Author
The previous report update was published in May 2023.
International protection
- State of emergency: The Government extended the state of emergency as a consequence of the exceptional increase in the numbers of third country nationals reaching Italy via the Mediterranean migratory routes from October 2023 to April 2024 and on 10 April 2024 it announced a further six-months extension.
Asylum procedure
- Key asylum statistics: In 2023, 136,826 asylum requests were registered in Italy, almost doubled compared to 77,200 in 2022[1] and 60,772 were the first instance decisions issued on asylum applications (compared to 53,060 in 2022).[2] Of these 4,877 (8%) were decisions granting a refugee status, 6,244 a subsidiary protection (10%) and 11,152 (19%) of national protection (protezione speciale). Overall, the recognition rate stood at 37%, a decrease compared to 2022 when it was 47%. At the eastern border between Italy and Slovenia, informal readmissions were drastically reduced but border controls were reintroduced according to art. 28 Regulation 2016/399 (Border Schengen Code).[3] The Ministry of Interior announced that, thanks to the border controls, police had intercepted the irregular arrival of 1,600 people, made 76 arrests and denied entry to almost 900 people.[4]
- Access to the asylum procedure: Reports from civil society and NGOs confirm that difficulties in accessing the asylum procedure – in particular for those reaching Italy by land – persisted in 2023,[5] and highlighted that illegitimate requirements that hindered the possibility of registering asylum applications were often, such as the request to communicate an official address or the possession of the passport.[6]
- Safe countries list: By Ministerial Decree of 7 May 2024, the list of safe countries has been expanded to include additional countries: Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Egypt, Peru and Sri Lanka.[7]
- Protocol between Italy and Albania: On 6 November 2023, the “Protocol between the Government of the Republic of Italy and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania on Strengthening Cooperation in Migration Matters”[8] was signed in Rome. The Italian Parliament ratified the Protocol through Law 14 of 21 February 2024.[9]
- Dublin: In 2023, 35,563 requests (including both take charge and take back requests) were received in the incoming procedure, which marked a significant increase when compared to the 27,928 incoming requests Italy received in 2022. Regarding the outgoing procedure, there were 6,530 total requests, also considerably higher than in 2022 when 5,315 requests were sent. The suspension of Dublin transfers due to the state of emergency continued throughout the year. However, 61 incoming transfers were realised. Out of these, just 41 incoming transfers were realised based on family criteria, definitely lower compared to the 153 incoming transfers realised in 2022.[10]According to a report published by the Ministry of Labour,[11] in 2023, 21 incoming requests involving minors were accepted. Transfers in the outgoing procedure were only 31, half compared to 2022 when they were 65, and significantly less than the 431 realised in 2020, and 579 in 2019. Out of those, in 2023, 5 took place for family reunifications towards other States. Responding to the FOIA request, the Ministry of Interior stated that, in 2023, the discretionary clause provided by Article 17 of the Dublin Regulation was applied 5 times.[12]
Reception conditions
- Accommodation: At the end of 2023, the total number of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection accommodated was 139,388. In May 2023, Law 50/2023, which converted Decree Law 20/2023, came into force. Among the many changes contained in the measure, asylum seekers have been excluded from the possibility to access the SAI system. Access to the SAI will only be granted to asylum seekers identified as vulnerable and to those who have legally entered Italy through complementary pathways (government-led resettlement or private sponsored humanitarian admission programs). Moreover, Law Decree No. 20/2023[13] excluded the obligation to provide psychological assistance services, Italian language courses and legal and territorial orientation services in favour of asylum seekers accommodated in first reception centers, CAS and temporary centers. Law 50/2023 also introduced a new typology of “provisional” centres where only food, clothing, health care and linguistic-cultural mediation are provided [14]
Detention of asylum seekers
- Detention conditions: On 19 October 2023, in the cases A.B. v. Italy, A.M. v. Italy and A. S. v. Italy, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) once again recognized violations of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment) and Article 5 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights and condemned Italy in relation to the detention conditions suffered by a number of foreign nationals at the Lampedusa Hotspot over a period of time between 2017 and 2019.
On 16 November 2023, in the case A.E. and Others v. Italy, ordered compensation of €27,000 against four Sudanese nationals who, in the summer of 2016, were forcibly transferred from Ventimiglia to hotspots in southern Italy and in some cases, transferred to CPRSs and then returned to their country of origin. The Court found that they had been abused and deprived of their liberty.
