Ananova:

A 109-year-old Macedonian woman is getting her first passport after it took decades for authorities to check how old she was.

Maria Kostova from the town of Shtip was born on February 7 1898 and no birth certificate was issued to her at the time.

Local authorities lost their records of her birth and when she asked for a passport more than 20 years ago, passport authorities said they would have to look for records of her birth.

She never heard back from them but now local passport authorities say archive documents dating back to the end of the 19th century were recently found and they could confirm her date of birth.

They will present her with the passport next month as a present for her 110th birthday.

Kostova said: "It's a nice surprise. Now I just have to think of what holiday I can have so I can use it."