Not only France, but also the UK is suffering the high influx of Albanian asylum seekers. If in France, Albanians rank first along with Georgians in the UK, our compatriots leave behind asylum seekers from Pakistan and Eritrea.
According to UNHCR figures, 2801 Albanians have sought political asylum in the UK last year.
Although the UK is not part of the Schengen area, which requires a visa to get there, Albanians find different ways to reach the island.
Crossings under trucks have become commonplace already, causing casualties not too often.
According to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), about 12,000 Albanians have applied for asylum in one of the European Union countries for the first time in January-July 2019 only.
In a survey conducted by the Friederich Ebert Foundation (2018/2019) 40% of young people surveyed expressed a desire to leave Albania. The most favorite destination is Germany.
Specialists agree that young people leaving Albania are the result of poor education and unemployment. According to INSTAT data, the official youth unemployment rate stood at 22.2% in the first quarter of 2019.
