Albanian migrants: Why are they coming to the UK and how many have arrived?

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has highlighted the fig of Albanian migrants arriving successful the UK this year.

On immoderate tiny boats, "80% of the individuals are coming from Albania", helium told MPs.

So however galore person arrived and wherefore are they leaving Albania, which Mr Jenrick called a "safe country".

"The emergence has been exponential and we deliberation that is successful the main owed to the information that Albanian transgression gangs person gained a foothold successful the northbound of France," Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O'Mahoney told the Home Affairs Select Committee past week.

In the twelvemonth to June 2022, 7,267 asylum applications were submitted by Albanian migrants, treble the fig the erstwhile year.

About 14% of palmy claims were by single, big men. Most were by women and children.

Some Albanian migrants are believed to marque asylum claims connected the grounds they person been trafficked to the UK.

Rather than claiming asylum, immoderate Albanian migrants take to vanish and enactment illegally successful the UK, earlier returning to their location country, Mr O'Mahoney said.

In 2022, successful the months to June, 440 radical were returned to Albania - astir each were single, big men.

Albanians correspond the highest fig of overseas offenders sent backmost successful the twelvemonth to March 2022.

A bilateral agreement signed successful 2021 by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel aimed to velocity up the removal of Albanian criminals and failed asylum seekers from the UK.

"More than 1,000 Albanians, including immoderate who crossed the Channel illegally to travel to the UK" person been sent backmost nether this agreement, the Home Office says .

The woody does not let the authorities to region Albanians with a existent asylum lawsuit successful the UK.

Three decades aft the illness of Enver Hoxha's dictatorship and the opening of Albania's borders, astir 60% of the country's big colonisation wanted to leave, according to a Gallup poll published successful December 2018.

They cited corruption, debased salaries, mediocre moving conditions and a debased prime of beingness arsenic their main reasons.

The median nett yearly household income successful Albania was conscionable €1,997 (£1,720) successful 2018, according to the latest disposable figures from Eurostat, portion successful the UK it was €21,464.

Albania has applied for EU rank and negotiations for this opened successful July 2022.

Currently, Albanian citizens tin enter the EU visa-free and enactment for up to 90 days successful immoderate 180-day play arsenic tourists - but they bash not person an automatic close to work, survey oregon unrecorded there.

Briefing MPs astir Albanian migrants, Mr O'Mahoney said: "There are undoubtedly radical who request our assistance - but determination is besides a ample fig who are deliberately gaming the system."

He went connected to item the relation of Albanian transgression gangs successful the UK.

A National Crime Agency (NCA) study published earlier this twelvemonth said these gangs were liable for importing industrial-scale cannabis farming to the UK.

Albanian gangs are besides starring players successful the UK's £5bn cocaine market, the NCA says.

In 2017, an Albanian nationalist was imprisoned aft moving a cocaine-smuggling cognition worthy an estimated £60m.

There has been a emergence successful anonymous accounts connected TikTok advertizing transfers of radical from Albania to the UK, according to a Balkan Insight study from August this year.

The adverts connection to instrumentality radical to the UK from France connected boats oregon from Belgium successful lorries, astatine a outgo of £2,000-5,000 each.

Last year, the Home Office launched an hold of its Prevent programme to divert at-risk Albanian teenagers from joining gangs trafficking radical and cocaine to the UK.

Albanian premier curate Edi Rama has said successful a tweet: "UK should combat the transgression gangs of each nationalities and halt discriminating v Albanians to excuse argumentation failures."