Italian parliament approves law to transfer irregular migrants to Albania
Agreement with Albania marks 1st time EU member state transferred migrants to non-EU country for asylum processing
ROME
Italy’s parliament on Wednesday passed a controversial law allowing the transfer of irregular migrants from domestic repatriation centers to newly established migrant facilities in Albania.
The legislation, originally issued as a decree by the right-wing coalition government in March, received final approval after passing both chambers of parliament.
The measure enables the relocation of irregular migrants already subject to deportation orders by Italian courts.
Under a bilateral agreement signed in November 2023 between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, adult male migrants rescued in the Mediterranean can be held in Albanian centers while their asylum claims are processed.
The Senate passed the decree with 90 votes in favor and 56 against, following its earlier approval in the Chamber of Deputies.
The government previously transferred 40 irregular migrants to Albania under this framework on April 11, later deporting several of them from those facilities.
Despite government support, the initiative has sparked criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups, who accuse the Meloni administration of wasting public funds.
Legal obstacles have also hampered the plan’s implementation, with Italian courts ordering the return of three separate groups of migrants sent to Albania in late 2024 and early 2025.
On the same day that the migrant law passed the lower house, lawmakers approved changes to Italy's citizenship regulations.
The reform restricts citizenship claims based on ancestry ("jus sanguinis") to people with an Italian grandparent, excluding those whose lineage extends back to great-grandparents or earlier.
The agreement with Albania marks the first time an EU member state has transferred migrants to a non-EU country for asylum processing.
