TIRANA, March 23, 2023 – Starting on April 20, citizens of Albania will be able to travel visa-free to the United Arab Emirates, home of renowned cities and major airports, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the Albanian government has announced.
UAE citizens are also able to travel to Albania without visas, and the establishment of direct low-cost flights between Tirana and Dubai recently has increased travel between the two countries considerably. UAE has one of the world’s highest per capita GDPs, making it an attractive source of tourists for Albania.
The UAE deal marks the latest expansion of Albania’s passport visa-free map in Asia, with government officials noting that they are in talks for Japan that could also soon become a visa-free destination for Albanians.
Tirana recently reached a deal with China, giving Albanians visa-free access to the PRC mainland as well as signed a bilateral visa-free deal with Kazakhstan.
Going the other way, Albania has aggressively increased the list of countries it allows to unilaterally access the country visa-free, especially during the tourist season.
Last year, the Albanian government extended its seasonal visa-free travel to large new countries in Asia – India and Thailand. The two populous Asian countries join several Middle Eastern states that had been in the program before, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrein, Qatar and Oman.
Seasonal visa-free access to Albania means from May 1 to Sept. 30., but some countries have longer and year-long access.
