Italian authorities announced on April 11 that they would transfer 40 migrants to shelters in Albania, after Rome said the migrants no longer had permission to stay in Italy.
This is the first time that a European Union country is sending migrants to a country outside the EU after their asylum request has been rejected.
The Italian government has not published the nationality of the migrants or other details about them.
The migrants will stay in two centers in Albania – run by Italy – one in the port of Shëngjin and one in Gjadra. The centers have been set up to house migrants rescued at sea by Italy while their asylum applications are processed.
But since the centers were inaugurated in October last year, Italian courts have banned authorities from using them and small groups of migrants have returned to Italy.
It is not clear how long migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected can stay in Albania. Under Italian law, they can be arrested and held for up to 18 months, pending deportation proceedings.
The Italian government, led by Giorgia Meloni, last month approved a decree that expands the use of migrant centers in Albania, enabling people whose asylum applications have been rejected and deportation orders have been issued to be sent there. /REL