Between January 2019 and August 2020, some 30,500 Albanians have applied for asylum in an EU Member State according to data from Eurostat. This equates to around 50 people per day.
Out of those applying, 78% of them were under the age of 34. Over 15,000 were between 18-34 and 6,898 were 17 or under.
France is the most popular destination for minors under the age of 14 and there were 3,460 such applications during this time frame. Germany was also popular with 1,145 applications, Greece with 695 applications, and the UK with 525, and Italy with 310.
For all age groups, France was the most popular country with 40% of the total. It’s popularity is due in part to the way it treats cases by offering several steps until the final decision.
The UK had the second highest number of applications overall with 18.4%. Germany which was once the preferred destination for asylum seekers is now in fourth place due to deportations and changes in social policies.
60% of all applications were made by men, and the remaining by women as per the categorisation of the data.
Out of these applications, many are refused but several hundred are given refugee or protection status. In 2019 in the UK alone, 279 Albanian nationals received refugee status. Exit spoke with a source within the Home Office who confirmed that common reasons for protection being granted include political persecution, LGBTIQ individuals who fear for their safety, and in some cases, blood feuds.
