"Kosovo Albanians pay EUR 3,000 for Serbian passports"

The most wanted are Serbian biometric passports, "which cost up to EUR 3,000", the article claims.

Those holding Kosovo passports "can only travel visa-free to Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia and Turkey while the western countries, which many see as a way out from poverty, are unreachable", Deutsche Welle says.

The article continues that "since a vast majority of Kosovo citizens cannot go to Serbia, individuals who have good connections in towns where passports were issued up until recently do this for them for a certain price, and there are even agencies which do it".

Megacities Consulting agency in downtown Pristina was allegedly offering citizenship and passports of British Guyana or Namibia for EUR 6,000 - 10,000, according to Deutsche Welle.

"Kosovo police are ready to combat the negative phenomena, in this case that some companies were unlawfully providing documents and visas. Investigation has been launched and we are waiting for results," said Kosovo police Spokesman Baki Kelani.

Former Kosovo Albanian Deputy Justice Minister Sul Hodza said that all citizens who were getting passports outside Kosovo, regardless in which country, should be criminally prosecuted "because it was forbidden by the constitution and law".

According to official data, 46 percent of Kosovo citizens are without permanent employment, almost 40 percent live in poverty, out of which 15 percent in extreme poverty.

The average salary is about EUR 200 and each year 30,000 students graduate from high school.

About 10,000 enroll into university and 15,000 register at employment office, says Deutsche Welle.