Guide
Moving to Albania
What the move actually involves: entry, residence, registration, banking, housing and the things people underestimate.
In plain language
This section is about living in Albania rather than visiting — how to stay legally, what things cost, how healthcare works, and what people find hardest.
These pages are educational. Immigration, tax, property and healthcare rules in Albania change and are applied with local variation. Nothing in this section is legal, tax, immigration, investment or medical advice, and anyone acting on it should take professional advice in Albania and in their own country.
Guides
14
Guide
The Cost of Living in Albania
Among the lowest cost bases in Europe — with Tirana and the summer coast as the two big exceptions.
Guide
Retiring in Albania
Why retirees look at Albania, what the practical constraints are, and the questions to answer before deciding.
Guide
Healthcare in Albania
A public system funded through compulsory insurance, a growing private sector concentrated in Tirana, and the reality…
Guide
Residence Permits and Visas
The routes to staying longer than 90 days, and why every one of them has to be checked against the current rules.
Guide
Buying Property in Albania
Foreign buyers may generally purchase built property — the risk is not the rule, it is the title.
Guide
Renting in Albania
Cheap by European standards, largely informal, and priced in euros in the places foreigners want.
Guide
Banking and Money in Albania
A foreign-owned banking sector, a partly euroised economy, and a country where cash still matters.
Guide
Tax in Albania: The Basics
A flat-ish personal income structure, a standard VAT rate, and a set of questions only an adviser can answer for you.
Guide
Albania for Remote Workers
A one-year permit route since 2022, cheap rent, fast urban internet, and a small but real community in Tirana.
Guide
Internet, Mobile and Utilities
Fibre in the cities, two main mobile networks, and an electricity supply that still has bad days.
Guide
Education and Schools
A nine-year compulsory base, a public university system centred on Tirana, and a handful of international schools.
Guide
Safety in Albania
Low levels of violent crime against visitors, a poor road-safety record, and a reputation shaped more by organised…
Guide
The Albanian Property Market
A market driven by the diaspora, tourism and construction — and shaped by an unresolved post-communist title history.
Universities
8
University
University of Tirana
Albania's oldest and largest university, formed from the merger of the country's first higher institutes.
University
Agricultural University of Tirana
The national centre for agronomy, veterinary medicine, forestry and food science.
University
University of Vlora 'Ismail Qemali'
A coastal university with a marine, maritime and technical focus.
University
Polytechnic University of Tirana
Albania's principal engineering and applied-science university, formerly the engineering faculties of the University…
University
University of Elbasan 'Aleksandër Xhuvani'
A central-Albania university built on the country's oldest teacher-training tradition.
University
University of Shkodra 'Luigj Gurakuqi'
The main public university of northern Albania.
University
University of Korça 'Fan S. Noli'
The public university of the south-eastern highlands.
University
University of Gjirokastra 'Eqrem Çabej'
The public university of the southern mountains.