10 April 2025, ROME –The Philippine Embassy in Rome, in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate in Albania under Honorary Consul Loritan Prespa, and its partner agencies, the Migrant Workers Office in Rome (MWO-Rome) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), rendered consular and labor services to Filipinos in Tirana, Albania on 05-06 April 2025.

The outreach team, led by Consul General Randy Arquiza, processed a total of 80 services which included passport applications, civil registry services, the administration of oaths of allegiance for Filipinos retaining their Philippine citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225, as well as consultations on assistance-to-nationals (ATN) services and other consular services. MWO-Rome and OWWA conducted a Post-Arrival Orientation Seminar (PAOS) to the clients, contract verification processing, membership services, and counseling, among others.

The team also held an OV Pre-Voting Enrollment session and an information briefing for the registered voters who attended the outreach mission.

Albania is a country located on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe, where approximately 898 Filipinos have active residence permits, per the Albanian General Directorate of State Police as of December 2024. The Embassy conducts an annual consular mission in Albania to address the needs of the growing Filipino community in the country.

The mission was made possible through the support of the Office of Undersecretary for Migration Affairs (OUMA) of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which funded the activity. END