New programmes and policy developments on migrant integration in Italy

Agreement with tourism associations promotes integration

In June, the Italian government, employers’ associations in the tourism industry and other social partners signed an agreement in which they committed to improving the training and socio-employment opportunities available to refugees and other vulnerable migrants.

The agreement represents a concrete step towards addressing integration challenges faced by refugees in Italy as well as the labour market needs of the tourism industry, which is crucial to the country’s economy. It was signed by the Minister of Labour and Social Policies, the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Tourism and the President of the National Bilateral Tourism Body (Ebnt), which brings together several labour associations.

New training programme for municipalities on migrant integration

The Interior Ministry launched LGNetForma, a new training programme designed to foster the integration of third-country nationals in disadvantaged urban areas. It is being promoted in collaboration with the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI), the Cittalia foundation and 22 Italian partner municipalities. The project represents a significant investment in building local capacity to support integration, considering municipalities as central actors in implementing sustainable integration strategies.

The programme itself will target 2 300 Italian municipalities with over 5 000 inhabitants from 2025 - 2026, offering a comprehensive cycle of webinars designed to strengthen municipal authorities’ competencies and strategies in reception and inclusion.

UNHCR reports on the labour market inclusion and socio-economic conditions of migrants

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) published an assessment of the activities and achievements of the ‘Welcome. Working for Refugee Integration’ programme in 2024. The programme, running since 2017, promotes refugee inclusion in the labour market through private sector engagement in collaboration with institutions and civil society organisations.

In 2024, according to the assessment, the programme facilitated over 16 200 job placements for refugees in Italy, representing a 38% increase compared to 2023. Over 98% of these placements were employment contracts, while the remainder were internships. Women’s participation stood at approximately 19%. According to UNHCR, 62% of companies involved said that “greater commitment to the community and disadvantaged groups” was their primary motivation for hiring refugees.

Elsewhere, UNHCR also published the results of a study on the socio-economic conditions of refugees in Italy, conducted in collaboration with Lattanzio KIBS and FIERI. It is the first quantitative analysis of the socio-economic conditions of both international and temporary protection beneficiaries conducted in the country.

The report features significant contributions from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) on refugee presence, distribution, and mobility patterns. It concludes with targeted recommendations across seven key areas: Italian language acquisition, housing, employment inclusion and professional development, social cohesion and community participation, social protection access, financial inclusion, and institutional capacity and governance.

New project launched to foster inclusion through self-employment

The INNOVATE (‘Innovating to enhance dialogues on migration policies and practices’) project was launched in Turin, Italy, in June. The project’s goal is to improve the long-term inclusion and integration of migrants by promoting self-employment as a tool for social and economic empowerment.

Pilot activities are being developed in Turin and Munich to strengthen local systems’ capacity to support migrant entrepreneurship. The project emphasises the involvement of local actors, dialogue between researchers, experts and practitioners, and the exchange of best practices, including through direct comparison between the Italian and German contexts.

Public employment tender reopens to allow access for migrants

A major public tender - previously restricted to Italian citizens only - has been reopened to allow applications from a larger number of residents, including European citizens, family members of European citizens, foreigners holding long-term residence permits and holders of international protection status.

The tender covers recruitment for 350 administrative officers, 514 economic-financial officers, 49 statistical officers and linguistic and IT specialists. According to the Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), the reopening represents an important precedent for inclusivity in Italian public competitions, confirming that everyone, regardless of their citizenship, can be full members of the national community.

No change to citizenship following referendum

In June, Italian voters were called to participate in referendums on five topics, one of which related to the acquisition of Italian citizenship by residence. This referendum proposed to amend Article 9 of Law 91/1992 by reducing the mandatory legal residency requirement from ten to five years for non-EU nationals applying for Italian citizenship. Other essential conditions would remain unchanged, including knowledge of the Italian language, proof of sufficient income, and the absence of a criminal record.

65% voted in favour of the change while 35% opposed it, however due to low turnout overall the vote was deemed invalid and the requirement remains unchanged. Coalition party Forza Italia has since relaunched a proposal to facilitate the recognition of Italian citizenship for children who enroll in and complete at least five years of school in Italy.

Class action ensures migrants’ access to rights

Italy's State Council (Consiglio di Stato) overturned a previous decision by the Lazio Regional Administrative Court to find that the Ministry of Interior and the Rome Prefecture inefficiently managed foreign citizens’ regularisation applications from 2020. The decision was made following pressure from civil society and reinforces the State Council's position that collective action (or so-called ‘class action’) can serve to correct the functioning of public administration.

This type of ruling is unusual in immigration law and can be seen as a crucial protective instrument. It ensures that third-country nationals have timely access to essential integration measures, in terms of both labour market participation and family reunification (both of which often involve lengthy administrative delays).

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