Why do foreigners love Albania? Over half of permits are for employment. India and the Philippines with the strongest growth
The number of foreigners living with a residence permit in Albania has increased significantly during 2025, driven mainly by coming for work and by citizens of Asian countries.
According to INSTAT data, at the end of 2025, there were 32,163 foreigners with residence permits in Albania, or 46.6% more compared to the previous year. In 2024, their number was around 21.9 thousand.
Data shows that the presence of foreigners in the country has increased rapidly in recent years. The INSTAT graph shows that their number was around 14.9 thousand in 2021, increasing to 18.2 thousand in 2022 and 21.5 thousand in 2023, to reach 32.2 thousand at the end of last year.
Asia records the strongest growth
Although citizens from European countries continue to make up the majority of foreigners with residence permits, the structure is changing rapidly.
In 2025, 17,000 people, or 52.9% of the total, were from Europe, an increase of 18.5% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of foreigners from Asia reached 9,891 people, marking a much stronger increase of 117.6% within a year. Foreigners from the Americas, Africa and Oceania reached 5,250 people, an increase of 73.4%.
By citizenship, Kosovo continues to have the highest number of foreigners with residence permits in Albania, with 6,284 people, or 19.5% of the total. It is followed by Italy with 4,065 people, accounting for 12.6%.
But the strongest increases come from emerging job markets. India ranks third with 2,886 people, or 9% of the total, while the Philippines ranks third with 2,401 people, or 7.5%. Compared to 2024, the number of Filipino citizens with residence permits increased by 136.1%, while that of Indian citizens increased by 87.6%.
Over half of permits are employment-related
The main reason for foreigners to stay in Albania is employment, which accounts for 55.1% of residence permits.
Family reunification accounts for 19.8% of cases, 14.1% are related to other reasons, 7.9% to humanitarian purposes and only 3.1% to studies.
New applications also signal that the growth could continue. During 2025, the number of applications for residence permits increased by 43.5% compared to 2024. Citizens from India and the Philippines alone accounted for 26.6% of all applications.
The gender structure remains dominated by men. They make up 65% of foreigners with residence permits, while women make up 35%.
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