Visas

North Macedonia classifies visas into three legal categories defined by the Law on Foreigners: the Airport Transit Visa (Type A), the Short-Stay Visa (Type C), and the Long-Stay Visa (Type D). Which visa you need — or whether you need one at all — depends on three factors: your nationality, the purpose of your visit, and how long you plan to stay.

A French tourist spending a week in Ohrid, an American executive attending a three-day conference in Skopje, a Ukrainian student moving to Macedonia for a master's programme, and an Indian engineer relocating for a two-year assignment all face different documents, different fees, and different consular processes.

The simplest case is visa-free entry. Citizens of more than 65 countries — including every EU Member State, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and all Western Balkan neighbours — can enter North Macedonia on a valid passport alone, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

No visa, no fee, no application. Border police still check passport validity, the purpose of travel, proof of accommodation and funds, and health insurance under Article 11 of the Law on Foreigners, so even visa-free travellers should carry the basic supporting documents.

For short visits by nationals of countries not on the visa-free list, the standard tool is the Short-Stay Visa (Type C). It covers tourism, business meetings, visits to family and friends, participation in conferences and cultural events, medical treatment, and transit through the country with a stop.

Visa C is applied for at a Macedonian embassy or consulate abroad, costs €60 in consular fees, is decided within 15 calendar days (extendable to 30 or 60 days in complex cases), and allows one, two, or multiple entries within a validity period of up to one year — and up to two years in specific national-interest cases.

The Long-Stay Visa (Type D) operates on a different logic. It is not a stay permit in itself — it is a single-entry ticket that lets the traveller come to North Macedonia for 30 days in order to activate a temporary residence permit that has already been approved by the Ministry of Interior. In practice, the Visa D is only issued after МВР has reviewed and approved the residence permit application.

Employers, universities, investors, and family sponsors therefore start the paperwork in Skopje, not at the consulate. Once the МВР decision is positive, the consulate issues the Visa D within three working days. After entry, the holder has five days to collect the residence permit card from the local МВР office.

Finally, the Airport Transit Visa (Type A) is the narrowest category. It is required only for specific nationalities listed in a Government decree, and it permits the holder to pass through the international transit zone of Skopje or Ohrid airport without entering the country.

It is never a substitute for a Visa C if the traveller needs to leave the airport — even for a single overnight stay — nor is it used for work, study, or residence purposes.

Across all four regimes, the recurring entry requirements are the same: a valid travel document (normally with at least three months validity beyond the planned departure and two blank pages), proof of the purpose of travel, proof of sufficient funds, proof of accommodation, travel health insurance, and no record in the border-alert systems. Fees, processing times, and required supporting documents are then tailored to the specific visa category.

If you are unsure which category applies to you, start from your nationality and purpose — the pages below walk you through the rest.