More than a quarter of people crossing the Channel in small boats came from Albania in 2022, although the numbers have since then declined massively. Until recently, around half of asylum claims from Albanian nationals were initially accepted. However, a report by the House of Commons Home Affairs committee concludes that Albania is generally a safe country but with problems for certain groups, including women and victims of trafficking. Interesting, the report goes on to suggest increasing the number of work visas granted to Albanians:
Only 325 work visas were granted to Albanian nationals in the first nine months of 2022, with evidence submitted to the inquiry arguing that a perceived difficulty in obtaining work in the UK through legal means could be driving people towards clandestine migration routes. The Committee finds that more should be done to promote the availability of visas that would fill worker shortages in the UK economy and enable some transfer of wealth back to Albania. This would include short-term or seasonal work in sectors such as construction or agriculture.”
Albania is currently on the list of safe countries to which asylum seekers can be removed with no assessment of their asylum claim under the Illegal Migration Bill.
