How To Claim Asylum In The UK As An Albanian

The number of Albanian nationals claiming asylum in the UK increased in 2022 unusually compared to past years. Around 16,000 Albanian citizens claimed asylum in the UK in 2022, which is more than three times the 2021 estimate. This number is significantly high compared to most EU countries as well, who received fewer than 20 asylum seekers from Albania in both 2021 and 2022.

Given that Albania is not currently at war, and is considered to be a ‘safe’ country by the UK government, the Home Affairs Committee has stated that there is “little evidence that its citizens should need to seek political asylum in the UK or elsewhere as a result of the actions of its Government.”

In 2022, the UK government announced plans to ‘fast-track’ the removal of Albanian asylum seekers arriving in the UK without any immigration authorisation, working together with the Albanian government.

Since the signing of the UK-Albania Joint Communique on 13 December 2022, the Home Office has returned over 1,000 Albanian illegal immigrants from the UK till April 2023, including voluntary returns, failed asylum seekers, and foreign national offenders.

Page Contents

• Albanian Asylum Seekers in the UK
• Seeking Asylum in the UK as an Albanian: Is It Possible?
• Eligibility Requirements for Seeking Asylum in the UK
• Required Documents for an Asylum Application
• Registering Your Asylum Claim
• What Happens After the Registration of Your Asylum Claim?
• UK Asylum Application Processing Time
• How Newcastle Immigration Lawyers Can Help
• Frequently Asked Questions

Foreign nationals are eligible to seek asylum in the UK if they can prove that they fear persecution in their home country because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, sexual preference, or any other issue that puts them at risk because of the social, cultural, religious or political circumstances there.

Foreign nationals may also seek asylum in the UK in case their country is at war, or undergoing internal armed conflict, and they cannot get protection from the authorities in their home country in such a scenario.

Although Albania is currently not at war nor facing any internal armed conflict, Albanian nationals may still be eligible for asylum in the UK if they can prove that they fear for their safety and security in Albania, face persecution in Albania because of any of the aforementioned reasons, or they have fallen victims in the hands of human traffickers or modern slavery system.

Foreign nationals from an EU country or who travelled to the UK through a ‘safe third country’ will not be eligible for asylum in the country.

Supporting documents for your asylum claim include:

• Your passport and/or any other travel documents
• Your identification documents, e.g. identity cards, birth certificate, marriage certificates, school records etc.
• Any other document that you believe will substantiate the genuineness of your claim for asylum

If you are already in the UK at the time of your application, you will need to submit your UK proof of address. Depending on your living situation, you will need to submit any of the following documents:

• If you have your own accommodation in the country, please provide UK documents with your full name and residential address, such as:
  • Bank statement
  • Housing benefit book
  • Council tax notice
  • Tenancy agreement
  • Utility bills
• If you are staying in the UK with someone else, please provide:
  • A letter from the person you’re staying with to confirm you have their permission to stay, dated within the last three months
  • Documents mentioning the full name and address of the person you’re staying with, e.g. a council tax notice, tenancy agreement or utility bills

Foreign nationals seeking to claim asylum in the UK are required to discuss their circumstances with a UK immigration officer first. This meeting is known as a ‘screening’, during which the asylum seekers must register their claim.

The screening may take place at your port of entry, if you claim asylum as soon as you arrive in the UK. Alternatively, you may also be screened after arriving in the UK if you become eligible for asylum.

During a screening, an asylum seeker will:

• Have their photo and fingerprints taken
• Attend an interview to discuss who they are and where they are from
• Be asked why they want asylum in the UK

You may bring any documentary evidence to support your claim and other required documents to the screening. You will also have to declare any medical condition you or your dependent family members may have.

If you want to claim asylum in the UK while entering the country, you must inform a UK Border Force officer that you would like to do so. Interpreters are available during a screening in case the asylum seeker is not an English speaker.

Alternatively, if you are already in the UK when you want to claim asylum, please get in touch with the asylum intake unit in the country, to make an appointment. In case you have nowhere to live in the UK, you can just call the asylum intake unit to enquire about where you should go for registering your asylum claim and at what time.

On the date of your appointment, please bring your documentary evidence with you. You may ask for an interpreter to be present during your appointment, but you cannot claim any financial help for travelling to or from the asylum intake unit.

Following the screening process, the Home Office reviews your case and decides whether it can be considered in the UK.

You will receive an asylum registration card (ARC) in your UK address. The Home Office may also send you an asylum questionnaire to further understand your case.

If the Home Office decides that your case can be considered in the UK, a caseworker will be assigned to you. They will interview you, and will make a decision about your asylum application. You may have legal representation during your interview if you so wish.

You may be detained at an immigration removal centre while awaiting a decision on your asylum application. In case your application is successful and you get permission to stay in the UK, you will be released from the centre.

Alternatively, if the Home Office decides that your case cannot be considered in the UK, they may send you to a safe country that will consider your asylum claim. You may be able to appeal against the decision.

The UK has accumulated a huge backlog of asylum applications in the past few years. While an asylum claim used to take on an average six months in 2020, the waiting period increased to an average of 20 months in 2021.

Please also note that the processing of you asylum application may take longer if:

• Your supporting documents need verification
• You are required to attend multiple rounds of interviews
• Your personal circumstances are complicated, e.g. you have a criminal conviction

If your application is successful, you might be granted refugee status in the UK. If you do not qualify for refugee status but cannot return to your own country for valid reasons, you may get humanitarian protection. In either scenario, the Home Office will give you permission to stay in the UK for a minimum of five years.

After five years, you can apply to settle in the UK, subject to other relevant terms and conditions.

The Home Office will ask you to leave the country if you do not qualify for refugee status, and your caseworker decides that you do not have any valid reason to stay in the UK. If you do not leave voluntarily, you will be detained and removed from the country.