Passports bearing the name Republic of Macedonia will remain in use during the five year transition period provided in the Prespa treaty with which Greece imposed the name “Republic of North Macedonia” on Macedonia.

According to Macedonian authorities, these passports will be in use, but a stamp will be used to declare them the “property of the Republic of North Macedonia”. Until now, Greece refused to recognize Macedonian passports and demanded that the hundreds of thousands of Macedonian citizens who visit this country each year use a sheet of paper given at the border crossings which declared that Greece does not recognize Macedonia under its name.

The stamp with the words “Republic of North Macedonia” will likely be used to placate Greek authorities and the Greek public, which expects that Macedonians will switch to the name “North Macedonia” in short order.