Healthcare and nursing in Albania offer different career opportunities, especially in private healthcare, but are also marked by major challenges like low wages, resource shortages, and emigration of qualified professionals. The healthcare system has seen recent investment and reforms, yet the quality of care and working conditions, especially in the public sector and rural areas, often lag behind Western European standards. Are you ready to take up this jobs? Study the details below.
To work as a healthcare and nursing practitioner in Albania, you must have your foreign diploma recognized, register with the appropriate Albanian professional order, and secure a work and residency permit. Fluency in the Albanian language is also generally considered a must for employment. With all this document at hand you will be gainfully employed to work as a healthcare or nursing practitioner with an attractive salary.
Ongoing Healthcare and Nursing Job Opportunities
1. Regulatory Affairs & Pharmacovigilance Manager
- Location: Partners Pharma Tirana, Albania
- Seniority level: Entry level
- Employment type: Full-time
- Job function: Legal
- Industries: Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
2. Onsite Medical Representative
- Location: Spring Pharma Tirana, Tirana, Albania
- Seniority level,: Entry level
- Employment type: Full-time
- Job function: Health Care Provider
- Industries: Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
3. Shipboard Medispa Physician
- Location: OneSpaWorld Tirana, Tirana, Albania
- Seniority level: Entry level
- Employment type: Full-time
- Job function: Sales, General Business, and Education
- Industries: Wireless Services, Telecommunications, and Communications Equipment Manufacturing
4. NJOFTIM PËR “SPECIALIST” ME KONTRATË ME AFAT TË CAKTUAR (TË PËRKOHSHME), NË DREJTORINË E KËRKIMIT SHKENCOR, PROMOVIMIT AKADEMIK DHE KOMUNIKIMIT, NË REKTORATIN E UNIVERSITETIT TË MJEKËSISË, TIRANË
- Location: University of Medicine, Tirana Tirana, Tirana, Albania
- Seniority level: Entry level
- Employment type: Full-time
- Job function: Other
- Industries: Higher Education
Common Requirements for all Foreign Healthcare practitioners
1. Diploma recognition: Your university diploma must be approved and officially recognized by the Albanian Ministry of Education, Sports, and Youth. For foreigners, this is a mandatory step before you can apply for a professional license.
2. Registration with a professional order: You must register with the relevant professional order to practice. For nurses, this is the Professional Nursing Order, while for doctors, it is the Order of Physicians. You must pay the membership fee to complete registration.
3. Proof of experience: You must provide evidence of having completed professional practice in your home country. For nurses, a certificate from a supervising authority is required.
4. Professional practice permit: After your diploma is recognized and you register with the professional order, you will be issued a professional practice permit.
5. Language proficiency: Fluency in the Albanian language is a mandatory requirement for employment in the healthcare sector.
6. Work and residency permits: Foreigners need to obtain both a residency permit and a work permit. Your employer in Albania can often assist with this process. The procedure can take 30 to 60 days to complete.
7. Visa and passport: A valid passport is required. Depending on your nationality, you may also need a Type D visa for stays over 90 days.
Additional requirements steps for nurses
For foreign nurses, the general requirements also include:
1. A photocopy of your notarized diploma.
2. Passing a state exam in Albania, which is required for all graduates of general nursing.
3. Two passport-sized photographs.
4. A valid ID or passport photocopy.
5. A certified copy of your life story/CV.
Top Hospital and Healthcare Organizations in Albania
1. American Hospital (Spitali Amerikan): Spitali American is the most prominent private hospital chains in Albania, it is also a significant employer for a wide range of healthcare professionals. It has multiple facilities, with a main presence in Tirana.
2. Hygeia Hospital: This is another major private hospital in the capital, Tirana, and is a key employer in the private healthcare sector.
3. Klinika KEIT: This is a private clinic focused on aesthetic and cosmetic medicine, it is a noteworthy employer in this specialized field.
4. Klinika Stroka: A medical institution offering various health services.
5. Salus Tirana: Another private hospital in the capital city.
6. Spitali Villa Maria: A private hospital with a presence in Tirana.
7. University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa” (QSUT): As Albania’s largest and most important public hospital, it is a major employer for healthcare professionals. Positions are often filled through a government portal called “Nurses for Albania,” though the number of vacancies can be limited.
Other organizations
1. Biomedica: This company is a significant provider in the CEE region and actively seeks talented individuals for its operations in Albania.
2. AmeriCare Albania: This organization hires caregivers and nurses to help clients with personal care, medication administration, and other daily activities.
3. Trimed Healthcare: A pharmaceutical distributor with career opportunities for various roles, including healthcare professionals.
4. Western Balkans University: In addition to its academic programs, the university hires healthcare professionals for its associated medical facilities.
Top recruitment agencies
Many positions for international healthcare workers are managed by recruitment agencies rather than directly by the hospitals.
1. Moving2Europe.eu: This is a key healthcare recruitment expert in Albania, specializing in placing doctors, nurses, and other medical staff. It works with hospitals, private clinics, and elderly care homes to fill staffing needs.
2. MedicAlb Work Agency: An Albanian agency that facilitates employment for medical science professionals, connecting them with private clinics throughout the country.
3. Salaf International: This group, active on platforms like Instagram, recruits nurses and MBBS doctors for positions in Europe, including Albania.
4. Oman Agencies: This recruitment firm supplies a wide range of healthcare professionals, such as registered nurses, doctors, and pharmacists, to institutions in Albania.
