UN Postpones Entry Permits For Foreigners Entering Kosovo

PRISTINA (AP)--The U.N. mission that administers Kosovo postponed the entry into force of a set of rules for foreigners entering the province.

Foreigners will be granted entry authorization for up to 90 days at border points starting from July 1 and not from May 1 as previously announced, the U.N. said.

Those entering this disputed U.N.-run province can extend entry permits at police stations throughout the province. Those working with the U.N. mission or NATO-led peacekeeping force and their children are exempt from the ruling.

Until now, anyone with a valid passport could enter the province.

The new regulations are aimed in part at stopping criminals and terrorists from entering the province.

Kosovo has been administered by the U.N. and patrolled by North Atlantic Treaty Organization peacekeepers since 1999, when a 78-day NATO air war halted a crackdown by Serb forces on ethnic-Albanian separatists