Work permits
The authority empowered to issue work permits is the General Directorate of WORK PERMITS 4 National Labor Service or the Labor Office of the relevant territory, part of the Ministry of Labour, Social Welfare and Youth. Foreigners working in the Republic of Albania, depending to the specific case, must obtain a work permit or a work registration certificate. The following categories of foreign workers are exempted from either obligation:
- Citizens of those countries which are part of the EU and Schengen zone have the same employment rights as Albanian citizens, except where the legislation in force requires Albanian citizenship for the job position;
- The working foreigner is only staying for one month in any one year in case of:
- foreigners who are negotiating an agreement or supervising a trade event stall;
- business visitors;
- crew members of ships or aircrafts;
- lecturers, researchers or foreign specialists who come into Albania pursuant to agreements between governments, governments and educational institutions or private sector parties and educational institutions;
- educators who come into Albania pursuant to bilateral governmental agreements or agreements concerning educational institutions;
- employees of humanitarian organizations active in Albania pursuant to international programmes of cooperation.
To obtain a work permit, the following documents must be filed:
- Standard application form completed and signed by the foreign citizen;
- A National Registration Centre extract confirming the employer’s registration;
- The applicant’s employment contract;
- A copy of the passport of the foreign citizen;
- Five photos.
The above documents might vary slightly depending on the type of work permit requested. The official fee to be paid for the work permit is ALL 6,000 (approx. EUR 45,00). Citizens of the USA have a more favorable regime, according to which they can stay in Albania for at least one year without a residence permit. US citizens are entitled to obtain the first residence permit for a period of five years.
For more information please refer to the link below: