Albania citizenship is based on the Constitution of Albania. Foreign nationals who meet the eligibility requirements can request Albania citizenship and become Albanian citizens.
Albanian law allows foreign nationals to keep their current nationality, enabling them to hold dual citizenship. Albania is one of the countries that permits dual citizenship.
To become a citizen of Albania, there are certain requirements. Those who are born in Albania, married to an Albanian, stateless, or of Albanian origin can become citizens more quickly than others.
How to Get Albanian Citizenship?
There are several ways a person can follow to obtain Albanian citizenship. To apply for Albanian citizenship, a person must meet the requirements for a specific category.So, what are the ways a person can get Albanian citizenship?
Albanian Citizenship By Investment
Investment is one of the fastest ways to obtain a second passport. The traditional path of naturalization usually takes a long time in most countries, often not less than five years.
However, with investment, a person can obtain citizenship in just a few months.Unfortunately, it is not possible to acquire Albanian nationality through investment.
The Albanian government had planned to launch a Citizenship by Investment program, but the European Union was not in favor of it, so Albania decided to cancel the program.
Albanian passport holders can travel to European Union countries without a visa. When Albania considered introducing this program, the Schengen countries were not in favor of it.
Albania Residence by Investment
Albania currently offers a residence permit program through investment. While it is not possible to obtain an Albanian passport by investment, it is possible to obtain an Albanian residence permit.
To obtain Albanian residency, you need to invest a minimum of $100,000 in an Albania-based company or create a new company.
This investment will allow you to obtain an Albania Investor Type BI Visa and then apply for a residence permit. A 5-year residence permit will be granted to you.
After 5 years of living in Albania, you will be eligible to apply for Albanian citizenship. This pathway to citizenship is through naturalization, and you will then receive your Albanian passport.
Albania citizenship by naturalization
A person who live for minimum 5 years in Albania can be naturalized and become an Albanian citizens.
- To be eligible for Albania citizenship by Naturalization you need to live for 5 years legally in Albania.
- You shouldn’t have any criminal history in the 5 years you spend in Albania, you will need to present a clean criminal record from Albania police.
- To become Albanian national by naturalization you need to have a liveable income, to prove it you will need to show a Bank statement, a job contract or something similar which can prove that you are earning a liveable amount.
- Off course when you are considering a naturalized Albanian you should speak Albanian language, you should be able to write and read in Albanian language.
- A basic knowledge is required about Albania, Albania history, law and culture to prove that you are ready to become officially Albanian.
- You shouldn’t be a possible threat to Albania national security.
- A proof of accomodation is also a requirement, when you want to apply for Albania citizenship you need to have a home to live or it’s rented by you.
- And finally you need to be an adult, a minimum 18 age is a must, when you become at least 18 years old you can apply for Albanian citizenship.
Albanian Citizenship By Marriage
Albania grants citizenship to foreigners who are married to Albanian citizens, making this one of the fastest ways for a foreigner to obtain Albanian nationality.
If you are married to an Albanian citizen, you can apply for Albanian citizenship after 3 years of marriage. A foreign national who is married to an Albanian citizen only needs to live in Albania for a minimum of 12 months.
Normally, a person must legally reside in Albania for up to 5 years before requesting Albanian nationality. However, if you have been married to an Albanian citizen for at least 3 years and have lived in Albania for a minimum of 12 months, you can become an Albanian national.
If you are married to an Albanian citizen, you do not need to prove your ability in the Albanian language. A person married to an Albanian citizen does not need to learn Albanian to become an Albanian citizen.
Albania citizenship by Birth
Birth is one of the fastest ways to become a citizen in some countries. For example, if you are born in the United States or Canada, you will automatically become an American or Canadian citizen.
Fortunately, the same rule applies in Albania. Any child born in Albania becomes an Albanian national, regardless of their parents’ nationality.
Albania is one of the few countries in Europe that still grants citizenship by birth. While this is common in many American countries, it is rare in other European countries, making Albania unique in this regard.
Read this also: Albania digital nomad visa guide
So if your child born in the Albania you can simply get a birth certificate from the hospital and your own documents such as passport, visa and other you can submit a citizenship request for your child.
Be careful that you should be legally living in the Albania, if you are refugee you should has a refugee status mean you should be accepted by Albanian government as as refugee.
Albanian Citizenship by Decent
If you are a foreigner of Albanian descent, you can apply for Albanian citizenship. However, there are certain criteria that must be met by a person claiming Albanian descent.
The most important aspect of citizenship by descent is that you must prove your connection to an Albanian relative within no more than the third degree of kinship.
This simply means you should be able to prove that one or both of your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents are Albanian.
It’s important that you don’t have any criminal history, you shouldn’t be a possible threat to Albania national security. It’s should be clear and you need to present a police clearance certificate from the countries where you lived.
If you are succeed to prove these connections you can obtain Albanian nationality without meeting the conditions like minimum stay ( reside) period in Albania or Albanian language test.
How to apply for Albanian citizenship? Steb by step guide
To apply for Albania citizenship you need to collect all required documents and follow these steps:
Step 1: Gather Documents
Before to submit your citizenship application you should gather all the required documents and be sure that you have all documents in your hands.
- Birth certificate: an original apostilled birth certificate by the embassy of Albania in your home country.
- Marriage certificate: if you are married than a marriage certificate is necessary, marriage certificate should be also apostilled by Albanian embassy.
- Passport: you need to have a valid passport of your current nationality.
- Valid Residence Permit: during apply you should have a valid residence permit in Albania.
- Proof of accomodation: you can present a house or any property ownership proof of a rental agreement.
- Employment contract: you need to have a Job when you apply for Albanian citizenship, to prove this a job letter, a work contract a business ownership a partnership agreement can be accepted.
- Financial Documents: you need to present some documents which prove you a liveable income, it can be Bank statement, Bank balance, payslips or certificate.
- Language certificate: a certificate from Albanian language educational centre is required.
- Appeal: you need to have a letter of appealing Albania citizenship to the president of Albania.
- Police clearance certificate: you should present a clean criminal record certificate from your home country.
- Good character letter: it’s also required to receive a letter from local police that confirm your good character.
- Criminal record: you aslo need to obtain a clean criminal record from the Albanian police.
- 4 phtots with White background.
- A deposit slip of citizenship application.
Step 2 : Submit your application
Now that you gathered all required documents you need to submit a citizenship application with these documents to local police.
The police will forward your request and application to the ministry of interior affairs and they will review your documents and request.
Step 3: Citizenship Approval
If your citizenship application was approved by the ministry of interior affairs than they will forward to the president of Albania for final approval.
When it approved by the president of Albania you will need to visit citizen registration department and they will register you as a citizen and issue an identity card for you.
What are the benefits of Albanian Citizenship?
By becoming an Albanian citizen now you will have a new home, a new country where you can call home, you will be able to live and work in Albania.
Your family members, your spouse and children will be able to get Albanian citizens and they all can take Albanian passport.
You will have visa free access to Schengen countries, although Albania is not yet Schengen member but Albanian citizens don’t need a visa for scnhgen countries.
Additionally to Schengen countries at all Albanian citizens can travel to 116 countries without a visa.
Albania is a small country with always a warm and liveable weather which can be a best home for you.
