As thousands of Albanians continue to flee to the West, construction sites, hotels and factories in Albania are increasingly speaking foreign languages.
With over 22,000 residence permits, workers from the Philippines, India, and Egypt are being seen as a “lifeboat” for the deep labor crisis.
But behind the enthusiastic figures disseminated by institutions, a heavy shadow hides: Fraud schemes, broken contracts, passports held hostage and, in the most tragic cases, fatal accidents at work.
Is Albania turning from a transit country into a haven for exploitation for foreigners?
Data from the National Employment and Skills Agency (AKPA) shows that by June 2026, over 22,000 foreign citizens had been issued with a unique permit, up from around 18,000 at the end of 2025. Within just 6 months, the number has increased by around 4,000 people. Of the total, 20,332 are registered as employees and 2,361 as self-employed.
The Philippines, India and Egypt are the three countries from which the most workers come, mainly concentrated in the manufacturing industry, tourism, construction and the service sector.
The Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) also confirms the same trend. At the end of 2024, the number of foreigners with residence permits in Albania reached 21,940 people, with an increase of 2.2% compared to 2023. 61.9% of them are men and the most represented age group is 30-39 years old. Employment is the main reason for staying in the country, accounting for 54.3% of residence permits.
From procedures on paper to reality on the ground
Obtaining a work permit is a procedure that seems clear in the documents. The application is made in the FER-TIMS system, the documents are verified electronically and for categories that require approval, the file is reviewed by AKPA. Within a few days, the worker can be provided with the relevant permit. But, according to experts, the problems begin precisely after the worker enters Albania.
Labor expert Gertjana Hasalla says that laws exist, but their implementation remains weak:
“The labor market in Albania fails to guarantee the conditions and rights of Albanian workers, and consequently neither of foreign workers. Many foreigners enter as tourists, without declaring that they will work, ending up in informal work or in fraud and exploitation schemes.”
According to her, an unregistered worker remains practically invisible to institutions and without any protection in the event of an accident or conflict with the employer.
Hasalla warns that fraud begins in the country of origin:
“Workers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal or the Philippines are promised higher wages and European conditions. When they arrive in Albania, they often end up performing jobs other than those specified in the initial agreement, with higher physical workload and unpaid overtime.”
According to her, in some cases, members of communities established in Albania have also become intermediaries for the recruitment of new workers.
What do the inspections show?
The increase in the number of foreign workers has also brought about the need for stronger controls by the responsible institutions. Data from the Labor Inspectorate show that in recent years, controls have been increased on entities that employ foreign citizens, but cases of violations show that a part of employment continues to remain out of control:
Year 2024: 1,536 controlled foreign workers, 93 without work permits.
Year 2025: 2,484 controlled foreign workers, 83 without work permits.
January-June 2026: 2,177 checked, 62 without permission.
During this period, 55 workers were identified as working informally. In all cases, the suspension of work was ordered. After the intervention of the inspectors, 53 workers were formalized, while two cases were referred to the General Directorate of Taxes. During the first 6 months of 2026, the Inspectorate also reported 21 warnings and 3 fines, with a total value of 1,950,000 lek.
However, the institutions themselves admit that many cases are never reported. Fear of losing their jobs, lack of information and uncertainty about their legal status make many foreign workers choose silence.
The sector where the largest number of foreign workers is concentrated is the manufacturing industry. In this sector, 572 foreign employees were registered in 2024, 860 in 2025 and 906 in the first six months of 2026 alone. After manufacturing, trade, hotels, bars and restaurants, construction, transport and telecommunications are listed. One of the strongest increases was recorded in construction, where the number of foreign workers increased from 128 in 2024 to 419 in the first six months of 2026.
Meanwhile, the State Police did not make available data on reports filed by foreign workers with this institution, but informed that during the first 6 months of 2026, 20 cases of providing assistance to 116 foreign citizens for illegal border crossing were identified, while 27 people were prosecuted.
In July of this year, a fatal accident near the TEG roundabout in Tirana brought the working conditions of migrants back into the spotlight. Two Egyptian nationals, aged 30 and 44, lost their lives after the concrete mixer truck they were travelling in fell off a bridge on the Eastern Ring Road. They had arrived in Albania just a month earlier on work visas and 1-year residence permits. After the accident, it was reported that the victims did not have a driving license or a Certificate of Professional Ability to drive a heavy vehicle.
The incident raised serious questions about the control of professional qualifications and whether the tasks performed by workers comply with the contracts for which they have been issued work permits.
Similar concerns were raised in a report on Albania by Mary Ward Loreto, an organization focused on trafficking issues, which highlights that during 2025, 130 complaints were registered from workers originating from the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and other countries.
The report highlights that many migrants rely on employment agencies or social networks, without having full information about the real working conditions. In many cases, contracts are signed without being fully understood due to language barriers, while upon arrival, workers face conditions completely different from those promised.
“AKPA itself admits that there is no specific complaint mechanism for foreign nationals. They are directed towards the Labor Inspectorate or other institutions, but many do not know where to turn or do not complain out of fear,” the report states.
The Philippines has become one of the main sources of labor for Albanian businesses. The reason is related to the knowledge of the English language, the professional training and the experience that many of them have gained in other European countries.
There are agencies operating in Albania that mediate their employment. According to the recruitment agency Albwork, the procedures take about 30-45 days and include the application, visa, translations, residence permit and documentation.
The payment for a worker from the Philippines, in the case of a nanny, reaches 1,000 euros, while for a citizen from Tunisia it is about 800 euros. The employer must also provide accommodation and carry out the procedures for fiscal registration.
Albania has inevitably entered a new demographic and economic era, where foreign labor is no longer an exception, but a necessity. However, filling the tepid job vacancies cannot be done at the cost of human dignity and security. If the state does not intervene with rigorous on-the-ground controls, real complaint mechanisms, and strict penalties for abusive agencies and businesses, the country risks building its development on the backs of the vulnerable.
As long as passports continue to be kept in employers’ drawers and lives are lost in vehicles without a driving license, Albania will remain for these workers a place where they find a salary, but lose their most basic rights. /ACQJ