Over 15,300 Albanians have sought asylum in the UK and EU in 2022 alone, although the number remains lower than before the pandemic.
August saw the highest number of asylum applications from Albanian citizens – 950 – within Europe, according to data from Eurostat. Between January and the end of the same month, some 6,720 applications were filed with an increase of 65% on the same period during the previous year.
However, preliminary data for September provided by Eurostat shows that the number of asylum applications has increased sharply, even without all states filing their data. Some 1,400 applications were filed in September, a figure likely to rise once all reports are accounted for.
During the first six months of 2022, some 7,262 Albanians filed for asylum in the UK, a far cry from figures touted by the British media that spoke of some 14,000. However, the real figure for the rest of the year is likely to increase significantly following waves of migration in the summer months and again in October and early November.
The number of applications in the UK was 8% more than those who applied in the EU.
In the EU, France remains the number one preferred destination for asylum seekers while across the bloc, asylum applications increased to 77,000 in August alone, a 54% increase from August 2021 and a 17% increase from July 2022.
The mass exodus of Albanians into Europe has been well documented in recent months after the British Home Secretary Suella Braverman called it an “invasion” and British media pushed stories about them all being criminals or asylum seekers without proper justification.
In fact, over half of those applying for asylum in the UK are granted with a further half granted protection on appeal. The reasons for Albanians leaving their country are complex and are based on a long history of migration waves.
It has been exacerbated by poverty and the current economic crisis, corruption and crime, a weak rule of law and social disconnect traced back to the country’s 50 years of brutal communist rule. In addition, organised crime gangs have taken to TikTok to advertise illegal crossings into the UK via boat for upwards of £3000. This has caused an increase in the number of, mainly young Albanians leaving.
It is not known exactly how many have left the country in the last decade but it is estimated between 400,000 and 700,000 with at least a further million leaving in the two decades after the fall of communism.
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
Source: euractiv.com
