On Friday, Italian authorities transferred 40 migrants who had been denied asylum to detention centres in Albania managed by Italy.
This marks the first time in EU history that a member state has relocated rejected asylum seekers to a third country that is neither their place of origin nor a transit country.
According to Italian media reports, the migrants departed from the port city of Brindisi. Their nationalities and further details of the transfer have not been officially disclosed. The individuals are now being held in two specially constructed and Italian-operated facilities located in the Albanian towns of Shëngjin and Gjadër. These centres were originally built to process asylum requests from migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea, but their operation has been limited since opening in October 2023 due to legal challenges.
It remains unclear how long the migrants will stay in Albania. Under Italian law, rejected asylum seekers can be held for up to 18 months while awaiting deportation.
Since the beginning of 2025, 11,438 migrants have landed on Italy’s shores — fewer than the 16,090 recorded during the same period last year, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.
