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Albania officially reopened its borders for tourism on July 1,, 2020 allowing tourists from all countries and nations to enter without restrictions.

Albania started lifting restrictions on June 1st for its closest neighbors crossing via land borders, and finally lifted all entry restrictions and travel bans for air and sea borders as of July 1st.

All foreign citizens can now travel to Albania for the purposes of tourism.

albania opens borders

Below we have more detailed information about what’s open in Albania, the health and safety protocols tourists should know about, and any testing/quarantine rules or entry requirements that might be put into effect.

albania opens border for tourists

Countries Allowed To Travel To Albania

All foreign citizens are now permitted to travel to Albania.

All normal ‘pre-covid’ entry requirements apply, like having a valid passport or Visa if necessary based on your nationality.

Note for US Citizens:

  • The US embassy page for Albania has not been updated since June 15, 2020. On June 15th, they stated Albania was not yet open for US citizens, however many sources now tell us it is. We have confirmed with local consulates, embassies, local press, Iata and even the official border police that all covid-related entry restrictions or bans have now been lifted. However, Americans should always contact their consulate for clarification before traveling.
albania opening again for tourism

Entry Requirements For Albania

Albania’s borders are open for all nations to visit, but there are a few things travelers should know about entry requirements, even though they are pretty easy compared to other countries.

  • All passengers arriving to Albania should follow distancing protocol of 1.5 meters and wear face masks on the flight and in the airport.
  • In the arrivals area, all travelers will have their temperature measured with a calibrated thermometer
  • Persons tested with a temperature above 37.5 degrees are not allowed to enter the airport and additional verification procedures will be carried out for them. Persons with a temperature above 37.5 degrees will enter the special area of quarantine.

Masks in Albania:

As of October 15, 2020 wearing masks in both indoor and OUTDOOR public spaces is mandatory 

albania reopening

Testing and Quarantine Protocols for Albania

None in effect. Currently there is no mandatory testing on arrival, no negative-PCR tests needed, and no quarantines for arrivals from certain countries.

Tests and/or quarantines will only be applied to symptomatic travelers.

visit albania

What’s Open in Albania

As of June 1st, here is what tourists can expect to be open in Albania:

  • Professional sporting events have resumed, with no spectators allowed to attend.
  • Malls and shops are open with strict social distancing guidelines in place.
  • Hairdressers and dentists are open with strict social distancing guidelines in place.
  • Restaurants and cafes 
  • All indoor activity centers for children, gyms, sports centers, swimming pools, internet cafes, cultural centers, and entertainment centers
  • Beaches 
  • Outdoor exercise
  • Libraries and museums
  • Public transportation has resumed with limited service and social distancing.
  • All maritime and air borders have reopened.
  • Hotels and other tourist accommodations
albania reopening tourism

Have Flights Resumed To Albania?

Yes, commercial fights resumed June 15 from select countries, and reopened to most other destinations by June 22.

There are direct flights to many European cities into Tirana daily.

Some examples of cities Tirana currently flies direct to include: London, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Zurich, Prague, Vienna, Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Kyiv, Belgrade, and Budapest.

Airlines offering the most availability include: Wizz Air, Air Albania and Albawings.

If you need to transit through the EU to get to Albania, read our EU transit airport guide.

entry requirements for albania

Visiting Albania

Albania is situated between Greece and Montenegro on stunning Adriatic and Ionian coastlines. Visitors will love the variety of beautiful beaches, cities with historical ruins, and towns perched in the mountains. 

The official currency is the Albanian Lek, but Euros are widely accepted as well. 

All visitors should have valid travel insurance when visiting Albania.

albania

Read More: See our complete guide of countries now reopen for international tourism, which countries are open for British, Canadian and American tourists, and travel insurance that covers covid.

Sources: Interview with the Embassy of Albania / Albania Border Police / Iata / US embassy in Albania

Disclaimer: Albania’s reopening news is ever-changing and being updated constantly. We do our best to keep this article up to date with all the latest information, but the decision to travel is ultimately your responsibility. Contact your consulate and/or local authorities to confirm your nationality’s entry and/or any changes to travel requirements before traveling.

For the latest re-opening Travel News and discussions, join our: Facebook Community

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Article originally published July 11, 2020
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49 Responses

  1. Mohammad Burhanuddin Reply

    I want to travel albenia.so what are the document needed?

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      Hello Mohammad. I outline every requirement very clearly in this article. Please re-read and it will answer every question you have.

