Can you enter Albania with just an ID card?
Yes, if you are a citizen of an EU country. Albania's embassy in the Netherlands states that EU citizens can enter with only an ID card, and the foreign ministries of Spain, France and Germany say the same for their own cards.
Italy is the exception in the detail, not in the principle: its official advice accepts the electronic card (CIE) and the passport, but not the old paper card. More on that below.
Albania belongs to neither the EU nor the Schengen area, so there is a real passport control on the way in and on the way out. No visa is needed for a holiday.
How long does the card need to be valid?
At least 3 more months, but the official sources count them from different days.
Albania's embassy in the Netherlands and Germany's Federal Foreign Office count from the day you enter. France's foreign ministry and Italy's Viaggiare Sicuri count from the day you come home, and Spain's simply asks for 3 months of validity. A card that still has 3 months left after your flight or ferry home satisfies all of them.
Italy adds a point worth checking at home: the document must be in good condition, with no visible wear.
| Who says it | Documents accepted | Validity required |
|---|---|---|
| Albania (embassy in the Netherlands) | EU ID card or passport | 3 months from the day you enter |
| Spain (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) | DNI or passport; the embassy advises carrying both | 3 months minimum |
| Italy (Viaggiare Sicuri) | Passport or electronic ID card (CIE) | 3 months beyond your return |
| France (Conseils aux voyageurs) | National ID card or passport | 3 months after your planned return |
| Germany (Federal Foreign Office) | Passport, temporary passport, ID card, children's passport | 3 months on the day you enter |
How long can you stay in Albania without a visa?
Up to 90 days in a 6-month period, in the words of France's and Italy's advice; Germany's puts it as up to 90 days for tourism.
For a longer stay, Italy's advice says you need a residence permit from the Albanian authorities, and that overstaying can end in expulsion and a ban on coming back.
British travellers need a passport: the UK's advice gives them 90 days in a 180-day period and asks for 3 months of validity after the day they leave Albania.
Which ID cards get turned away at the border?
Four kinds of document cause trouble, and each one is flagged by an official source.
Italian paper ID cards are not on the list. Viaggiare Sicuri accepts only the passport and the CIE, plus, since 30 July 2026, the provisional paper document a town hall issues when you apply for a CIE: it lasts up to 6 months and will be issued until 31 December 2027.
French cards carrying the five-year extension stop at their printed date, because that is the date the Albanian authorities go by. German temporary ID cards (vorläufiger Personalausweis) are refused outright.
Any card you once reported lost or stolen should stay at home, even if it turned up again. Spain's advice calls it no longer valid, and Germany's warns that Albanian border police sometimes confiscate such documents and refuse entry.
Can children enter Albania with an ID card?
Yes, with a valid document of their own; Germany's advice lists the children's passport (Kinderreisepass) among the accepted documents.
Minors travelling without their parents need more paperwork. France asks for a parental or legal guardian's authorisation for unaccompanied minors. Germany asks for a consent declaration from the absent parents with a certified signature, its translation into English or Albanian, and an international birth certificate.
Going home via Corfu: does the EES apply to you?
Not if you are an EU citizen. The Entry/Exit System registers non-EU nationals on short stays at the external borders of the 29 European countries that use it, Greece among them, and EU nationals are expressly not affected.
The system has been phased in since 12 October 2025 and has been fully running since 10 April 2026. Travellers it does cover, British passport holders for instance, have their face photographed and, from the age of 12, their fingerprints taken.
Driving in from Italy or Greece
Your car needs its own papers. Italy's advice says most Italian insurers do not issue a Green Card that covers Albania, so drivers buy temporary insurance from an Albanian company at the land or sea border.
A foreign-registered car can stay on Albanian roads for up to 180 days, according to the same advice.
Once you are in: the same card goes out at night
Keep the card you crossed with on you after the border. Our questions page covers what the doors ask about age and ID in Sarandë's clubs and on Ksamil's beach clubs.
Still choosing a base for the nights? Saranda or Ksamil weighs the two towns, and the 2027 season page fills up as the venues publish their dates.
