In Albania, as in many parts of the Western Balkans, Romani communities continue to face a disproportionate risk of statelessness. This is not new, it’s rooted in a long history of discrimination, displacement, and systemic barriers to accessing civil documentation. For many Romani individuals, the lack of a birth certificate or identity document doesn’t just mean missing paperwork, it means being shut out of education, healthcare, employment, and legal protections for them and their families. It means being unable to pass on the security of citizenship to their children.
In recent years, Tirana Legal Aid Society (TLAS) and Roma Active Albania have been working closely with ENS and its members and partners across the Western Balkans region to address these issues - most recently, through our work supported by the Roma Integration Phase III Joint Programme of the European Union and Council of Europe. We’ve carried out joint advocacy, legal support, and community outreach helping bring attention to the issue of Roma statelessness and supporting the development of practical solutions to address it.
Progress made, but barriers remain
Albania has taken important steps in recent years. It’s a party to key international conventions on statelessness and nationality, and domestic reforms like 2020 amendments to the Law on Citizenship and the introduction of a Statelessness Determination Procedure (SDP) in 2021, have laid a stronger legal foundation.
These changes, combined with concerted civil society advocacy and increased institutional focus, have had a real impact. The number of people recorded as stateless in Albania dropped from over 7,400 in the 2011 census to just over 200 in 2023.
But legal reforms alone aren’t enough. Many Roma families still face serious challenges when trying to register births or obtain identity documents. For example, undocumented parents often find themselves stuck in a bureaucratic loop: they can’t register their child’s birth without their own documents, but they can’t get documents without proving their child’s birth. Home births, lack of awareness, fear of authorities, antigypsyism, and limited access to services (especially in rural areas) only make things harder.
These barriers don’t just affect individuals, they risk perpetuating intergenerational statelessness, where children inherit their lack of citizenship from their parents.
M.S.’s story: from invisibility to recognition
M.S., a young Romani woman, left Albania for Greece in 2020. She gave birth to two children there, both at home and without medical assistance, and their exact birth dates were not recorded. When she returned to Albania in 2024, she had no income, no support, and no way to prove her children’s identities. They were living on the streets when the Child Protection Unit in Tirana intervened.
With support from TLAS, M.S. was able to take her case to court. Using a combination of witness testimony, health centre confirmation, and DNA evidence, the court recognised the children’s births. They were finally registered and recognised as Albanian citizens.
This recognition opened the door to vital support including social assistance, vaccinations, and access to nursery and kindergarten for the children. It also gave the family something more fundamental: legal identity, citizenship, and a chance at a better future.
A regional and international wake-up call
M.S.’s story is not unique. It reflects broader patterns of exclusion that have been recognised at the international level. In 2025, the UN Human Rights Committee issued a landmark decision in Rexha and Faslliu v. Albania, concerning three Roma children born in Greece whose births were refused registration by Albanian authorities. The Committee found that Albania’s legal framework placed an undue burden on Roma families and reaffirmed that birth registration is a fundamental human right.
The decision sends a clear message: States must take proactive steps to ensure universal and unconditional access to birth registration, especially for children born abroad to undocumented parents.
Emerging risks and the need for renewed focus
Despite progress, new challenges are emerging. Civil society organisations in Albania have raised concerns about so-called “fictitious marriages,” where women are paid to marry men who have been returned from Western Europe. The women are then abandoned and face serious legal hurdles when trying to register their children, who are automatically recorded as the children of the absent husband.
Statelessness is also increasingly affecting returnees from abroad more widely, particularly those from Romani communities. Many struggle to prove their citizenship or access civil documentation. Albania’s statelessness determination procedure currently excludes people without lawful residence or those seeking asylum from applying for statelessness determination, leaving many in legal limbo. Naturalisation remains difficult, with long residence requirements and high fees acting as barriers.
Accurate, disaggregated data is essential to address these issues. Yet concerns remain that Romani communities were undercounted in the 2023 census. Mapping efforts like TLAS’s 2018 survey, which identified over 1,000 children at risk of statelessness, show how data can drive targeted reforms.
What needs to happen next
Ending statelessness is not just about changing laws, it’s about changing systems, practices, and mindsets. Albania has made important progress, but this is at risk of being lost as the issue is deprioritised by donors and funding for legal aid, advocacy, and capacity building is cut. We and, most importantly, our members in the region, urgently need resourcing to be able to continue their vital work to support affected individuals and advocate for reforms to law, policy, and practice.
This means donors, governments, and regional and international institutions stepping up to invest urgently in work to:
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Strengthen implementation of existing laws and procedures.
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Remove practical barriers that prevent Roma families from registering births or accessing documentation.
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Invest in outreach and awareness, especially in rural and marginalised communities.
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Ensure inclusive data collection to enable effective planning and service delivery.
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Centre the expertise and leadership of affected communities in policy and practice solutions.
With inclusive policies, urgent investment, coordinated efforts across government, civil society, and international partners, and sustained political will, Albania can build on its progress and continue to contribute meaningfully to regional and global efforts to end statelessness.
This article has been produced using the funds of the Roma Integration Phase III Joint Programme of the European Union and Council of Europe. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union or the Council of Europe.
