Albanian migrant warns coming to the UK illegally is not worth it (Image: Getty)
An Albanian migrant who came to the UK by a small boat in 2022 has warned others against entering illegally as his life became “unbearable”. Upon arriving in Britain, Gzim, who wishes to remain anonymous, says he wanted a “better life,” yet ended up working on a cannabis farm. He was one of more than 12,600 Albanians who made the crossing that year, yet he didn’t get the fresh start that he was hoping for.
“I wanted a better life, to help my family, like all the other people who have done this journey,” he told the . “I knew the risks involved with this kind of business, but I hoped that I wouldn’t be unlucky.” Gzim found a smuggler on the social media site who agreed to help him make the treacherous journey across the Channel. He first travelled to France via multiple buses before arriving in Dunkirk, where a boat was waiting to take him and others to Dover.
Around 4,100 Channel migrants have crossed the Channel so far in 2025 (Image: Getty)
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The Albanian national says his cousins, who were in the UK, paid the smuggler £3,500 for him to make the journey.
Gzim is now speaking out to warn others against entering illegally due to the hardships he has faced. This comes as the government relaunches an online campaign to warn Albanians against crossing the Channel due to the circumstances they face when arriving.
When he reached Dover, Gzim was placed in a hotel, where he was able to leave to work on a cannabis farm without being checked. However, the farm was broken into, so he says he didn’t get paid.
Following this, he switched into a construction role, but his wages were too low to cover expenses and support his family back home, he says.
Just five months after entering the UK, Gzim returned to Albania because life became so “unbearable”.
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This year’s arrivals so far are now 20% ahead of the total at this point in 2024 (Image: Getty)
Gzim said: “I dreamed of other things. I hoped I would make it.
“Nobody wants to leave his homeland. Nobody wants to leave his people and his friends. But in Albania, it is a war of survival, and I didn’t have any other choice.”
The originally launched a social media campaign in 2023 to deter migrants from getting on small boats to enter the country. Adverts highlighted the “debt and exploitation” that they would face when arriving.
Last year, more than 2,600 people were returned to Albania, and the number of nationals making the Channel journey dropped to 616.