Language
An official website of the United States government
An official website of the United States government
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
You can make an appointment by visiting our Online Consular Calendar. For more urgent issues that may not be accommodated through our normal scheduling process, please contact us directly at ACSTirana@state.gov.
In case of an emergency involving a U.S. citizen, please call the Embassy at +355-(0)-4224-7285 and ask to speak with the American Citizen Services Unit, or, after hours, with the duty officer. Emergency services include the loss of a U.S. passport and the arrest, life-threatening illness, or death of a U.S. citizen. Please note that our American Citizen Services staff cannot answer visa questions.
To help serve you as efficiently as possible, the Embassy provides routine services, such as passport renewals, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, and notarials by appointment only. Please click on the service you need by visiting the links below to access instructions on how to schedule an appointment.
If you are living or traveling in Albania, we urge you to sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive notifications from the Embassy and so that we can contact you in case of emergency. You can also find detailed information on country conditions and entry requirements on the State Department’s Country Specific Information page for Albania.
For the latest worldwide security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should monitor the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs webpage. You can also get up-to-date information on security by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S., or, for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-317-472-2328. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except for U.S. Federal Holidays.)
Our website is the fastest way to get information on the services we provide, but if you have searched and can’t find the answer you are looking for, feel free to email us at ACSTirana@state.gov. You can also reach us during business hours by calling +355-(0)-4224-7285 and asking for American Citizen Services. Please understand that our Citizen Services staff cannot answer visa questions.
While in Albania, every U.S. citizen is subject to local laws and regulations. If you violate the law in Albania, even unknowingly, you may be expelled, fined, arrested, or imprisoned.
The judicial process can be lengthy. Living conditions in prisons are improving, but are still quite difficult. Prisoners live in close quarters and have limited access to telephones. Typically, family members will purchase toiletries, comfortable bedding and personal articles for the prisoner.
If you, a family member, or a friend is arrested in Albania, please notify the American Citizen Services Unit at +355-(0)-4224-7285 or by email at acstirana@state.gov.
The American Citizen Services Unit (ACS) at the U.S. Embassy in Tirana can assist family and friends in the event of the death of a U.S. citizen in Albania. The ACS unit can act as liaison in arranging the disposition of remains and help with forwarding personal effects. The family or legal representative must pay all funeral home charges, shipping costs for the remains and personal effects (if applicable). The ACS unit will work with the funeral home selected by the family to ensure proper documentation for shipment of remains to the United States.
Even if no assistance is needed in making funeral arrangements, the death of a U.S. citizen, whether resident or tourist in Albania, should be reported to the ACS unit so that we can issue a Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad. This document is necessary to settle legal and estate matters in the United States.
International Parental Child Abduction
The Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues works to resolve and prevent cases of international parental child abduction and to help children and families involved in abduction cases. For more information, see our international parental child abduction page on travel.state.gov.
The Department of State helps U.S. citizens who are victims of crime overseas. We connect crime victims with police and other services and provide information and resources to assist with physical, emotional, and/or financial injuries from crime.
If you are the victim of a crime in Albania, contact local police to report the incident and obtain immediate assistance. The equivalent of the U.S. 911 in Albania is 129. Request a copy of the police report.
Contact our office at +355-(0)-4224-7285 and ask for the American Citizen Services Unit. In case of an after-hours emergency ask to speak with the duty officer.
The U.S. Embassy in Tirana may only offer emergency passport appointments under the following conditions:
U.S. citizens in need of emergency financial assistance while abroad should first attempt to contact their family, friends, banking institution, or employer. Our American Citizen Services unit can assist in this effort, if necessary.
To transfer funds commercially to Albania, the fastest way is through Western Union. Western Union in Albania is operated by Financial Union Tirana. In order to retrieve the money sent by family or friends through Western Union to Albania, all you need is a valid identity document and the Money Transfer Control Number provided to you by the money sender. You can use the Western Union website to track the money transfer online. For more information, contact Financial Union Tirana’s Client Services:
Sending Money through the U.S. Department of State
When the commercial options listed above are not available or feasible, family or friends may send funds via the U.S. Department of State for delivery to a destitute U.S. citizen abroad at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. The U.S. Department of State assesses a $30 fee to establish an account and transfer funds.
Destitute U.S. citizens may be eligible for a loan from the U.S. government to travel to the United States. Repatriation loans must eventually be paid back to the U.S. government. Your U.S. passports will be limited at the time the loan is issued and in most cases you will not be issued a new passport until the loan is paid in full. Contact us for more information.
Consular Affairs (CA) is the public face of the Department of State for millions of people around the world. We provide many services, and the most common are listed below.
U.S. Citizens overseas can renew passports, replace passports, or apply for new passports.
If you are a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder), you are responsible for filing U.S. federal income tax returns while abroad. You will find useful information on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website, such as Frequently Asked Questions about taxes or how to apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
If you are a U.S. dual citizen or U.S. citizen living outside of the United States, you can register with the Selective Service System.
