Albania: Information from 1992 to present on whether ethnic Albanians from Kosova are legally permitted to cross into Albania from Kosova at Albania/Kosova border crossings, and whether the situation is similar for those ethnic Albanians who enter Albania from Montenegro and Macedonia
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ALB25214.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Albania: Information from 1992 to present on whether ethnic Albanians from Kosova are legally permitted to cross into Albania from Kosova at Albania/Kosova border crossings, and whether the situation is similar for those ethnic Albanians who enter Albania from Montenegro and Macedonia, 1 October 1996, ALB25214.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acfe40.html [accessed 18 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
For information on the 1981 Yugoslav legislation requiring exit visas for travel to Albania, please consult the Kosova Daily Report attachments. For information on exit visas and ethnic Albanians travelling from Kosova to Albania via Macedonia, please consult the first two columns of page 38 of the 5 November 1993 RFE/RL Research Report attachment. For information on the ending of the exit visa requirement, please consult the 18 March 1996 Kosova Daily Report attachment and the ATA News Agency attachment.
For further information on the ability of ethnic Albanians from Kosova to travel to Albania, please consult the above-mentioned attachments, article d. of pages 904 and 905 of Country Reports 1992, page 1046 of Country Reports 1993, page 956 of Country Reports 1994, and article d. of pages 1016 and 1017 of Country Reports 1995, which are available at Regional Documentation Centres. For information on the movement of ethnic Albanians from Montenegro into Albania, please consult page 905 of Country Reports 1992.
In a telephone interview on 22 October 1996, a research associate responsible for Albania with Human Rights Watch in New York stated that since the lifting of the exit visa requirement in the spring of 1996, he has not heard of ethnic Albanians from Kosova having difficulty travelling to Albania. However, the source stated that ethnic Albanians in Kosova still encounter difficulty obtaining passports, and was unsure whether ethnic Albanians in Kosova whose passports were confiscated by the Yugoslav authorities have had their passports returned to them. The source also added that on 1 July 1996, an ethnic Albanian from Kosova was sentenced to one month imprisonment in Yugoslavia for unauthorized entry into Albania in 1993.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Human Rights Watch (HRW), New York. 22 October 1996. Telephone interview with research associate responsible for Albania.
Attachments
ATA News Agency [Tirana, in English]. 4 April 1996. "Foreign Relations; No Visa for People Coming out of Kosovo." (BBC Summary 7 Apr. 1996/NEXIS)
Kosova Daily Report [Pristina, in English]. 18 March 1996. "Kosovo: Paper Views Lifting of Visas to Albania." (FBIS-EEU-96-055 20 Mar. 1996, pp. 59-60)
_____. 8 February 1996. "Kosovo: Travelers to Albania Risk Passport Confiscation." (FBIS-EEU-96-030 13 Feb. 1996, pp. 71-72)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Research Institute. 5 November 1993. RFE/RL Research Report [Munich]. Vol. 2, No. 44. Fabian Schmidt. "Has the Kosovo Crisis Been Internationalized?", pp. 35-39.
