However, despite this estimation, Abdullahu said that he made his own evaluation. According to him, the damage is somewhere around €3 million.

Based on my estimation, considering the number of visa applicants, I believe this damage is around €3,000,000.00.

Flamur Abdullahu, Lawyer

Abdullahu further said that VisaMetric has refused to comply with the decision of the Court to provide information on the number of applicants. Therefore, financial experts have been able to calculate only the packages delivered from VisaMetric but not the number of passports processed.

In its defence, VIsametric said it is not possible to reveal such information as they need to protect the personal data of Kosovo citizens. This, according to Abdullahu, is very ironic.

Affected Kosovo Citizens Called to Join Legal Process Against VisaMetric

To finalise this process fairly, Abdullahu has called all affected citizens of Kosovo who have been obligated by VisaMetric to pay for delivery between October 13, 2023, and May 15, 2023, to join the legal process against the company.

He said that the process of compensating those affected will be initiated for the first time in the country.

All citizens who have been obligated by VISAMETRIC to pay postage and Prime Time service from 13.10.2022 until 15.05.2023 may join the legal process against VisaMetric for compensation within the Collective Lawsuit initiated for the first time in the Republic of Kosovo.

Flamur Abdullahu, Lawyer

It is yet to be determined how many people have been affected by this requirement.

Citizens of Kosovo Now Get to Travel Visa-Free to EU

Since the beginning of this year, all citizens of Kosovo have been able to travel to the EU for short stays without the need to apply for a Schengen visa.

Following the visa liberalisation, Kosovo’s passport ranking increased. the interest of Kosovars in visiting the bloc also saw a rise.

According to the VisaGuide Passport Index, Kosovo’s passport currently ranks 97th in the world, with a score of 42.7 points.

The number of passengers at the International Airport of Prishtina increased by 21 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year.

In order to meet the high demand for travel, the International Airport of Prishtina has included several new routes – Luxembourg, Riga, Heraklion, Halmstag, and Izmir.