
In the last four years, a downward trend has been observed in the number of Albanians who have sought asylum in EU and Schengen countries. Referring to the Extended National Migration Profile document for the years 2019-2022, based on Eurostat data, it is noted that from 17,065 requests registered in 2019 for EU countries, in 2022 this number has dropped to 10,645.
In 4 years only for the EU, 41,540 requests are registered and 27,500 in other countries, bringing the total number to 69,040 Albanians who have tried to take refuge in different countries of the world.
The main countries where Albanian citizens have sought asylum are: France, Germany, Greece, Sweden and Belgium. The main reasons for requesting asylum are mainly economic, which, therefore, has led to a large number of rejections of asylum requests by host countries.
Asylum requests have also decreased in France, which is the main host country for Albanian asylum seekers, by 33% in 2022 compared to 4 years ago. In Germany, the number of asylum seekers has decreased by 31%.
Meanwhile, despite the decrease in the number of Albanians who have sought asylum in EU countries, an upward trend of Albanians seeking asylum in the United Kingdom has been seen, marking a number of 14,223 in 2022. From 2019, the number of Albanians who have sought asylum in the United Kingdom has increased by 24.2%, while the number of asylum seekers in the EU has decreased by 37.6%. Regarding asylum seeking in the USA, Canada and Australia, the trend has been downward for asylum seekers in the USA, while in Canada the number is easily grown.
The emigration of minors, mainly to EU countries, remains a concern. Despite a downward trend throughout 2020 and 2021, in 2022, the number of minors who sought asylum increased and exceeded the number recorded in 2019 by 6.2%.