      For normal (non-covid related) entry requirements like a Visa, you should look up/google if your country required one to enter or not

  2. CKM Reply

    To add data points – I am a U.S. citizen and have been in Ukraine for the past four months. I flew from Odesa to Tirana via Istanbul today. I was able to enter both Turkey (with eVisa) and Albania. At check-in in Istanbul, the Albanian Airlines employee made a phone call before giving me my ticket. (Side note: The flight was overbooked and they may have prioritized based on Albanian citizenship.) I filled out a health information sheet at check-in and also filled out a passenger information sheet on the flight. Other than those two sheets of paper, there were no additional requirements (no required insurance, no required quarantine). Entry into Albania at the airport was smooth with no additional questions.

    I met a U.S. citizen who had flown from Los Angeles to Istanbul the day before with Turkish Airlines. He joined me on my flight and also did not have any trouble entering Albania.

    Also, the Turkish eVisa online took less than ten minutes to receive last week. Ukraine did not fine me upon exit for spending over 90 days there in a 180 day period.

    • Stanley

      did you just use istanbul to transit to albania? did you need an evisa? or other documents? thanks

    • CKM

      I had a twelve hour layover for my connecting flight in Istanbul Airport. Even though they are members of the same alliance and I booked the entire journey through Turkish Airlines’ website, Turkish Airlines did not send my checked baggage to my final destination. I had to pick it up in Istanbul baggage claim which required passing through the border control. Getting through the border control required the eVisa. I spent the night in the quiet, empty baggage claim section of Istanbul Airport and checked my luggage in through Air Albania the next morning.

      Note – Turkish Airlines was not allowing bags over 4kg as carry on.

      I strongly recommend getting the eVisa. These are not normal times in the airline industry and it gives you more options.

  3. Nanz Ru Reply

    Hello. I am in The US at the moment looking into going to Albania. I have not been able to find direct flights. What will happen if my end destination is Albania but I need to make a stop somewhere where entry from American is not allowed do to COVID? I will really appreciate if someone can help me with this inquiry.

    • Steve

      Hi, I’m a Indian citizen with valid multiple entry B1/B2 visa and C1D visa, will I be able to enter Albania on any one of these 2 visas or I need to apply for a tourist visa, Also is Albania issuing tourist visas to Indian citizens.
      Thank you 🙏

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      Hi Steve, Albania is open to tourists from all countries, but with the proper visa of course, if needed. I am not sure if they are issuing new visas or not at the moment, so it would be best to contact the consulate to see

    • Jenny

      Hi Steve . Yes you can enter albania for up to 90 days using your B1/B2 American visa . I’ve already did it before. You don’t need an e-visa like in Turkey . When you enter albania , you just have to show your passport with an American visa on it . They’ll check it and done! They give you back your passport and you’re good to go .

      PS: I’m Filipino citizen btw .

    • Steve

      Hi Jenny did they check how many times you used your B1/B2 visa or simply checked the visa page and allowed you to go, also anything else was asked like travelers insurance and ur accommodation details etc,

      Pls advise,
      Thanks
      Steve

    • Vaibhav Srivastava

      Kindly go through this

      “https://punetejashtme.gov.al/en/regjimi-i-vizave-per-te-huajt/”

      Visa free entry for the duration mentioned.

    • Steve

      Hi Vaibhav, thanks for the link, I’m planning to travel soon to Albania and hence need accurate info, I have renewed my B1/B2 last year and hence couldn’t use it, although I have previous visa which I have used several times, also I do have valid C1D multiple entry visa, which I have also used several times, do u reckon I can enter on this visa as well, or it’s only specific to B1/B2 visa.

    • Vaibhav Srivastava

      Do you have an Indian Passport ?
      If yes, just pack up and go, no need for visa if the travelling is between the specific dates mentioned in the link.

      However, beyond those dates, if you have US Visa, then also you can go past visa free.

      Cheers.

  4. J Reply

    Thanks for keeping us up to date, one update or maybe something I would stress on AMS is an embassy update:

    Travelers without evidence of legal residency in the EU have been denied entry at Schiphol airport when seeking to enter the Netherlands or transit the Netherlands on their way to another EU country. Please note that even if another EU country is willing to grant entry to a non-EU resident under a country-specific exemption, that exemption from the travel restrictions may not be accepted by the Dutch Government. U.S. citizens not resident in the EU seeking to enter another EU country should NOT transit Schiphol Airport. Post highly recommends obtaining a direct flight from the U.S. to the country in the EU that will be granting the exemption to the travel restrictions.

    Since Croatia is part of the EU and some people here may try to transit through AMS.

  5. jashfer Reply

    in a filipina and i want to come to albania inshallah by nxt year. is it not to much hard for me to travel for the first time? or are they strict in immigration as well?

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      Hello. Travelers from the Philippines will need a visa 🙂
      But there are no covid-related restrictions for this country, so all nations can visit with a valid visa

  7. alex Reply

    hello, i am from sri lanka and i wanted to know if i would need a visa to travel to this country ! cause i cannot meet my wife who lives in japan so i would really appricate the help !

