Foreign Ownership and Control of Albanian Companies: What the Law Actually Permits

Foreign investors regularly ask whether they may hold an Albanian company outright, whether they need an Albanian partner, whether a local director is required, and whether owning the company entitles them to live in Albania. The first three questions have short and favourable answers. The fourth does not.

National treatment and targeted investment screening

Law No. 7764, dated 2 November 1993, "On Foreign Investments" establishes the basic position: a foreign investor is entitled to conduct business in Albania on terms no less favourable than those applying to an Albanian national. The statute further guarantees the right to repatriate profits and capital, and protection against expropriation save on the conditions and with the compensation the law prescribes.

Ordinary foreign investments generally remain free from prior authorisation. Since Law No. 56/2025, however, foreign direct investments that relate to or affect critical public infrastructure, critical technologies and dual-use goods, the supply of critical inputs, access to sensitive information or media freedom are subject to assessment or screening under procedures approved by Council of Ministers Decision No. 226 of 1 April 2026. An investor in or close to those areas should determine whether the screening rules apply before signing or completing the investment.

OWNERSHIP

Both natural and legal persons may hold quotas in an Albanian Sh.p.k. or shares in an Sh.a., and neither category is restricted by nationality or residence. A single foreign natural person may incorporate and hold the entire company. A foreign parent company may do the same.

Subject to targeted screening and sector-specific rules, there is no requirement for Albanian participation in the share capital, no minimum local shareholding, and no obligation to appoint an Albanian nominee. Arrangements of that kind are sometimes proposed to foreign investors by intermediaries; they are unnecessary under Albanian law and introduce a counterparty risk that the investor need not take.

MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL

The administrator of an ordinary Albanian commercial company may be a foreign national. There is no requirement that the administrator be resident in Albania, hold an Albanian residence permit, or be present in the country at the time of appointment or afterwards.

This is a genuine advantage of the Albanian regime and distinguishes it from a number of neighbouring jurisdictions. It also has limits that are practical rather than legal. An administrator resident abroad must still be reachable for the purposes of tax and regulatory correspondence, must be able to execute documents when required, and remains subject to the duties and liabilities that Law No. 9901/2008 attaches to the office. Banks, in particular, tend to scrutinise arrangements where no member of management has any physical connection to Albania.

Sectors where additional requirements apply

Targeted investment screening operates alongside sectoral regulation. Where an activity is licensed, the licence conditions apply to foreign and domestic operators alike and may impose requirements — on capital, on professional qualification, on local establishment — that go beyond company law. Banking, insurance and financial services, electronic communications, energy generation and supply, gambling, and certain regulated professions all fall into this category. The correct question is therefore not whether foreign ownership is permitted, but what the sectoral regulator requires of any operator.

Agricultural land is the principal area in which ownership by foreign persons is restricted, and the position depends on the character of the land and the status of the acquirer. Where an investment involves land, the position should be established before any commitment is given.

Beneficial-ownership information is public

Law No. 112/2020 "On the Register of Beneficial Owners" requires reporting entities, including ordinary commercial companies, to disclose the natural persons who ultimately own or control them. The information freely accessible to the public includes the beneficial owner's name, nationality, month and year of birth, date of designation, and the type and percentage of ownership. Other personal data recorded in the register are subject to restricted access.

Investors accustomed to jurisdictions offering nominee shareholdings or opaque holding structures should approach Albania on the understanding that the ultimate individual will be identified. Layering ownership through foreign holding companies does not defeat the obligation, since the disclosure runs to the natural person at the end of the chain rather than to the immediate registered member.

Since Law No. 6/2022, the initial beneficial-ownership filing is made together with the application to register the company. A subsequent change must be registered within 90 calendar days. Failure to register that change within the deadline attracts a fine of ALL 400,000, and the QKB may move the entity from active to suspended status until the fine is paid and the information is regularised.

WHAT FOREIGN CONTROL DOES NOT CHANGE

An Albanian company owned by foreign persons remains an Albanian company. It is generally resident in Albania for tax purposes and taxable on its worldwide income under Law No. 29/2023, subject to any applicable tax treaty. It prepares financial statements and fiscalises invoices under Albanian law, and it employs staff under the Albanian Labour Code. Foreign ownership does not exempt the company from local obligations. The forum for a dispute depends on the applicable law and any valid jurisdiction or arbitration arrangement.

WHAT TO ESTABLISH BEFORE COMMITTING

• Whether the investment falls within the targeted foreign-investment screening regime.
• Whether the intended activity is licensed, and what the regulator requires of any operator.
• Whether the investment involves land, and if so what category of land.
• Who will be identified as beneficial owner, and whether the investor is content for that to be public.
• Whether any individual needs to reside in Albania, and on what basis a permit would be sought.
• How profits will be extracted, and what the applicable double taxation treaty provides.