Deadline for Census extended until 31 August for the Serb community
Following the meeting of the Consultative Council for Communities held on 26 June 2025, during which Council members and representatives of the Serb community expressed concern over the suspension of child allowance payments by the Ministry of Finance, a meeting was held on 4 July, initiated by the President, Mrs. Vjosa Osmani Sadriu. The President’s representative in the Council, Ms. Donika Kadaj, together with the Secretary of the Council, Ms. Nafiye Gaş, met with the Chief Executive Officer of the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, Mr. Avni Kastrati, to address this issue.
To ensure the registration of every citizen, the Kosovo Agency of Statistics launched an awareness campaign in the Serbian language in a timely manner and made every effort to encourage the participation of the Serb community in the Census process. As an alternative, the Agency offered the possibility to register at its municipal offices, both in the north and in the south of the country. However, even in those locations, members of the Serb community did not register and therefore are not listed in the database as resident inhabitants.
To support the citizens of the Serb community, even though the Law provides for sanctions in cases of refusal to register, the Kosovo Agency of Statistics is offering the possibility for citizens to appear at the central office of the Agency in Prishtina, at the Registration Office, and subsequently be entered into the database by 31 August 2025.
For successful registration, members of the Serb community must appear in person with their family members, bring personal identification documents, proof of residence (such as an electricity, water or property tax bill), and, for children, a passport or birth certificate.
To ensure that the registration process for the Serb community is completed on time and without further complications, it is necessary to conduct an awareness campaign within the Serb community, in cooperation with international partners and civil society.
The Secretariat, jointly with Council members from the Serb community, will inform civil society organizations from the Serb community, which are expected to take an active role in this campaign.
According to Mr. Kastrati, raising public awareness and outreach campaigns are extremely important, especially considering that the issue of unpaid child allowances could also extend to the non-payment of pensions for those citizens who did not participate in the Census and are therefore not listed in the Kosovo Agency of Statistics’ database.