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      Hi Alex, yes, I believe that Sri Lanka DOES need a visa to enter ALbania. You can easily Google it to confirm, but I believe so.
      Japan does not require one

  8. Ceinwen Reply

    Hi Kashlee! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. I am in US at the moment and a US citizen (as well as British, but my husband is US only), can we travel to Albania and after a period of time go to Greece? I think I read somewhere else that citizenship doesn’t matter for enter to Greece but what matters is where you have been the last 14 days? Please advise 🙂 thanks in advance!

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      Hi there! 🙂

      Okay, so Greece states on their government site they are accepting people based on location+ residency, but many travelers have gotten in just by location for the past 14 days, so that is a little unknown. Greece is more relaxed than other EU nation for sure, but they still do state ‘residency’ is a factor on their site, so be aware of that.

      As for coming from Albania, it is not an approved country to travel to greece at this time, so that will not help your case at all. Here are all the countries than can travel to Greece right now (Click HERE to read)

    • Ceinwen

      Thanks for the speedy response! Ah okay so then I’d have to do Croatia then and still might be gamble since I don’t have permanent residency in EU.

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      Exactly! 🙂 Everything really is a gamble right now. Writing on these countries reopening all day, every day, I see rules change faster than lightning, so it’s a very tough time to know for SURE what will happen. You have to be able to accept some risk

  9. Lukas Reply

    Hello i have question i want to buy travel from itaka polish office travel all inclusive 8 days to durres. I am from Poland my girlfriend from Ukraine she has two passport visa6 and biometric can we fly them without any problems only take with us passport ? Or we have take medical insurance or something? Thanks for the answer wish you have a good day 😉

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      Hi Lukas.
      Albania is open for all nations to visit 🙂
      Yes, you should both have travel health insurance as well.

  10. Analia Reply

    Hello I am from argentina.i book a ferry from brindisi to vlora and they do not let me take it because they said I need a worki g permit.i am going on vacation?

  11. David kim Reply

    Hello?
    how about south korean to enter in albania?
    and EU citizens can enter it without a visa, right?

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      Hello – The article states “open to all nations”, so yes, South Korea would be included in that for entry.
      You can Google which nations normally require a Visa to visit Albania and you will find a list

  12. Za Azmi Reply

    Hey Kashlee, you’re so patient answering all the questions especially when you already mentioned “open to all nations”! Kudos to you 🙂

  13. Vitaliy Reply

    Trying to find information about Albania land borders crossing.

    I’m ukrainian citizen and I’d want to go to Montenegro via flight, then cross land border with Albania and then return home from Tirana via flight. Does land border to Albania from Montenegro open for me? Should I have Covid test ?

    Thanks in advance!

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      Sorry, I have conflicting info about land borders right now, so it will be best to ask local authorities.
      However, to my knowledge, no tests are needed for Albania

  14. Craig Reply

    Would you mind updating this article especially regarding entry restrictions? Are they back to precovid status quo? I’ve tried looking at official sources but what I’ve found feels very open to interpretation.

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      I am not sure what you mean? The article is accurate and does not need any updates, as nothing has changed (to our knowledge) since their reopening.

  15. d Reply

    Hello I am an United States Resident. I do not need a Visa since I have my green card? and If I travel to Albania, I cannot travel to Germany?

  16. doris Reply

    Is Germany open to Us residents? Is Albania open to us residents? Also, can we travel by train to go to another country? or they will check passports. I message an I never got an answer from you guys.

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      Hi Doris – We get hundreds of messages a day, so comments are an easier way to reach us during this extremely busy time.
      Germany is not open to US
      Albania is open for all, like this article clearly explains.
      Travel is not as it usually is across Europe and lots of passports are being checked, so you should only attempt to enter countries you are permitted to.

  17. Andres Reply

    Hi,
    I require a Covid-19 PCR Test to fly back to my country from Albania.
    Is it easy to find a certified lab in Tirana or any other city around the country? How long does it take to get the results, and how much does it cost average? Thanks.

  18. Karim Reply

    Am from Gambia I really want to be in Albania in 31december what can I do

  19. Kaoutar Benzzine Reply

    Pls if I can apply for a Visa from UAE because I’m uae resident thank you

  20. Mark Reply

    Yes, thanks for all you’re doing. Could you explain what you mean when you state “… should have travel insurance. ”
    Is that your personal opinion or is it Albania government policy? Imho you should make the distinction clear

    • Kashlee Kucheran

      should, as in “all smart travellers should have travel insurance”
      not, mandatory as in, “Albania requires the purchase of mandatory travel insurance to enter”

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