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Immigration is emptying the country, the EU granted 154 thousand residence permits in 2023-2024

2025-09-12 13:44:00, Sociale CNA

Immigration is emptying the country, the EU granted 154 thousand residence

Emigration has become a chronic phenomenon in Albania, where in addition to emigration, the number of people receiving residence permits in European Union countries is increasing year by year.

The latest Eurostat data revealed that in 2024, over 79 thousand residence permits were granted to Albanian citizens from EU countries, 5.5% more than last year. A year earlier, around 75 thousand residence permits were granted for the first time.

Data from residence permits indicate an acceleration in immigration rates after the pandemic.

In 2023-2024, a total of 154 thousand lek residence permits were granted for the first time. Given that a large part of those who fled are on work contracts, especially in countries like Germany, the granting of permits is faster than in the past, when Albanian citizens entered EU countries without documents.

Since 2008, when Eurostat reports data, about 1 million Albanian citizens have received residence permits for the first time.

Emigration to EU countries is one of the main reasons for the significant population decline. INSTAT found in the latest Census that the country's population has been reduced by 420 thousand people compared to the previous Census in 2011. According to INSTAT, there are now 2.4 million fewer people living in the country.

Only those who received a residence permit for the first time in the EU for the period 2011-2024 were around 743 thousand people, according to Eurostat data.

Residence permits in Europe

According to Eurostat data, in 2024, 3.5 million residence permits were issued for the first time in the EU to non-EU citizens, a decrease of 8.3% (-315,700) compared to 2023, the year with the highest number recorded to date.

Employment was the main reason for issuing residence permits in 2024, accounting for 31.9% (1.1 million) of all first residence permits issued, down 12.2% compared to 2023.

Family reasons accounted for 27.1% (950 600) of all permits, reflecting a decrease of 6.5% (-65 800) compared to 2023. Other reasons, including international protection, accounted for just over a quarter of the share (25.3%; 886 300), with a decrease of 10.0% (-98 900). Education reasons accounted for 15.7% (549 400) of all first residence permits, representing the only overall increase of 0.8% (+4 500).

In 2024, the highest number of first residence permits was issued to citizens of Ukraine (295,600), followed by India (192,400) and Morocco (188,400). Albania was in 11th place in terms of the number of permits issued for the first time by EU countries last year./ Monitor