TIRANA, March 29 – While Albania itself is bracing for a potential influx of migrants currently stranded in Greece, its citizens continue to file asylum requests elsewhere in Europe. Albanians constitute the main nationality seeking asylum in the Netherlands this year, baffling Dutch authorities who consider Albania a safe country of origin.
Dutch media, citing the country’s Ministry of Security and Justice, report that 480 Albanian nationals have submitted asylum claims in the first two months of 2016, which is almost half the number of total asylum requests filed in the kingdom by Albanians last year.
The number of Albanians seeking asylum in the Netherlands in 2014 was insignificant, while last year witnessed a surge in applications crossing 1,000 requests. Meanwhile this year, Albanians have even surpassed Syrians as the largest group seeking asylum in the Netherlands. However, if family unions are also counted Syrians continue to represent the main group of asylum seekers.
Despite the sudden surge in new refugee status claims, chances of being granted asylum to Albanian citizens are close to zero as a result of its status as a safe country of origin. Only four Albanians out of 795 have been granted asylum since January 2015, according to the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice.
Dutch authorities have stated that rejected Albanian asylum seekers will be repatriated in groups via chartered planes thanks to a deal struck with Albanian authorities in January this year.
Last year a record 66,000 Albanian citizens sought asylum in EU countries skyrocketing 439 percent from the previous year, according to Europe’s statistics office Eurostat. Germany proved the most attractive destination accounting for almost 90% of asylum requests filed by Albanians in 2015. Albanians came second only to Syrians in terms of asylum applications with about 55,000 claims filed in Germany in 2015. Nearly half of the Albanian nationals who sought asylum last year in the EU fell in the 18-34 years old age group, raising serious concerns for the country’s demographics and also its economy. A significant portion of Albanians leaving the country were children under the age of 13 making its implications even more alarming.
