Kosovar citizens are the largest foreign group holding residence permits in Albania
Police data show 38,712 foreign residence permits issued in Albania up to 30 June 2026; citizens of Kosovo are the single largest group.
Nearly 40,000 foreign nationals are registered in neighbouring Albania and, according to police figures, more than half remain in the country to work. The official count shows 38,712 residence permits issued to foreigners up to 30 June 2026.
The largest group among permit-holders are citizens of Kosovo, who hold 7,302 permits — about 19 percent of all active residence permits. "Following them are citizens of Italy with 4,332 residence permits, or 11 percent of the total number. The number of residence permits for citizens of India reached 3,882, which represents 10 percent of the total number, from the Philippines 3,638 (9.3 percent of the total number) and from Egypt 3,441 or 8 percent of active permits," the analysis notes.
Labour permits dominate
Most residence permissions are single permits for employees and single permits for self-employment. Combined, these two categories accounted for 22,693 work-related permits by June 2026, representing 59 percent of all active residence permits.
Employers' single permits — the permits granted directly through companies — are led in numbers by citizens of the Philippines, India and Egypt. Altogether these nationalities received 10,258 employer-issued single permits.
The figures underline a shift in the profile of foreign workers in Albania, which now hosts sizable communities from the Western Balkans and from more distant labour-supplying countries in Asia and Africa. The statistics do not specify the sectors where these workers are employed, but the dominance of work and self-employment permits points to labour demand across multiple industries.
Photo: press material from the event
