Advocacy platform Tavolo Asilo e Immigrazione reported on 24 February that Italy has stepped up transfers of irregular migrants from domestic reception centres to the purpose-built facility in Gjader, Albania. During inspection visits on 23–24 February, delegates counted around 90 detainees – the highest number since the bilateral protocol entered into force in late 2024. Two recent charter flights each moved roughly 35 people, dwarfing the previous average of ten per transfer. NGOs argue the escalation seeks to “normalise” extra-territorial detention even though the protocol’s legality is being challenged before the EU Court of Justice. Government sources counter that the arrangement eases pressure on Italy’s over-crowded CPR network and preserves humanitarian standards.
![Italy’s Albania off-shoring plan accelerates: record 90 migrants held in Gjader]()
Amid these shifts, organisations and individuals who still need to obtain lawful entry to Italy—for work, study, or urgent humanitarian reasons—can benefit from specialist support. VisaHQ’s dedicated Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers step-by-step application assistance, real-time status tracking and expert advice on the latest procedural changes, helping travellers and HR teams stay compliant while the legal landscape evolves.
The spike has several global-mobility implications. First, maritime rescue NGOs and shipping insurers must factor in longer disembarkation chains and potential jurisdictional disputes. Second, corporate relocation managers dealing with accompanied asylum seekers – for example, Ukrainian tech staff – need clarity on whether certain humanitarian visa pathways might now involve remote processing. Legal experts say the Gjader model could preview wider EU outsourcing schemes, noting Denmark’s Rwanda project and the UK-Albania returns deal. If upheld in court, companies employing migrant labour may see faster removal of workers who lose status, intensifying the need for rigorous ongoing right-to-work checks.
Amid these shifts, organisations and individuals who still need to obtain lawful entry to Italy—for work, study, or urgent humanitarian reasons—can benefit from specialist support. VisaHQ’s dedicated Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers step-by-step application assistance, real-time status tracking and expert advice on the latest procedural changes, helping travellers and HR teams stay compliant while the legal landscape evolves.
The spike has several global-mobility implications. First, maritime rescue NGOs and shipping insurers must factor in longer disembarkation chains and potential jurisdictional disputes. Second, corporate relocation managers dealing with accompanied asylum seekers – for example, Ukrainian tech staff – need clarity on whether certain humanitarian visa pathways might now involve remote processing. Legal experts say the Gjader model could preview wider EU outsourcing schemes, noting Denmark’s Rwanda project and the UK-Albania returns deal. If upheld in court, companies employing migrant labour may see faster removal of workers who lose status, intensifying the need for rigorous ongoing right-to-work checks.
