General information on the acquisition of Albanian citizenship by foreigners

Albanian citizenship is one of the basic human rights. Article 19 of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania provides for the right of every individual who has one of their parents with Albanian citizenship to acquire Albanian citizenship. On the basis of this provision, Albanian citizenship is acquired and for other rights by law.

The law that regulates the acquisition of the Albanian citizenship is the law no. 113/2020 "On Citizenship". The purpose of this law is to determine the principles, procedures and rules for obtaining, re-acquiring and relinquishing the Albanian citizenship. In application of this law there are 5 ways of acquiring the citizenship: by birth, by ancestry, by birth in the territory of the Republic of Albania, by naturalization, and by adoption.

1. In the case of acquiring the citizenship by ancestry, Albanian citizenship is acquired by the foreigner, the ancestors of whom have Albanian origin, with the condition that is proven the family connection in straight line up to three generations.
2. In the case of acquiring the citizenship by naturalization, the Albanian citizenship is acquired by naturalization by the foreigner who has requested and fulfills the conditions below:
   a) has turned 18 (eighteen) years old;
   b) has legal capacity to act;
   c)  resides legally and has resided for a continuous period of not less than 7 (seven) years in the territory of the Republic of Albania, as well as has obtained a permanent residence permit, valid at the time of submission of the request, according to the law for foreigners;
   d) has a residence in accordance with the approved housing standards in the Republic of Albania;
   e) has legal income and financial resources, sufficient for living in the Republic of Albania, which coincide with the minimum standard of living, indexed every year in relation to the price index of some selected goods, provided for in the regulation of the Insurance Institute Social;
   f) has not been convicted by a final court decision in his country, in the Republic of Albania or in any third country for criminal offenses, for which Albanian law provides punishments of not less than 3 (three) years of imprisonment . An exception to this rule is made only in those cases where it is proven that the punishment was given for political motives;
   g) possesses knowledge of the Albanian language, spoken and written, certified by the relevant educational institution, as well as basic knowledge of the history of the Republic of Albania, according to the rules determined by higher education institutions;
   h) does not pose a threat to public order and national security of the Republic of Albania.

The request for obtaining citizenship by naturalization can be made by the following subjects:

• From the foreigner over 18 years of age with regular residence in the Republic of Albania;
• From stateless persons;
• From a foreigner married to an Albanian citizen;
• From the foreigner, whose minor child has Albanian citizenship;
• From the child of two parents who have acquired Albanian citizenship by naturalization;
• From the child of a parent who has acquired Albanian citizenship through naturalization.

Law no. 113/2020 "On Citizenship" provides for the possibility of obtaining citizenship by foreigners when the Republic of Albania has a national interest, interest in the field of education, science, art, culture, economy and sports. In the implementation of special cases of obtaining citizenship, the Council of Ministers with Decision no. 1008, dated 25.11.2020 "On the creation, organization and operation of the Agency for Drafting Special Citizenship Programs", has established the relevant Agency for handling these cases.

In addition to the law no. 113/2020 "On citizenship" you can also refer to the by-laws that regulate the relevant procedures in more detail as below:

• The granting of Albanian citizenship to foreigners against investments according to the joint instruction of the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Finance and Economy no. 240, dated 16.12.2022 "On the determination of the investment value for the equipment with a unique permit for the investor" according to which the investment value for the economic activity, for the foreigner who is equipped with a unique permit as an investor, should not be less than 10,000. 000 (ten million) ALL;
• Instruction of the Minister of the Interior no. 65, dated 06.02.2021 "On determining the necessary documentation for obtaining, relinquishing and regaining Albanian citizenship, the form and manner of completing the request, the procedure and carrying out verifications at the responsible institutions, as well as the procedure and documentation for postponement of the deadline for taking the oath";
• Instruction no. 64, dated 04.02.2021 "On determining the necessary documentation for obtaining, relinquishing and regaining Albanian citizenship, the form and manner of completing the request, the procedure for carrying out verifications at the responsible institutions, as well as the procedure and documentation for postponement of the deadline for taking the oath";

Standard procedure approved by order no. 306 dated 30.03.2021 "On accepting the application for obtaining, re-acquiring and renouncing Albanian citizenship".
You can apply for Albanian citizenship on the E-Albania platform. Also, on this platform there is the necessary documentation that you must submit to obtain Albanian citizenship.