Thousands of Albanians seek asylum in Germany

About 5,000 Albanians have been asking for asylum in Germany in the past few months, Albanian Daily News reported on Thursday.

Almost every day, especially in June, hundreds of Albanians waited in line to get a passport so that they could migrate to Germany. There were about 40 applications for passports every day. The time of getting a passport increased from two weeks to three because of the high number of requests.

Many families left their villages or towns and travelled to German camps, while others have travelled towards Shkodra, a city in northwest Albania, where they waited for people to help send them to Germany.

"Before and after Albanian local elections on June 21, there was an increased influx of people migrating to Germany. In fact, data showed that voters were offered euros and trips to Germany in exchange for their votes," local daily Panorama said.

The difficult economic conditions forced Albanians to leave their country in search of a better life. Many of the people who got ready to leave said that they hope to find a job in Germany.

In some regions, including the poorest Diber region, people cannot find jobs and have to depend on the financial support by their family members who work in other countries.

Albania's economy will stay on a low-growth trajectory in 2015 due to mounting government debts and a tepid economic outlook, UK-based market intelligence service Business Monitor International said in March. Endi