Macedonia changed its name in February 2019, after a long dispute with its Greek neighbor. Around 650,000 Macedonians, or almost a third of the population, still have their old passports.
Thousands of citizens have had great difficulty obtaining an appointment to apply for a new passport. Interior Minister Pance Toskovsky confirmed that border police had no choice but to respect the law and send old passport holders home. But he acknowledged that this was an obstacle to freedom of movement, and added that citizens could sue the state.