From midnight Monday to Tuesday, passports with the old name “Republic of Macedonia” cease to be valid and those citizens of the country who have not replaced their travel documents with new ones, which state the constitutional name of the country – “Republic of North Macedonia” – they will not be able to travel abroad.

Today, February 12, 2024, five years have passed since the Prespa Agreement entered into force; under the agreement, within this period, citizens of the country had to replace their travel documents (passports) if they wanted to travel abroad, so that the new name of the state is written, Republic of North Macedonia.

The Ministry of the Interior of North Macedonia, in its announcement last Sunday night, informed the citizens of the country about the development and addressed an appeal to those who still have old passports and want to travel abroad with them not to do so, as – as it clarified – they do not they will be allowed. The same applies, always according to the Ministry of the Interior, to old driver’s licenses.

The Prespa Agreement entered into force on 12 February 2019. Based on the provisions of the agreement, all official documents and materials of the public administration of North Macedonia for international use, as well as documents for internal use that can be used abroad (among others passports, licenses and driving licences), had to be replaced within five years at the latest, in order to display the new name of the country (Republic of North Macedonia).

North Macedonia started issuing new personal documents for the country’s citizens (IDs, passports, driving licenses) only 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, resulting in strong complaints and the 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 type driving licenses were issued by 31 January 2024.