Albanian immigrants in Greece
After the Revolutions of 1989 throughout Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a large number of economic refugees and immigrants from Greece's neighboring countries, Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, as well as from more distant countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia, arrived in Greece, mostly as illegal immigrants, to seek employment. The vast majority of Albanians in Greece is estimated to be between 60–65% of the total number of immigrants in Greece. According to official data, there are 459,390 holders of Albanian citizenship in Greece.
Albanians form the largest migrant group in Greece. A portion of Albanian newcomers change their Albanian name to Greek ones and their religion, if they are not Christian, from Islam to Orthodoxy. Even before emigration, some Albanians from the south of Albania adopt a Greek identity including name changes, adherence to the Orthodox faith, and other assimilation tactics in order to avoid prejudices against migrants in Greece. In this way, they hope to get valid visas and eventual naturalization in Greece.
