UK and Albania pledge rapid removals of those entering UK illegally

Removals of Albanians with no right to be in the UK will be fast-tracked wherever possible, under new plans agreed to tackle the scourge of small boat crossings.

Speaking this week, Home Secretary Priti Patel and the Minister for Interior Affairs of Albania, Bledi Çuçi, pledged to intensify joint work to tackle the problem of large numbers of Albanians taking the treacherous journey to the UK across the Channel at the hands of people smugglers.

Those coming from Albania – a safe and prosperous country – are travelling through multiple countries to make the journey to the UK. Many then make spurious asylum claims when they arrive.

Through the Nationality and Borders Act, introduced by the Home Secretary, asylum claims may be inadmissible if someone travels through a safe third country before reaching the UK.

People coming through this route will have claims processed immediately, with those who have no right to be in the UK being removed as soon as possible.

The Albanian government has also offered senior law enforcement support to the UK to provide UK authorities with vital intelligence and to support processing.

Since the historic readmission agreement signed with Albania last year, nearly 1,000 Albanian foreign national offenders have been removed from the UK.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

“Large numbers of Albanians are being sold lies by ruthless people smugglers and vicious organised crime gangs, leading them to take treacherous journeys in flimsy boats to the UK. This abuse of our immigration system and people risking their lives cannot go on.

“Thanks to our excellent levels of co-operation with Albania, we will take every opportunity to speed up removals of Albanians with no right to be in the UK.

“I want to thank my counterpart Bledi Çuçi for the work he and his Government are doing - we are both steadfast in our commitment to stop this trend.”

 Minister for Interior Affairs of Albania Bledi Çuçi, said:

“We discourage these illegal and dangerous practices.

“The Home Secretary and I also discussed mid-term solutions to provide better opportunities for young people, and means of legal migration that enables skilled professionals and labour access to the UK.”

The UK and Albania work closely together to stop the exploitation of young Albanians being encouraged to come to the UK under false pretences and lies from callous criminal gangs.

To raise awareness of the risks and alternatives of arriving illegally via dangerous and unnecessary journeys, new hard-hitting Albanian language adverts were launched today (24 August), as part of a Home Office campaign.

The campaign, which fights back against the lies sold by people smuggling gangs on social media, is essential to tell people about new UK rules that will make it harder for those arriving illegally to remain and work in the UK.

Albanian adverts join those launched earlier this summer in key locations in France and Belgium, in the languages most frequently spoken by small boat arrivals.

The campaign’s guidance for people considering a small boat journey includes information about possible relocation to Rwanda or another safe country; restrictions on working and earning money; increased prison sentences for immigration offences; crucial information on safe alternative options while encouraging people to claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.

Notes to editors:

• The UK government works with the Albanian government on a range of issues, including signing a historic agreement to remove Albanian nationals with no right to be in the UK in 2021. Since then, we have removed nearly 1,000 Albanian foreign national offenders, including some who crossed the Channel illegally to come to the UK.
• These proposals will build on the readmissions agreement signed with Albania last year to speed up the processing of asylum applications from Albania, in order to identify those with no right to be here more quickly so they can be removed as soon as possible.
• The Home Secretary has signed five returns agreements in 15 months. The UK-Pakistan Readmissions Arrangement was signed on 17 August, and came after the Home Secretary signed new deals with Serbia and Nigeria this year, and Albania and India last year.
• Wider collaboration between the UK and Albania includes funding programmes to address modern slavery and human trafficking, and investment in additional security and law enforcement action.
• The communications campaign launched on 17 June. The adverts and campaign website on GOV.UK are translated into languages most used by those travelling to the UK through illegal and dangerous means. These are Arabic, Kurdish, Pashto, Vietnamese and Farsi – with Albanian adverts appearing from 24 August.
• Adverts will reach users who access Facebook and Instagram in these languages, in specific geographic regions in Northern France and Belgium, and who meet certain criteria – such as being away from home. 
• It is essential for people to have accurate information when considering life-threatening and illegal attempts to cross the Channel, and to know there are safe alternatives. It is a matter of long-standing government policy that people should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.
• Our New Plan for Immigration will strengthen the government-backed safe and legal routes available to those in need, so they don’t have to put their lives in the hands of people smugglers. Refugees coming to the UK through safe and legal routes will also be given more support to thrive in local communities.