POSTERN

Albania

Digital nomad residence permit. A residence permit (distinct from the U.S. visa-free allowance) for remote workers of any nationality who want a longer, renewable legal base in Albania.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 27, 2026

Digital nomad residence permit

A residence permit typically issued for 1 year, renewable to 2 years while conditions continue.

Who qualifies

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

1

Does it fit your family?

2 questions, from the program’s own rules.

Steady monthly income, from any source?

Not legal advice.

2

What it takes.

Income
At least $440 a month, steady and documented.
Time
About 4–8 weeks for the permit.
Cost
About $200–400 in permit and translation fees.
The hard part
Albania's own digital-nomad statute is newer and less standardised in practice than its neighbours', so processing times, document lists and the income figure caseworkers actually expect vary by office; confirm the current number with the office you file with.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

3

Citizens by 2035.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

  1. 2027
    First residence permit

    1 year, renewable for 1 year at a time.

  2. 2028
    Renew the permit

    Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 1 year.

  3. 2029
    Renew the permit

    Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 1 year.

  4. 2030
    Renew the permit

    Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 1 year.

  5. 2031
    Renew the permit

    Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 1 year.

  6. 2032
    Permanent residence

    Five years in a row as a resident, counted from your first residence permit application. You may be away up to 6 months at a time and 10 months in total. You also need lawful income, health insurance, housing and taxes paid. Study years count half.

  7. 2034
    Apply for citizenship

    With a language test and a civics test.

  8. 2035
    Citizenship
Language
Albanian, spoken and written, certified by a recognised school or university.
Civics
Basic knowledge of Albanian history, tested under rules set by the universities.
Time away
Seven years of continuous lawful residence, and a valid permanent residence permit on the day you apply. The permanent permit itself allows absences of up to 6 months at a time and 10 months in total over five years.
Two passports
Yes. You keep your U.S. citizenship.
  • The first digital-nomad permit lasts 1 year. Nomad residence is not excluded from the 5 years to permanent residence, which you must hold when you apply for citizenship at 7 years.
  • The citizenship law was read in an English translation hosted by GLOBALCIT, not the official gazette. Amendments after 2020 were reported but not checked.
  • No official processing time for naturalisation was found.
  • AL-DNV: the law fixes the first nomad permit at 1 year. The length of renewals is not stated for this permit; the general rule allows 1-year permits renewed at least 5 times in a row.
  • How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
The law behind these dates
4

Living there.

Time you must spend there
No fixed day-count is set in the statute, but the permit is for genuinely living in Albania while working remotely.
Tax
Foreign-sourced remote income is exempt from Albanian income tax for qualifying digital nomads for the first 12 months, and more broadly through 2030 under the temporary incentive.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

5

Start today.

  1. Apply through e-Albania or a local immigration lawyer for the digital nomad residence permit.Open e-albania.al ↗
  2. Round up the papers.
    • Proof of steady income: at least $440 a month
    • Request your FBI Identity History Summary
    • Health insurance that meets the program’s rules
6

Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

21 steps, from the first paper to the passport. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →
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ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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