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| People waiting to leave at Tirana airport |
The rates of Albanian citizens leaving the country seem to have slowed down this year, after peaking again in 2021-2022, following the lifting of pandemic restrictions.
Eurostat data on asylum applications indicate that the rates of asylum requests from Albanian citizens have significantly decreased in the months of this year, especially during the summer period, when there traditionally used to be more departures.
According to Eurostat, in the period of January to August 2023, there were a total of 4,560 asylum requests from Albanian citizens, showing a 32% decline compared to the same period one year prior.
In July and August, asylum requests more than halved in comparison to the corresponding months from the previous year, while they were decreasing when compared to the first months of the year.
During 2022, the opposite occurred, with asylum requests increasing from May onwards.
Asylum requests are the first indicator of migration trends. Last year marked a significant increase in them.
In 2022, according to Eurostat data (which reports data for the 27 European Union countries excluding the United Kingdom since 2020), there were a total of 13.2 thousand asylum applications in one of the European Union countries, the highest level since 2020.
Compared to the previous year, asylum applications increased by 16%. As for other data published by the Migration Statistics Office, the United Kingdom showed that the total number of asylum applications from Albanian citizens in the UK was 15,925, marking a record high for the country.
Together with the United Kingdom, the total number of applications in Europe reached 30,000, the highest level since 2006.
A Significant Drop in Applications to France
France and Germany continue to be the top destinations for Albanian citizens seeking asylum in the eight-month period of this year.
However, Eurostat data reveals a significant drop in France. Asylum requests to this country almost halved to 1,690, from 3,575 in the same period one year earlier.