Skopje, 11 February 2024 (MIA) — On Feb. 13, 2024, at 00:00h, the validity of citizens' passports and driving licenses with the name Republic of Macedonia will expire, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a press release.

"In line with the adopted legal amendments related to the Prespa Agreement, travel documents with the name Republic of Macedonia cease to be valid and only travel documents with the name Republic of North Macedonia will be valid," the release says.

"We kindly ask citizens with old travel documents not to try to leave the country because this will not be possible. Citizens who have dual citizenship will be able to use their travel documents from the other country without any problems.

"We also stress that any citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia who arrives to a border crossing to enter our country will be let in regardless of their travel document," the release adds.

According to the release, drivers licenses also need to say North Macedonia in order to be valid both in and out of the country.

Identity cards, however, will remain valid after Feb. 13, regardless of whether they say Republic of Macedonia or Republic of North Macedonia.

People traveling to countries that North Macedonia has bilateral agreements for using ID cards as travel documents, the release says, "will not be returned by our border police officers if they have an ID card with the name Republic of Macedonia, but we cannot guarantee they will be allowed to enter other countries." mr/