Italy: Provisional immigration quota for 2005 fixed
01 March 2005
On 17 December 2004, the Council of Ministers (the cabinet) fixed the maximum number of third country migrant workers to be allowed into Italy in 2005 (the measure does not affect the right of entry for citizens from the 10 new EU member states). The figure, which is provisional pending the drawing up of Italy's immigration policy document for 2004-2006, is of 79,500 migrant workers, based on the country's need for migrant labour according to information provided by local bodies, the Employment and Social Affairs ministry and employers' associations. Specific quotas have been established for countries that have signed cooperation agreements with Italy on immigration (Tunisia, Albania, Morocco and Egypt) or are in the process of negotiating agreements on issues such as readmission and the regulation of migratory flows.
Thus, the breakdown of the third-country workers to be allowed into Italy in 2005 is as follows:
* 30,000 for employment in non-seasonal subordinate work (that is, contracted by someone else), half of which may fall under the categories of care and domestic work;
* 2,500 self employed professionals, including researchers, businessmen undertaking activities that are of interest for the national economy, self-employed professionals, partners and managers of private companies, and qualified and internationally recognised artists contracted by public or private bodies or companies. Of these, a maximum of 1,250 will be allowed to convert temporary residence permits for education or professional training into residence permits to work as self-employed professionals;
* up to 200 third country nationals of Italian descent from Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela, who have previously submitted documentation to the Italian consulate in their country of origin and have been included in a register, as self-employed professionals or for subordinate work, but not under a regime of seasonal employment;
* 21,800 for subordinate work, of whom 1,000 must be highly qualified or of managerial status, while the remaining 20,800 must be citizens of countries who have agreed, or are in the process of agreeing, cooperation agreements with Italy on immigration, including: 3,000 Albanians, 3,000 Tunisians, 2,500 Moroccans, 2,000 Egyptians, 2,000 Nigerians, 2,000 Moldovans, 1,500 Sri Lankans, 1,500 Bangladeshis; 1,500 Philipinos; 1,000 Pakistanis; 100 Somalis and 700 citizens of non-EU countries who conclude agreements with Italy "aimed at regulating migratory flows and readmission procedures";
* 25,000 third country nationals will be allowed into Italy for seasonal employment from Serbia-Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the FYR of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, countries which have signed cooperation agreements on immigration with Italy, or because they are workers who have already had a residence permit for seasonal subordinate work in the year 2003 or 2004.
Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri, 17 December 2004. "Programmazione transitoria dei flussi d’ingresso dei lavoratori extracomunitari nel territorio dello Stato per l’anno 2005". Gazzetta Ufficiale n.26 del 2.2.05. Also available on: http//:www.meltingpot.org