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| People who have acquired Albanian citizenship year by year from 2017 to 2022, official source by INSTAT |
Albania is becoming the home of foreigners. While the country is facing massive emigration, the number of foreigners finding the "paradise of life and work" is increasing year after year, local media reports.
Data from the Institute of Statistics show that last year, 1,527 foreigners obtained Albanian citizenship, a figure that is twice as high as in 2021 and five times higher than that recorded in 2017.
The majority of them are from Kosovo, Turkey, Italy, and Syria.
"This dynamic indicates that the influx of foreigners into Albania continues and mainly increases, especially of workers from Asian countries. There seems to be an interest in laborers who work in seasonal jobs from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, with wages ranging from 30,000 to 40,000 lekë," said migration expert Armela Xhaho.
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| People who have abandoned Albanian citizenship year by year from 2017 to 2022 |
On the other hand, the number of those renouncing Albanian citizenship remains at high levels. Data from INSTAT (State Institute of Statistics known licaly as INSTAT) shows that last year, 721 people gave up their passports, a figure slightly lower than in 2021 but significantly higher than in 2017 or 2018.
The majority of them belong to the age group of 30-39 years, followed by those aged 40-49, and young people aged 20 to 29 years.
"Politics, the government, civil society, and other important actors need to take this phenomenon very seriously. The fact that 40,000 to 50,000 people have left doesn't concern me, but what worries me is the emigration that might return, as the emigration process is reversible - they leave, come back, leave again. But leaving the citizenship means facing nationality hurdles..." said sociologist Gëzim Tushi.