Former barrister David Neale, who has worked closely with refugee Albanian boys and young men, refutes the Home Office idea that these young people do not need protection. He writes that many have been trafficked and abused, or threatened by blood feuds, which are still common in Albania. The Albanian government does not offer adequate protection to vulnerable young men targeted by these feuds. They may become victims because of something their fathers, grandfathers or even a distant cousin may have done.

 

Unfortunately, these young people are not provided with adequate support when they arrive in the UK. 176 of the 200 asylum-seeking children who have gone missing from hotels run by the Home Office are Albanian.

The Oxford Migration Observatory, part of the University of Oxford, has data showing that 90 per cent of initial asylum applications by Albanian women in the year up to June 2022 were approved. This is thought to be because the women had been trafficked.

Albanian asylum applications take longer to process than those from other nationalities. 35 per cent took more than three years, according to Observatory data.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/commentaries/albanian-asylum-seekers-in-the-uk-and-eu-a-look-at-recent-data/

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/08/albanian-children-britain-home-office-asylum-seekers