- Information provision: The decision n. 32070/2023, 20 November 2023 of the Supreme Court of Cassation stated the right to complete and effective information on access to the asylum application from the first contact with the border police, considering insufficient and/or irrelevant, for the purpose of proper information on this right, the information contained in the so-called “foglio notizie” and the consequent illegitimacy of the resulting decree of refoulement and detention order at CPR. Subsequent decisions of the Supreme Court have confirmed this principle (Civil Court of Cassation, decision No. 5797/2024, March 5, 2024; No. 10875/2024, April 23, 2024).
- Grounds for detention: L. 162/2023 increased the duration of pre-removal detention at CPR to 18 months: this period provides for the validation of detention for 3 months, which can be subsequently extended every 90 days, up to a maximum of 18 months.
Content of international protection
- SAI network: On 28 November 2023, the SAI network comprised 914 projects, for a total of 37,920 places financed, of which 31,155 places for ordinary beneficiaries, 6,006 places for unaccompanied minors and 759 places for people living with mental health conditions or physical disability. The opening of a SAI project depends on the sole will of the local administration responsible (mostly municipalities), so there is no proportional distribution in Italy: this means that the presence of SAI projects on the territory is uneven and often concentrated in Southern Italy.[15] As of November 2023, out of the total places financed, 2,906 were not occupied.[16]
Temporary protection
The information given hereafter constitute a short summary of the annex on Temporary Protection to this report. For further information, see Annex on Temporary Protection.
Temporary protection procedure
- Key statistics on temporary protection: In 2023, 164,070 permits for temporary protection were issued.
- Scope of temporary protection: The scope of TPD is not restricted compared to the Council Decision.
- Documentary evidence: People fleeing Ukraine are still required to show documentary evidence that they left the country after 24 February 2022 to access temporary protection. The main issues concerning documentary evidence were still those related to the proof of having left Ukraine after 24 February 2022 (mainly by passport stamps).
- Information provision: On national territory and depending on the region or municipality, some organisations continued to provide information to people fleeing from Ukraine. The “Blue Dots” information points at the borders are no longer in activity.
Content of temporary protection
- Residence permit: the validity of all the permits for temporary protection has been extended until 31 December 2024. These permits are now convertible into work permits.
[1] Eurostat, Final decisions on asylum applications, available at: bit.ly/41jIZ7A.
[2] Eurostat, First instance decisions on asylum applications by type of decision, available at: bit.ly/3MUJwZ4.
[3] For a more detailed analysis of the reintroduction of border controls at the Italo-Slovenian border, see ASGI Medea, ‘Schengen Area: From Free Movement Zone to Labyrinth’, 20 November 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/42UYcNH.
[4] Ministry of Interior, available at the Government webpage: https://bit.ly/3TtmsDK.
[5] See the report “Attendere Prego”, 8 April 2024, gli ostacoli al riconoscimento della protezione internazionale in Italia, from ASGI, International Rescue Committee Italy (IRC) Le Carbet, Mutuo Soccorso Milano, Naga ASGI and Intersos, available at https://acesse.dev/afrI0.
[6] See ASGI “ Mappatura delle prassi illegittime delle questure italiane Lo studio pilota di ASGI” report published on 15 April 2024, available in Italian at https://encr.pw/nu9AJ.
[7] Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Decree, 7 May 2024, available at https://acesse.dev/8L1OU.
[8] The full text of the Protocol is available in Italian at: https://bit.ly/3uGnzq5. For a comprehensive analysis of the protocol, see CEPS, The 2023 Italy-Albania Protocol on Extraterritorial Migration Management – A worst practice in migration and asylum policies, 1 December 2023, available at https://bit.ly/3wrPL0p.
[9] Senato della Repubblica, Giovedì 15 Febbraio 2024 – 159ª Seduta pubblica, February 15 2024, available in Italian at: https://bit.ly/3IclK7o.
[10] Response of the Dublin Unit to the public access information request sent by ASGI.
[11] Ministry of Labour, Monitoring six months report on unaccompanied foreign minors, 31 December 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/4bM9XKD and Ministry of Labour, Monitoring six months report on unaccompanied foreign minors, 30 June 2023, available at: http://bit.ly/49nN2na.
[12] Response of 24 February 2024 of the Dublin Unit to the public access information request sent by ASGI. The answer does not specify more.
[13] Article 6-ter of Law Decree No. 20/2023.
[14] Article 11 (2 bis Legislative Decree No. 142/2015.
[15] See I numeri del SAI, November 2023, at: https://acesse.dev/IWeH3.
[16] See I numeri del SAI, November February 28th 2023, at: https://www.retesai.it/i-numeri-dello-sprar/; https://acesse.dev/IWeH3.