The Albanian government is trying to position the country as a hub for digital nomads, but the reality is that logistical and administrative hurdles make this much more complicated.
The Digital Agenda of Albania lays out an action plan for 2022-2026 and has already been approved by the government. One of the points in it relates to digital nomads, individuals that work remotely online and live in a country for a short time, typically up to two years.
“Expanding the digital and physical network and empowering businesses is a priority nowadays for our country because entrepreneurs, business owners and independent professionals from all over the world have a lot to offer, and we hope to simplify the process of ‘joining the e-residence (e-residence) will encourage more of them to choose us to help grow their companies,” the strategy states.
It continues that the residency project can be an important step for attracting digital nomads and can be facilitated through online visa applications, issuance of visas online, transport systems, digital hub, high-speed internet, and the imminent roll-out of 5G.
In fact, in 2021, the government implemented a law that would make it easier for digital nomads, pensioners, and other short-term resident, to remain. This law envisages making the process easier by issuing online visas and a single application for residence permits. However, in practice, the situation remains highly complex.
Tax and accounting
Anyone residing in Albania and working either in or out of the country is required to pay tax locally. The process for doing so is incredibly complex and involves going to the National Business Centre (where they only speak Albanian), paying a fee, registering, and then going through a fiscalization process. It is also necessary to set up a local bank account with a bank, whereby all money derived from work, even outside the country, must be deposited.
The issue is that local banks will not open a bank account for non-Albanians without a residence permit. However, to get a residence permit, one also needs to show evidence of having an Albanian bank account.
Furthermore, many residents, especially short-term ones, are uncomfortable with having to open a local bank account and deposit their income there. Many have online accounts with banks that offer favourable withdrawal and transfer rates, such as Wise and Revolut. Others don’t want to lose money in conversions, fees, and account costs that are all associated with Albanian banks.
Regarding issuing invoices, the free-to-use eAlbania system does not accept foreign invoices. Therefore anyone with foreign, non-Albanian clients must pay around LEK 5000 for special software to carry out the task.
eAlbania itself is largely unavailable to foreigners as they do not have an Albanian passport or ID number to log in. Hundreds of service desks in key institutions have shuttered in a bid to digitalise Albania, leaving many foreigners stranded.
Furthermore, residents are required to declare a place of work, which in most cases would be their rented accommodation. The issue is that if it is rented, they are required to pay an additional tax for this, on top of the annual Municipal taxes for cleaning and social security.
This entire process takes several weeks and, for most short-term residents, requires hiring an Albanian accountant to guide them through the process and translate.
In terms of applying for residency, while the process is partly carried out online, it still requires at least one trip to the immigration department, where few of the staff speak English or any other language.
Expats report that the requirements can change often depending on who is working there that day, and documents are requested that do not exist in other countries (for example, family certificates or apostilled documents that the state won’t certify), with little in the way of a compromise.
Groups geared towards expats on Facebook are flooded with requests for recommendations of lawyers or consultants that can help them navigate the process of residence, work permits, registering as self-employed, and even opening bank accounts.
Another issue highlighted is that many who were issued temporary residence permits while waiting for the finalised document said they have long expired. They are yet to receive any update.
Jamie True, a US citizen living in Albania, said, “We seem to have fallen through the cracks in immigration because of the new eAlbania system, despite that fact we all applied months before it went live.”
“None of us have had an email to go do our fingerprints and photos, the consultants we are paying keep telling us to wait. But we want to travel outside of Albania in August but cannot because we think we will get into trouble when we get back,” she explained.
While Albania may be aiming high, hoping to attract digital nomads and foreign remote workers, the complexity and inconsistency of the system will likely put many off.
