### GEN 1.3 Entry, transit and departure of passengers and crew

#### 1. Customs requirements

##### 1.1 Customs control

1.1.1 Aircraft, crew members, crew luggage, passengers, passenger baggage, and transported goods shall be subject to customs supervision at the first airport of arrival in the Republic of Albania.
1.1.2 Customs controls or formalities shall apply to hand luggage and passenger baggage of persons who are engaged in an aerial voyage within the Republic of Albania only when the customs legislation provides for such controls or formalities. These checks shall apply without prejudice to any of the following cases:

- security and safety controls;
- controls related to prohibitions or restrictions.

1.1.3 Passengers coming from another country into the Republic of Albania are exempted from import duties for the goods contained in their personal luggage.
1.1.4 Goods are exempted if they are not intended for commercial use. The goods intended for personal use or presents will benefit from the relief from Customs duties too.
1.1.5 The value of the goods that benefit from the exemption (excluding tobacco and alcohol products) is the equivalent in ALL as follows:

- 430 EUR for each passenger;
- 150 EUR for passengers under age of 15.

1.1.6 When entering or leaving the Republic of Albania, the passengers must declare the goods if they are of a value higher than the above mentioned limit and if they are intended for commercial purposes.
1.1.7 For goods of a non-commercial nature in the luggage of passengers exceeding the untaxable limit, the Customs declaration shall be made through the simplified procedure.
1.1.8 Passengers who are transferring to a flight to another country are not required to make any declaration to Customs.

##### 1.2 Tobacco, alcoholic drinks and coffee

1.2.1 The excise goods delivered by duty free shops and carried in the personal luggage of travelers leaving the territory of the Republic of Albania by air are exempted from payment of excise duties.
1.2.2 The goods delivered on the board of an aircraft during an international flight are also deemed as goods delivered from duty free shops.
1.2.3 The relief from import duties shall apply also for the goods listed below subject to the following quantitative limits per passenger:

a) tobacco products:

- 200 cigarettes, or
- 100 cigarillos (cigars of a maximum weight of three grams each), or
- 50 cigars, or
- 250 grams of smoking tobacco, or a proportional assortment of these different products.

b) alcohol’s and alcoholic beverages:

- distilled beverages and spirits of an alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 22% ABV; non-denatured ethyl alcohol of 80% ABV and over: one liter, or
- distilled beverages and spirits, and aperitifs with a wine or alcoholic base, tafia, sake‚ or similar beverages, of an alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 22% ABV; sparkling wines, liqueur wines: two liters, or a proportional assortment of these different products; and
- still wines two liters and 10 liters of beer.

c) personal use of coffee:

- 3 kg

1.2.4 No relief for alcohol and tobacco shall be granted to passengers under 17 years old.

##### 1.3 Cash declaration

1.3.1 Each passenger entering to or leaving from the territory of the Republic of Albania is obliged to declare the cash, any currency, precious metals or gems, valuable items, antiquaries, exceeding the value of 1 000 000 ALL (one million) or this sum in other currencies as well as the purpose of carrying them for which is needed to be presented the justifying documents.
1.3.2 The declaration is made by completing the Value Transport Report at the Border which can be found at Customs offices or can be downloaded from the official website of the General Directorate of Customs.
1.3.3 The declaration form is completed before passport control by Police and Security Authorities.

##### 1.4 Objects of cultural heritage and work of arts

1.4.1 Cultural heritage includes material and immaterial cultural property, personal and real estate too, as a whole cultural values carrying historical memory and national identity as well as of scientific or cultural significance.
1.4.2 Some of the cultural assets (personal estate) may be:

- different paintings, pictures, collections;
- books, manuscripts, historical documents, stamps;
- archeological objects, statues;
- various items of handicraft, ethnographic or historical value, etc.

1.4.3 Any individual who wishes to export outside the territory of the Republic of Albania an object of art or object constituting a legacy culture shall declare to the Customs Authorities and submit appropriate permits issued to him/her (accompanied by the passport of the object) by the National Center of Cultural Heritage Inventory or the Minister of Culture.

##### 1.5 Weapons and military goods

1.5.1 The weapons of category B and C and their ammunition are allowed to entry and exit into the territory of the Republic of Albania for purpose of trading, import, export, hunting, sports only with an authorization issued by the responsible body of the State Police.
1.5.2 Foreign citizens have the right to enter with firearms in the territory of the Republic of Albania only after they are equipped with a temporary authorization issued by the competent body of the State Police.
1.5.3 Military goods and dual-use goods and technology, even during import, export and transit for non-commercial purposes and kept by travelers in small quantities, are subject to licensing by the State Export Control Authority and are controlled by the Customs Service.

##### 1.6 Narcotics and psychotropic substances

1.6.1 The import, export, transit of plants, narcotic medicaments and psychotropic substances of natural or synthetic nature, their materials and their preparations in the territory of the Republic of Albania is prohibited.

#### 2. Immigration requirements

##### 2.1 Visa requirements

2.1.1 Entering and residing of foreign citizens in Albania is regulated by the Law on Aliens. The categories of foreign citizens that can enter Albania without a visa are published by the Albanian Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs via the official website.
2.1.2 All foreign citizens that can enter Albania without a visa are permitted to stay for a period of 90 days within 180 days from the date of first entry.
2.1.3 All foreign citizens from countries that are not included in the list are required to have a visa before travelling to Albania. They can apply for a visa in the Albanian embassy that is geographically close to their country of origin or residency.
2.1.4 No visas are required for passengers arriving and departing on the same through flight or transferring to another flight in cases, not requiring leaving the direct transit area of the airport.

##### 2.2 Documents required for travel

2.2.1 A person arriving in or departing from Albania is liable to be examined by a Border Force Officer and must present a valid passport or some other acceptable document satisfactorily establishing identity and nationality or citizenship, endorsed when necessary with a current Albanian visa or entry clearance.
2.2.2 In the case of an aircrew member arriving or departing as such, a valid crew licence or crew member certificate which includes a certification that the holder may at all times re-enter the state of issuance, is acceptable as a document of identity.
2.2.3 Passengers who are not Albanian citizens or other nationals of the EU will normally be required to produce completed landing cards to the Border Force Officer.

#### 3. Public health requirements

##### 3.1 Sanitary measures on arrival

3.1.1 Disembarking passengers are not required to present vaccination certificates except when coming directly from an area infected with cholera, yellow fever or smallpox.
3.1.2 Passengers arriving from an affected region or who may have been exposed to a potential public health risk during air travel may be contacted by public health authorities at their final destination to ascertain their health status.
3.1.3 The pilot in command of an aircraft shall, on landing at an airport, sign and deliver to the health authority for that airport a copy of that part of the Aircraft General Declaration which contains the health information.
3.1.4 The pilot in command of an aircraft shall supply any information required by the health authority as to health conditions on board during the voyage.
3.1.5 No sanitary measure, including vaccination, shall be applied to passengers and crew on healthy aircraft who are in transit through the territory of Albania and who remain in a direct transit area of the airport.

##### 3.2 Sanitary measures on departure

3.2.1 On departure, no health formalities are required.
3.2.2 The health authority of the airport may, when necessary, medically examine any person before his departure on an international journey. This examination shall be so arranged as to time and place, with regard to the customs examination and other formalities, as to avoid any delay.