Dexter Mendoza, a 30-year-old Filipino, has been working for several months at one of the hotels on the Durrës coast. He has taken a position as an assistant chef and seems satisfied with his job, as well as with his local colleagues.
"At lunch, a woman from Brazil also comes, a waitress in the hotel restaurant," says Dexter, who looks like he's named after a movie character.
Adi Bakiri, who manages the hotel, speaks sympathetically about the foreign workers.
"They are speechless and work quite well," he adds, indicating that he has had other experiences with workers from Cameroon and Angola before.
"They all come through employment agencies and generally have a one-year contract. Food and accommodation are provided here at the hotel," says Bakiri.
"Even the renewal of the residence permit by the Immigration Police can only be done in the event of the renewal of the employment contract," he adds.
Filipinos employed in hotel restaurants and bars are the largest in number. They have rented apartments near their workplaces and have been assisted by their employers.
An Albanian lady has hired a girl from the Philippines for housework and health care for an elderly man.
The Bangladeshis are mainly employed in a factory producing armored doors - says Zaimi, who for a long time has transported them from their homes to the factory and vice versa.
"They remind me of the years when I was a refugee in Italy, so I take them to Durrës on Sundays," adds Zaimi.
In the ancient city, the large number of foreigners has led to an increase in the number of currency exchange points. At one of them, in neighborhood 1, Xheni Palodhi tells BIRN that, in addition to the tourists who mostly visit in the summer season, now in the winter more Italians and Asians come.
"Italian pensioners break even on small amounts for daily expenses and currencies are the permanent ones. While the Turks are causing us difficulties because they are looking to exchange Turkish liras for Albanian lek," adds Palodhi.
Egyptian fishermen are often seen on the coastal promenade, especially when bad weather prevents boats from going out to sea.
"Their number exceeds 150, not including citizens from Turkey, who also work as fishermen," said Fatmir, a port worker.
Italian pensioners, the residence dilemma is related to taxation
Zaimi and the workers from Bangladesh
At the end of 2025, the number of foreign citizens with residence permits in Albania reached 27,514 people, an increase of 22%. The majority of them, around 65%, are in our country for work reasons.
Italian retirees who have been living in our country for a long time remain the most compact community in Durrës. Most of them have chosen to live in neighborhoods 1 and 13, in the coastal area of the city.
Vincenzo D'Adamo volunteers every afternoon to clean the space in front of the entrance to the palace near the Archaeological Museum.
“It's very windy in Durrës and the papers and bags collect in the same place,” he said.
Then he changes the subject: "It won't be long. In a few days I'll move somewhere else to live. They're asking me for a higher rent here, because the value of the euro has dropped a lot."
However, the main concern of Italian pensioners for the past 3-4 months remains the change in income tax from the current 0 percent to 15 percent.
Carlo Chersoni, who has been living in Durrës for four years, told BIRN that he chose to live in our country not only for the lower cost of living, the relatively good climate and the proximity to Italy.
But above all, over 2,000 Italians have preferred Albania, as here they are not taxed at all on the value of the pension they receive through banking.
Writings in the Italian media about taxation have become a concern for the young residents of the coastal city.
"For compatriots who have low pensions, the 15 percent tax on the pension amount is not easy to afford," continues Carlo Chersoni, which is why some of them are considering leaving.
Carlo said that for others, a 5 percent tax rate might be acceptable, but no more.
There are many who have decided to leave for other countries that do not apply taxation, such as Slovakia or Tunisia.
"I will be here for a few more days, as I am already preparing to move to Bratislava," said Pietro, who uses the beach bus line to come to Durres every day.
Koreans walking by the sea
"I like your city, but the increase in pension taxes made me look for other solutions, further away from the coast," says Pietro, adding that the Italian community in Albania has also integrated by regularly paying housing rent and any obligations to the Albanian state.
A few days ago, the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica" announced that the Albanian government has officially declared that it will not impose any taxes on Italian pensioners.
“A very good step,” said Vincenzo, who is already familiar with this statement. “But I believe that after this statement there will be an official circular from the tax agencies or an integration with the current Albanian fiscal law. This would finally calm us down,” he concluded./Reporter.al
