As part of the measures approved on Wednesday 13th by the Italian government to revive the national economy, seriously damaged by the Coronavirus effects, an amnesty has been approved by the coalition’s Government in order to regularize thousands of undocumented migrants which will now be allowed to apply for a work permit to stay in Italy.
Article 110 bis of the so called “Relaunch” Decree is meant to allow the regularization of undeclared employment relationships of irregular immigrants. Between June 1st and July 15th of 2020, employers and workers can submit a special appplication for regularization. The measure exclusively concerns the following economic sectors: agriculture, breeding and zootechnics, fishing, aquiculture and related activities, domestic work to support family needs.
There are two alterantive procedures.
The first concerns employers who may apply to declare the existence of an already irregular employment relationship. The procedure is meant to stipulate a contract for employment with foreigners illegally present in Italy, under the condition that the foreigners have not left the territory since 8 March 2020, have undergone digital fingerprinting procedures before March 8 2020 or have stayed in Italy before that date based on a declaration of presence.The application, to be submitted to the Immigration Desk, must be accompanied by the payment of a lump-sum contribution of Euros 400 for each worker.
The second procedure concerns individuals whose residence permit has not been renewed nor it has been converted into another residence permit since 31 October 2019. They may apply to the Police Headquarters to apply for a temporary residence permit of 6 months, provided that they are present on the national territory on 8 March 2020, have not been expelled from Italy since the same date and have worked in the sectors mentioned. The first temporary work permit will be converted into a residence permit for work if the foreigner is able to find a regular employment.
The applications will not be accessibile to employers convicted in the last 5 years, even with a non-final judgement, for a series of offences including aiding and abetting illegal immigration, the exploitation of prostitution and the recruitment of minors to be employed in illegal activities, as well as for foreigners against whom an expulsion order has been issued or who are considered a threat to public order or the security of the State.
Pending the regularization procedures, the submission of the application will allow foreign citizen to work regularly.
