Sharp increase in asylum seekers in Albania highlighted in 2023 Report

The number of foreign nationals seeking asylum in Albania doubled in 2023, according to a report from INSTAT and the Department of Border and Migration within the General Directorate of State Police. Last year, Albania registered 261 asylum seekers, up from 125 in 2022.

While the numbers are insignificant compared to those in EU countries, they do reflect a growing trend over the past several years for a country that has traditionally been a source country for migration, with asylum applications until recently being almost nonexistent. 61.7% of asylum seekers originated from Afghanistan, totaling 161 individuals. Thirty-eight asylum seekers came from Syria, with an additional 25 from Iraq. In 2023, 14 positive decisions were made granting protected status. Much like in the rest of Europe, all asylum seekers originate from the broader MENA area.

Despite Albania not yet experiencing high levels of emigration, the country is poised to play an outsized role in the European debate on how to handle migration. Last year, the Albanian and Italian governments signed an agreement to establish a camp for asylum seekers in the village of Gjadër, near the port of Shëngjin in northwestern Albania. According to the agreement signed on November 6 by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the camp in Gjadër is designed to accommodate up to 3,000 people at a time. The protocol specifies that illegal immigrants intercepted at sea off the Italian coast will be brought to the port of Shëngjin for registration. Subsequently, they will await asylum processing in the newly constructed camp in Gjadër.

This bilateral agreement is being cited as a model by 15 European Union countries seeking to effectively manage asylum seeker flows.

According to other data from the INSTAT report, 1,382 individuals acquired Albanian citizenship in 2023, marking a 9.5% decrease compared to 2022. At the same time, 850 Albanian citizens renounced their nationality to obtain citizenship elsewhere, primarily from EU countries.