If you reside in Albania and have questions regarding services provided by the Social Security Administration (SSA), contact the SSA Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) in Rome, Italy. For more information on their services and how to contact them, please visit their webpage at https://it.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/fbu/. For comprehensive information on SSA’s services abroad, please visit SSA’s webpage Service Around the World. If you are already receiving SSA benefits payments, there will be no change in the method of distribution of those payments.
U.S. service members, veterans, and their beneficiaries can apply for benefits on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website. The Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) may also be able to help veterans and beneficiaries with questions about benefits and services.
Depending on where you are eligible to vote, you may get your ballot by email, fax, or internet download. To start, complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) here. Print, sign, and return the FPCA to your local U.S. election office. Include your email address so election officials can reach you if there is a problem. If your state delivers ballots electronically by fax only, include your fax number. If you request electronic delivery and include your email address or fax number, you will receive your blank ballot 45 days before general and mid-term elections and generally 30 days before special, primary, and run-off elections for federal offices. We recommend completing a new FPCA each January, or when you move.
The Department of State assumes no responsibility or liability for the professional ability or reputation of, or the quality of services provided by, the entities or individuals whose names appear on the following lists. Inclusion on this list is in no way an endorsement by the Department or the U.S. government. Names are listed alphabetically, and the order has no other significance. The information on the list is provided directly by the local service providers; we cannot vouch for this information.
Legal Assistance Medical AssistanceU.S. citizens traveling or living in Albania are subject to its laws and policies. The Embassy has no jurisdiction over judicial matters in Albania, and we are prohibited from providing legal advice or other legal services (22 CFR 92.81). The information in this site relating to Albanian laws and policies is provided for general information only and may not be totally accurate in a particular case. Questions involving interpretation of specific Albanian laws should be addressed to local counsel.
National Emergency Line: 112. Medical Emergency Line: 127 (info@urgjenca.gov.al) (http://urgjenca.gov.al/).
The United States is a party to the Hague Adoption Convention, an international treaty which seeks to ensure that intercountry adoptions are made in the best interests of the child and that safeguards are in place for their protection. All adoptions in another country must take place according to both U.S. and local laws for the adopted child to be eligible to immigrate to the United States. You should work with a U.S. adoption service provider specifically authorized to facilitate intercountry adoption. You can find more information about authorized adoption service providers and the intercountry adoption process at travel.state.gov and are invited to direct questions to Adoption@state.gov.
If you have a child outside the United States the child may have acquired U.S. citizenship at birth if the requirements under the Immigration and Nationality Act have been met as of the time of your child’s birth. To determine whether your child acquired U.S. citizenship at birth and to document that, you can apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) for your child. You may also choose to just apply for a U.S. passport for your child, although one benefit of a CRBA is that, unlike the U.S. passport, it does not expire and may be used as proof of acquisition of U.S. citizenship at birth. A full validity, unexpired U.S. passport is also proof of U.S. citizenship.
U.S. embassy and consulate personnel cannot perform marriages. Depending on the local law, civil or religious officials generally perform marriages. If your marriage overseas was performed in accordance with local law, it is valid in the country where it took place. Whether your marriage is recognized elsewhere depends on the laws of that place.
If you get married abroad and need to know if your marriage will be recognized in the United States and what documentation may be needed, contact the office of the Attorney General of your state of residence in the United States.
You may have a claim to citizenship if you were born in the United States, or if you were born outside the United States to U.S. citizen parent(s) who meet certain physical presence requirements. A derivative claim to U.S. citizenship depends on the existence of a genetic or gestational relationship between the applicant and the U.S. citizen parent. Therefore, adopted children do not acquire citizenship automatically upon adoption. However, they may be eligible for citizenship through naturalization if they have been processed for an immigrant visa.
Apply for Citizenship Renounce Citizenship U.S. Citizenship for Individuals Over the Age of 18Individuals who have previously been documented as U.S. citizens: if you have previously been issued any of the following documents, you may immediately begin your application for your first U.S. passport. If you are no longer in possession of any of these documents, you must obtain a certified copy from the issuing authority.
If you wish to renounce your citizenship, please visit the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs webpage Renunciation of U.S. Nationality. If you reside in Albania and have any questions or you wish to renounce your U.S. citizenship at the Embassy in Tirana, please email ACSTirana@state.gov for further information.
U.S. Citizenship for Individuals Over the Age of 18
If you have never been documented as a U.S. citizen before, you may have a claim to citizenship if you were born in the United States, or if you were born outside the United States or one of its outlying possessions to U.S. citizen parent(s). If you were born outside United States, your U.S. citizen parent(s) must meet certain physical presence requirements (please consult the “Transmission Requirements’ Table” (PDF 368.55 KB)), and you must have a biological or gestational relationship with the U.S. citizen parent(s). Please see the Department of State’s website for more detailed information on citizenship transmission requirements.
Please call: +355 4224 7285
Outside of Office Hours, contact: +355 4224 7285
Outside of Albania: +355 4224 7285
Emergency Contact – All Locations Get Travel Alerts International Parental Child Abduction Arrest of a U.S. Citizen Death of a U.S. Citizen Victims of Crime Emergency Financial Assistance
