{"id":80303,"date":"2025-09-16T21:40:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T19:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?p=80303"},"modified":"2025-09-16T21:40:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T19:40:20","slug":"rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Starting October 12, citizens of North Macedonia entering the European Union\u2019s Schengen Zone will be required to provide biometric data\u2014fingerprints and a photo\u2014under the EU\u2019s new Entry\/Exit System (EES).<\/p>\n<p>As noted in a briefing at the EU Delegation in Skopje, the system will be implemented gradually from October 12 over a period of six months and will apply at all Schengen entry points.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a measure that will facilitate border crossings for nationals of third countries. In practice, this means that gradually, when third-country nationals enter the EU, they will register once with biometric data\u2014meaning fingerprints and a photo\u2014and then, during their second entry, the process will be much easier,\u201d said Michalis Rokas, EU Ambassador to Skopje.<\/p>\n<p>The system foresees that children under 12 will not be required to provide biometric data. Exceptions will also apply to family members of EU citizens.<\/p>\n<p>Family members of individuals holding an EU passport or special residence permit for EU territory will also be exempt from registration. However, it has not yet been clarified how close relatives of such persons will be required to prove their family ties to an EU citizen.<\/p>\n<p>EES implementation phases:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Phase 1: In the first 30 days after launch, 10% of all travelers will be registered with the new system.<\/li>\n<li>Phase 2: Within 90 days, 35% of travelers.<\/li>\n<li>Phase 3: Within 150 days, 50% of travelers.<\/li>\n<li>Phase 4: Within 170 days, all travelers entering the Schengen Zone will be covered by the system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By the end of next year, another system\u2014ETIAS\u2014will also come into effect. Under ETIAS, anyone traveling visa-free to the Schengen Zone must first register online, submit their travel plan, and pay a \u20ac20 fee, valid for three years. Exemptions will apply to those under 18 and over 70.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Starting October 12, citizens of North Macedonia entering the European Union\u2019s Schengen Zone will be required to provide biometric data\u2014fingerprints and a photo\u2014under the EU\u2019s new Entry\/Exit System (EES). As noted in a briefing at the EU Delegation in Skopje, the system will be implemented gradually from October 12 over a period of six months [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":67993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1803,164],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone - Euronews Albania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone - Euronews Albania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Starting October 12, citizens of North Macedonia entering the European Union\u2019s Schengen Zone will be required to provide biometric data\u2014fingerprints and a photo\u2014under the EU\u2019s new Entry\/Exit System (EES). As noted in a briefing at the EU Delegation in Skopje, the system will be implemented gradually from October 12 over a period of six months [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Euronews Albania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/euronews.al\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-16T19:40:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shkup-flamuj.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1585\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"879\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nen Si\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@euronewsalbania\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@euronewsalbania\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nen Si\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nen Si\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/444d280f35e047949b7f0bc08093608f\"},\"headline\":\"Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-16T19:40:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-16T19:40:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/\"},\"wordCount\":295,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shkup-flamuj.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Latest news\",\"North Macedonia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/\",\"name\":\"Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone - Euronews Albania\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shkup-flamuj.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-16T19:40:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-16T19:40:20+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shkup-flamuj.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shkup-flamuj.jpg\",\"width\":1585,\"height\":879,\"caption\":\"North Macedonia's flags in Skopje. Photo courtesy: AP\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Euronews Albania\",\"description\":\"Top stories in Albania, Kosovo and the Balkans\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Euronews Albania\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/logo-mobile-euronews-albania-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/logo-mobile-euronews-albania-1.png\",\"width\":280,\"height\":33,\"caption\":\"Euronews Albania\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/euronews.al\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/euronewsalbania\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/444d280f35e047949b7f0bc08093608f\",\"name\":\"Nen Si\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/euronews.al\/en\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/author\/nensi\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone - Euronews Albania","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone - Euronews Albania","og_description":"Starting October 12, citizens of North Macedonia entering the European Union\u2019s Schengen Zone will be required to provide biometric data\u2014fingerprints and a photo\u2014under the EU\u2019s new Entry\/Exit System (EES). As noted in a briefing at the EU Delegation in Skopje, the system will be implemented gradually from October 12 over a period of six months [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/","og_site_name":"Euronews Albania","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/euronews.al\/","article_published_time":"2025-09-16T19:40:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1585,"height":879,"url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shkup-flamuj.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nen Si","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@euronewsalbania","twitter_site":"@euronewsalbania","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nen Si","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/"},"author":{"name":"Nen Si","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/444d280f35e047949b7f0bc08093608f"},"headline":"Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone","datePublished":"2025-09-16T19:40:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-16T19:40:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/"},"wordCount":295,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shkup-flamuj.jpg","articleSection":["Latest news","North Macedonia"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/","url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/","name":"Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone - Euronews Albania","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shkup-flamuj.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-16T19:40:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-16T19:40:20+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shkup-flamuj.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shkup-flamuj.jpg","width":1585,"height":879,"caption":"North Macedonia's flags in Skopje. Photo courtesy: AP"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/rules-change-for-north-macedonia-citizens-entering-the-schengen-zone\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rules change for North Macedonia citizens entering the Schengen Zone"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/","name":"Euronews Albania","description":"Top stories in Albania, Kosovo and the Balkans","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization","name":"Euronews Albania","url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/logo-mobile-euronews-albania-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/logo-mobile-euronews-albania-1.png","width":280,"height":33,"caption":"Euronews Albania"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/euronews.al\/","https:\/\/x.com\/euronewsalbania"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/444d280f35e047949b7f0bc08093608f","name":"Nen Si","sameAs":["http:\/\/euronews.al\/en"],"url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/author\/nensi\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80303"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80304,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80303\/revisions\/80304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}