In case you want to seek asylum or international protection in Italy, this article is helpful for you. We have explained the necessary steps and where to apply for asylum. Also, at last, we have given some useful links.
How to apply for asylum in Italy?
Thousands of people migrate to Italy. Applying for asylum is very much more straightforward, as there is only one way to apply for it. To apply for asylum, you can submit your asylum application at two places only. It may be either at the regional police station or (Questura) or the border police station. However, it is also possible that, in some instances, interpreters for less-popular dialects may not be available at the questura ( Immigration Office of the Police ). All the claimants have the right to get all the information about their rights. It is the police’s responsibility to remind the claimant of his or her rights and other duties. When the migrants arrive in Canada, they have to apply for asylum in eight days. They need to go to the concerned authorities in this period. Upon arrival, an agent will take your details, take your fingerprints, and pictures. The information is necessary as it has mandated according to International law. It requires the authorities to check a migrant to apply for asylum and to apply for international protection. Also, if they are eventually rejected for the claim, they still need to provide information. It is preferred to use for their argument as soon as possible.
After submitting their application, the applicant needs to go through some of the checks. If the asylum request of the claimant got approved, then they need to appear for the interview. The National Committee takes the interview for the Protection of Asylum (Commissione Nazionale per il diritto di asil). The claimant needs to give this interview within 30 days when their claim got approved. In the interview, the claimant needs to answer some of the fundamental questions for asylum claims. Claimants will be asked questions like “if she or he has fled their country of origin.” After the interview, the decision will take about three weekdays. While the asylum process is ongoing, the claimant cannot leave Italy.
According to Italian law, one can apply for asylum at the Border Police upon arrival. But in case you are already in Italy, you can go to the Immigration Office of the Police and submit your form there. There you have to give a written or oral statement saying you want asylum protection. However, you will get an interpreter to translate everything happening there. In case you are not given one, you can ask immediately.
How to apply
After the form filling and registration process, you have to give your fingerprints. Apart from yours, they may take the whole family fingerprints. Also, they will take photographs of the record. Just for your information, the fingerprinting and photographing process is called “fotosegnalamento” in Italian. In case you are not having an address in Italy. Then it should not affect your eligibility for international protection. However, during 2016 many applicants throughout Italy were denied asylum requests only because they didn’t have an address. There are various other programs in which you can apply for asylum. Around six of them are available for this:
- Regular procedure
- Accelerated procedure
- Admissibility procedure
- Border procedure
- Immediate procedure
- Dublin procedure
Basic flow chart for the different asylum procedures.
As there are many of the authorities included in the processing of an application. At every stage, you need to follow certain rules and regulations of the different agencies responsible. The application initially can be made only through the Border or the Territorial office only as specified above. There are different stages for different scenarios. All the stages are for different procedures. As a refugee, you can also appeal the decision, if you are not satisfied or happy with the decision
Stage of the procedure | Competent authority (EN) | Competent authority (IT) |
| Application: | ||
| Border Police | Polizia di Frontiera |
| Immigration Office, Police | Ufficio Immigrazione, Questura |
| Dublin | Dublin Unit, Ministry of Interior | Unità Dublino, Ministero dell’Interno |
| Refugee status determination | Territorial Commissions for the Recognition of International Protection | Commissioni Territoriali per il Riconoscimento della Protezione Internazionale |
| Appeal | Civil Court | Tribunale Civile |
| Onward appeal | Court of Cassation | Corte di Cassazione |
| Subsequent application | Territorial Commissions for the Recognition of International Protection | Commissioni Territoriali per il Riconoscimento della Protezione Internazionale |
Border Procedure
Under the 2018 amendment, after being arrested for evading or trying to escape border controls, the border process was set up for applicants presenting an asylum claim directly at the border or in transit areas. Asylum seekers who come from a specified Protected Country of Origin are not subject to the border procedure. In this case, it is possible to execute the whole procedure directly at the border or in the transit area.
By a ministerial decree of 5 August 2019, border and transit areas have been designated for the accelerated review of asylum applications. By decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on 4 October 2019 and in agreement with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice, the list of safe countries of origin was adopted. It covers Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Ghana, Kosovo, Morocco, Montenegro, Senegal, Serbia, Tunisia, Ukraine, and North Macedonia.
The appeal in front of the Civil Court
The Process Decree allows for an occasion for an asylum claimant to lodge an appeal before the competent Civil Court (Tribunale Civile) against a ruling of the Territorial Commissions denying the request, awarding local protection instead of refugee status, or asking for a superior protection residency permit instead of awarding foreign protection.
Decision
Within 4 months, the Civil Court may either deny the appeal or grant the asylum seeker foreign protection. Since the entry into force of Decree-Law 13/2017, the process for appeal has accelerated considerably.
No information is available on the approximate length of the 2019 appeal process for appeals. However, since 2019, according to what is reported by ASGI, the Civil Courts have scheduled asylum hearings for 2021 or even for 2022 in certain cases. And those hearings already expected to take place in 2020 have been delayed for a year or two. This is going to have a huge effect on the overall duration of proceedings.
Interview Process
How Long It Take
The Territorial Commission, following Italian law, interviews the applicant within 30 days of receiving the application and then decides within three working days.
But in practice, this never happens. Also, it varies from questura. Generally, people have to wait from 6 months to a year to be interviewed after filing their C3. Check out the links below. You may find some useful things. You can also take help from the local NGOs to seek asylum.
Use Full Links
https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/596787734.pdf
http://www.integrazionemigranti.gov.it/en/international-protection/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.nosapo.com/italy-asylum-process
The above cover image was taken in San Quirico d’Orcia, Italy. Photo by Luca Micheli on Unsplash
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