5. MedPro International: Another company that actively recruits registered nurses for placement, with specific mentions of recruitment events.
Tips for finding a position
1. Contact recruitment agencies: Many private hospitals and clinics, especially those hiring internationally, work with staffing agencies. A good starting point is to contact an agency like Moving2Europe.eu or MedicAlb.
2. Check hospital career pages: For the most up-to-date information on direct openings, visit the official career pages of hospitals like the American Hospital and Hygeia Hospital.
3. Use LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a valuable resource for finding current openings from companies like Trimed Healthcare and other pharmaceutical or healthcare-related firms in Albania.
4. Research public sector roles: If you are interested in working at a public institution like QSUT, monitor announcements on official government job portals, as these positions are often centrally managed.
Salary Earn by Healthcare and Nursing Professional in the public and Private Sector
The Albanian government increased public healthcare salaries in 2023 and 2024, they also promise to bring average wages to around €900 per month.
In the public sector, General Practitioners has their monthly salaries increased to 131,672 Lek (€1,265). Specialist Doctors at the University Hospital Centre, earn monthly wages of up to 174,000 Lek (€1,672). While Nurses can expect a monthly wages of 87,118 Lek (€838). We also have something called “pay for performance”. Pay for performance is a pilot program for hospital autonomy that allows doctors to earn extra payments based on performance.
In the private sector, healthcare professionals in Albania can expect an average earnings of about 14% more than their public sector counterparts.
Salary range for nurses Annually
As of December 2024, private market data indicates the following annual salary range for nurses in Albania:
- Average: 979,600 Lek (€9,430)
- Lowest: 510,000 Lek (€4,900)
- Highest: 1,500,800 Lek (€14,400)
Influencing factors for salary expectations
1. Regional salaries difference: Although the Salary of nurses has increases, Albanian healthcare salaries are still among the lowest in the Balkan region. This has driven some medical professionals to migrate to other countries for better pay and working conditions.
2. Experience and specialization: More experienced and specialized professionals command higher salaries.
3. High out-of-pocket spending: Historically low public sector salaries have contributed to informal, out-of-pocket payments by patients, which can supplement a healthcare worker’s income.
4. Ongoing reforms: The government’s wage reforms aim to increase competitiveness, but salaries are still heavily influenced by state-mandated pay scales.
Benefits of working as a nurse in Albania
Albania may not be a high-earning destination, some benefits exist, particularly for nurses who value regional experience or lower living costs.
1. Affordable education: Albania has university nursing programs that are significantly more affordable than in Western Europe and are aligned with EU standards.
2. Lower cost of living: The cost of living in Albania is generally lower than in more developed European countries. While wages are low, this can allow a basic standard of living. However, it’s critical to balance the lower cost of living against the low average salaries.
3. Pathway to Western Europe: For many, working or studying nursing in Albania is seen as a stepping stone to finding better-paying work in countries like Germany or Italy, which have severe nursing shortages and higher salaries.
4. Regional cultural experience: Working in Albania offers an opportunity to experience a unique Balkan and Mediterranean culture, known for its hospitality.
Challenges of working as a nurse in Albania
The drawbacks of working as a nurse in Albania currently outweigh the benefits, particularly concerning salary, working conditions, and professional growth.
1. Lowest salaries in the region: Albanian nurses receive some of the lowest salaries in the region. In 2020, the average monthly salary for a nurse was about 40,000 ALL (around €400), significantly lower than in neighboring countries like North Macedonia (€550) and Kosovo (€400 in 2020, with pay later increased).
2. Cost of living: Even with a lower cost of living, low wages are a major driver of emigration and are often insufficient for financial stability or career advancement.
3. Poor working conditions: Nurses often face difficult working conditions, especially in public hospitals, including inadequate facilities, heavy workloads, and a shortage of staff.
4. Limited professional hierarchy: Nursing in Albania’s post-communist system is still heavily subordinate to the authority of doctors. This can limit a nurse’s autonomy and professional role.
5. Emigration and “brain drain”: Low salaries and poor working conditions have driven a significant “brain drain” of skilled nurses from Albania to other European countries. Foreigners are not likely to find a favorable professional climate in a country where local professionals are leaving en masse for better opportunities elsewhere.
Conclusion
Albania has been characterized more as a training ground for nurses who emigrate to Western Europe than as a destination that offers substantial benefits. Foreign nurses seeking work in Albania face significant challenges related to low salaries, poor working conditions, and a limited professional hierarchy.
Working as a nurse in Albania does not currently offer the same level of professional or financial benefit as many other European countries. While the country’s low cost of living is a point of consideration, it is severely undercut by low wages and poor working conditions. For international nurses, Albania is more likely to serve as a low-cost educational pathway to work elsewhere in Europe, rather than a long-term career destination.
Related Post
- Visa Sponsorship jobs in Albania for foreigners
- Recruitment Agencies in Albania
- Teaching Jobs in Cambodia
- Teaching Jobs in Ecuador
- Healthcare and Nursing jobs in Cambodia
- Healthcare and Nursing Jobs in Ecuador
- Teaching Jobs in Netherlands
- Healthcare & Nursing Jobs in Jamaica
- Teaching Jobs in Guatemala
- Teaching Jobs in Senegal
- Healthcare & Nursing Jobs in Lithuania
- Healthcare & Nursing Jobs in Armenia
- Teaching Jobs in Somalia
- Teaching Jobs in Romania
- Teaching Jobs in Zambia
- Healthcare & Nursing Jobs in Moldova
