Albanian Migrants Top Arrivals by Small Boats – Why Are They Coming to UK?

Ady Nugroho
·4 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- The number of Albanians crossing the English Channel on small boats has spiked over the past two years, with Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick saying they now account for 80% of people the government regards as arriving “illegally” in the UK.

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Home Secretary Suella Braverman this week described the trend as an “invasion,” triggering a firestorm of criticism both in the UK and abroad — including from Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who said the rhetoric risks fuels xenophobic attacks against his countrymen. Here’s what to know.

How many Albanians have arrived?

A total of 2,165 people registered Albania as their country of origin when they landed on the south coast, according to UK Home Office data from January to June 2022. That’s up from 800 last year, and 50 the year before.

Why are Albanians coming to UK?

Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O’Mahoney told the Home Affairs Select Committee last week that the “exponential” rise is likely “in the main due to the fact that Albanian criminal gangs have gained a foothold in the north of France.”

Why are there so many Albanian asylum seekers?

At the Conservative Party conference last month, Braverman accused Albanians of arriving in the UK of abusing UK modern slavery laws. “The truth is that many of them are not modern slaves and their claims of being trafficked are lies,” she said.

Rama has said in a tweet that the “UK should fight the crime gangs of all nationalities and stop discriminating versus Albanians to excuse policy failures.”

Why are people leaving Albania?

A study by the University of Bedfordshire and International Organisation for Migration says that trafficking in Albania is linked to low levels of education, forced marriage arrangements and limited options for safe and legal migration. Poverty and other economic factors was also cited as a major driver. Albania’s unemployment in 2021 was at 11.8%, higher than Europe’s figure but lower than Greece’s 14.8% and Spain’s 14.7%.

Is Albania a safe country?

Albania ranks 41 on the Global Peace Index of 163 countries analyzed by the Institute for Economics and Peace. The index measures peacefulness based on social safety, ongoing conflict, and degree of militarization. That’s safer than South Korea (43) and neighboring EU member Greece (53). The UK ranks 34.

Is Albania part of the EU?

No. Albania has been holding the status of candidate country to joining the EU since 2014, and the process is ongoing for it to meet the bloc’s conditions for membership. Following last month’s assessment of the country’s preparedness, the EU highlighted the need for Albania to keep improving the public administration, judicial system, fight against corruption and organized crime, among other things in its report. Once it becomes a member, its citizens could have access to free movement across the rest of the member states.

Rama, in an interview with Newsnight on Wednesday, admitted that the country had its own “problems,” and not being in Europe’s free labor market leads its citizens to search for different ways to cross borders into other countries.

Where is Albania on the map?

Located in the Western Balkans on the Adriatic Sea, Albania borders Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Greece. A non-stop road journey from its capital, Tirana, to Calais in France would take around 28 hours, according to Google Maps.

What is the population of Albania?

Albania’s population has been declining after peaking in the 1990s. World Bank’s 2021 data show the country is currently home to 2.8 million people, a smaller population than Wales.

What is Albania’s GDP per capita?

Albania’s gross domestic product is $51 billion based on purchasing power parity, according to IMF’s World Economic Outlook for October 2022. That’s less than 10% of the GDP of Iraq, the fourth most common country of origin of the migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel. Albania’s GDP per capita on PPP is $17,860, almost a third of the UK’s.

Where are other migrants coming from?

After Albania, the greatest number of people crossing the Channel on small boats this year to June come from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria, Home Office data show. That’s in contrast to 2021, when people mostly came from Iran, Iraq and Eritrea – with Albania ranking 8th on the list.

--With assistance from Irina Anghel.

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