Albania Work Permit for Foreigners

Who needs a work permit in Albania

Any non-EU citizen who takes up employment with an Albanian company needs work authorisation. Since the 2021 reform, work and residence are handled in a single procedure called the unique permit (leje unike) — there is no separate "work permit card" anymore. Employment is by far the main ground for residence in Albania: work-based applications were about 65% of all applications processed in 2025, according to Border and Migration Police data reported by Albanian media, and over 22,000 unique permits had been issued by mid-2026.

Being allowed to enter Albania visa-free is not the same as being allowed to work. Some nationalities enjoy long visa-free stays (for example US citizens, who can stay up to a year), but taking a job still requires the unique permit sponsored by an employer. People who work remotely for foreign companies should look at the digital nomad route instead, which is a different category under the same law.

The employer's role in the application

This is the part most guides get wrong: you do not apply for a work permit yourself. The Albanian employer — or an agency acting for the employer under power of attorney — files the unique permit application through the e-Albania portal. The file is assessed by the employment authorities (AKPA) and the Border and Migration Police.

Before hiring a foreigner, the employer is generally expected to show that the vacancy could not be filled locally — a labour-market step commonly cited at around four weeks of advertising through the employment offices — although requirements vary by role and sector. The company must provide its registration extract and tax number (NIPT), plus a signed employment contract stating salary, role and working hours. Once the permit is approved, most non-EU nationals collect a Type D visa at an Albanian consulate, enter Albania, and register their address; the biometric card is then issued, typically within 30 days.

Employee documents

As the worker, your side of the file usually includes:

• a valid passport and the signed employment contract;
• diplomas or professional certificates relevant to the role, apostilled in the country of issue and translated by a sworn translator into Albanian (translate after the apostille, not before — otherwise the translation must be redone);
• a criminal record certificate, issued no more than six months before filing, apostilled and translated. Under the 2025 amendments (Law 43/2025) this document is now required for every permit application, with limited exemptions by age — see our criminal record and apostille guide for country-specific instructions;
• health insurance valid in Albania and proof of accommodation.

Expired or incorrectly legalised documents are among the most common reasons applications stall or are refused, so check issue dates before your employer files.

Timelines, renewals and changing employer

Realistic end-to-end timelines reported by recruitment agencies and applicants are around 40–50 days for Indian workers and two to three months for Filipino workers (who have extra steps on the Philippine side). The legal maximum for the decision is 12 weeks, but applicants on expat forums report that the system has been heavily backlogged, so plan conservatively. Government fees are modest: 4,500 ALL (about €45) for the first permit and 2,250 ALL for renewal.

The work-based permit is normally issued for one year and is tied to the specific employer. If you change jobs, you do not "transfer" the permit — the new employer starts a fresh application from zero. Renewals must be filed within 60 days before expiry; details are in our renewal guide.

Where the jobs actually are: construction (welders, carpenters, electricians, machine operators), tourism and hospitality on the Riviera and in Tirana (seasonal, roughly May to September), manufacturing — footwear and textile factories alone report tens of thousands of vacancies — domestic work and caregiving, agriculture, and a growing IT and services segment. Demand is driven by Albania's own labour emigration, and employers in these sectors increasingly sponsor permits as standard practice.