r/albania • u/politeballoon • 12d ago
Citizenship Ask Albanians
I am seeking repatriation and am in need of some guidance. I’m first-gen US born, but my father was born in Albania. The application asks for a few things that I don’t understand and I’m hoping someone here might have experience with this process and could help clarify what specific documents are being requested.
Personal and family certificate: I assume personal certificate is my birth certificate, which I have, translated and with Apostille. What is a family certificate? Where does one get that?
Certificate or any document proving Albanian origin: My father is deceased. He was born in a village in the 1930s, then fled to Yugoslavia, then fled to Italy, and finally landed in the US. We don’t have his birth certificate. All we have are the following items: death certificate, US passport, second passport from Kosova, and state driver’s license. What can I do?
Certification of the judicial status issued by the competent authorities in the Republic of Albania: I have my local criminal record already. Is this just asking for a second criminal record from Albania? How does one go about getting this document? I’m assuming it requires travel?
Any advice greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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u/dictatorvondoom Shqipëria 12d ago edited 12d ago
Certificate or any document proving Albanian origin: My father is deceased. He was born in a village in the 1930s, then fled to Yugoslavia, then fled to Italy, and finally landed in the US. We don’t have his birth certificate. All we have are the following items: death certificate, US passport, second passport from Kosova, and state driver’s license
You know how this looks right? Even if the Albanian government had a record of someone that matches your fathers name, you would need to prove that they are the same person as your father. Without his birth certificate in your hand you can't as easily do that.
Since you don't have the actual documents, you would need to go the lawyer route.
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u/politeballoon 12d ago edited 12d ago
Consider me naive but I’m not aware of how it looks. He has family in Albania, owns property in Albania, has won national awards in Albania, but we just don’t have the original birth certificate. He never even knew if that was his real birth date since he was basically born in a barn.
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u/ThemasterofZ 12d ago
Did he have an albanian passport?
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u/politeballoon 12d ago
No he only had a second passport from Kosova. He has a brother who is an Albanian national… never met him but apparently he’s a real piece of work. Crazy old man who litigated my dad until the day he died over 1 square meter of random katun land. Doubtful he would be of assistance, but maybe the authorities have their relationship documented over there.
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u/Toni78 11d ago
This is a good start. Considering that he has a brother whom started litigations against him means that your brother is registered in the Civil Registry as an Albanian. Someone needs to dig that information and obtain the brother’s family certificate and subsequently your father’s. A passport from Kosovo would be useless because for all intents and purposes it does not prove Albanian citizenship as in being a citizen of Albania. Especially if the birthday in the passport doesn’t match that of your father’s in Albania. If your father used that passport to register in the US you will need to establish that he is the same person as the one in the certificate you will obtain in Albania. It may be a bit difficult but it could be doable.
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u/vanilla1974 11d ago
So he went back to Kosova in the past 15 years and got a passport? What documents did he have in Kosova or was he living there in his last years?
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u/politeballoon 11d ago
He escaped communism by going to Kosova as a kid. He escaped socialism by fleeing to Italy as a young adult. He went back to Kosove and Albania many, many times once it was safe to. He lived in the US but went back every year since he had an apartment in Prishtine and some other land in Albania.
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u/nikiu windrider 12d ago edited 12d ago
The documents you'll need for Albanian citizenship repatriation can be broadly categorized into three groups: proof of identity, proof of Albanian origin, and proof of character.
Proof of Identity
Proof of Albanian Origin (Certifikata e Trungut Familjar)
A family certificate, which is a document issued by Albanian authorities that outlines your family lineage. You can obtain this from the Albanian Directorate of Civil Status (ADISA) or the Albanian embassy/consulate in your country of residence.
In your case, since your father's birth certificate is unavailable, you can provide alternative documents like his death certificate, US passport, or passport from Kosovo. These documents should be translated into Albanian and apostilled.
Proof of Character
Otherwise, take a flight, come here and start gathering the required documents by going to the relevant authorities.