Refugee and Migrant Services in Albania
Published: 5 Oct 2016
Country: Albania
Contact Person: Mariana Hereni, Executive Director
Telephone: +00355 4225 0224
Fax: +355 4222 8492
Street Address: Rr. Skenderbej, Volkswagen building, Second Floor, Tirana, Albania
Refugee and Migrant Services in Albania (RMSA) is a NGO that provides social and legal service to refugees and asylum-seekers in Albania. It was legally registered on 12 September 2001 at Tirana court. The mission statement of the NGO is to assist refugees and asylum-seekers to integrate locally in the country of asylum.
RMSA provides legal counselling and represents foreigners who seek asylum in Albania, upon their request, during the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) procedure, throughout all the stages (pre-screening, application, hearing, etc) both in the administrative and judicial instances; Ensure that rejected cases are informed on their case according to the law and have the possibility of exercising their right to appeal; Provide legal representation in other state administrative bodies; Provide legal counselling to all persons of concern to ensure their rights are respected and they are aware of their rights and obligations provided for in the Albanian legislation; Provide social services and community based assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers (EVIs comprising single women head of household, unaccompanied children, elderly) of concern to UNHCR; Provide appropriate accommodation to the cases granted refugee status in compliance with the law in force; Develop and promote, in close collaboration with UNHCR’s implementing partners in other sectors, the future self-reliance of refugees and their social capacity to locally integrate into the Albanian society; fully support the registration of refugee and asylum seekers’ children at schools, guarantee their full access to education and provide them with all the necessary school materials.
The organization is very operational in the field of asylum and refugees and its only office is in Tirana. We also provide services in other parts of the country but through mobile teams. Currently we have extended our services and we provide not only legal and social but also medical and psychological services.