Criminal Record Certificate and Apostille for Albania

Which certificate Albania accepts

Since January 2026, under the amendments introduced by Law 43/2025, the criminal record certificate (dëshmia e penalitetit) is mandatory for every residence permit application — before that date it was required only for categories such as digital mobile workers and pensioners. The only exemptions are applicants under 16 and over 75.

Three rules decide whether your certificate is accepted:

• It must be national, not local. For Americans that means the FBI Identity History Summary — a state police check is the classic mistake and gets the file bounced. If you have lived in several countries in recent years, expect to be asked for a certificate from each.
• It must be fresh: issued no more than 6 months before filing. An expired certificate is one of the most frequent causes of rejection or referral — and with slow apostille queues, the 6-month clock is tighter than it looks.
• It must be legalised for international use — apostille for Hague Convention countries, consular legalisation for the rest.

How the apostille works

Albania is part of the Hague Apostille Convention, so for most readers the process is: request the certificate → have it apostilled by the designated authority in the issuing country → translate it. In the US, federal documents (the FBI check) are apostilled by the US Department of State, while state documents go to the state Secretary of State — sending a federal document to a state office is another classic rejection.

The two mistakes that cost the most time and money:

• Translating before the apostille. The apostille itself becomes part of the document and must be translated too. Translate last, or you pay for the translation twice.
• Underestimating the timeline. For Americans, the FBI check plus the State Department apostille takes 4-8 weeks for this step alone — start it before you book flights, not after you sign a lease.

Note also that Albania does not issue or consume e-apostilles: expect paper originals, couriered.

Sworn translation into Albanian

Documents filed on e-Albania must be in Albanian, and the translation must be a sworn (certified) translation, usually then notarised. The translation covers everything: the certificate and the apostille page attached to it. A translation made at home or by a generic agency without sworn status is not accepted.

Practical sequence used by successful applicants: certificate → apostille → sworn translation into Albanian → notarisation of the translation. Sworn translators work in Tirana and in the larger cities; market rates run around €15-25 per page (see the full cost breakdown). Keep digital scans of every stage — the e-Albania upload asks for the whole chain, and a missing page of the chain is enough for a referral.

Country-specific notes

• United States. FBI Identity History Summary (federal, not state) + US Department of State apostille: budget 4-8 weeks. A documented alternative used in Tirana: the US Embassy's notarised Affidavit of Eligibility ($50, valid 90 days). One applicant reports: "In lieu of a criminal record (whoch i would have had to fly back to the US and pay $250 for), i was told by my laywer to get a notorized affidavit from the us embassy, swearing that my record is clean. This worked well btw! I have successfully gotten both my one-year and five-year residencies with this." It remains a workaround accepted at officer discretion, not a published rule — have a plan B. See the US citizens guide.
• United Kingdom. ACRO police certificate + FCDO apostille. See the UK citizens guide.
• India. Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) via the passport office, apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs. See the Indian citizens guide.
• Philippines. NBI clearance + DFA apostille. See the Filipino citizens guide.
• Germany. Führungszeugnis from the Bundeszentralregister + apostille. See the German citizens guide.

Whichever country you apply from: if any name on your documents differs (maiden names, transliteration), align it before the apostille, not after.