Political asylum and special protection: what the regulations in force provide for migrants and how they could change

There are three main forms of international protection that a foreigner can request in Italy, from political asylum to subsidiary protection up to special protection, which could undergo significant changes in Parliament. According to the law currently in force, the Special protection can be requested by foreign citizens directly from the Questura and is released by the questore in the event that (according to article 19 of the Consolidated Immigration Act) the person may be “subject to persecution for reasons of race, sex, sexual orientation, identity of gender, language, citizenship, religion, political opinions, personal or social conditions”, or when there are “reasonable grounds for believing that she risks being subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment”. An amendment to article 19 introduced in 2020 also extended the prohibition of refoulement, expulsion or extradition also in the hypothesis of the risk of violation of the right to respect for private and family life and of the risk of persecution due to sexual orientation and identity gender. The residence permit for special protection, which can also be converted into a work permit from 2020, lasts two years and its renewal is linked to a reassessment of the situation by a territorial commission. The changes requested by the government in the Cutro decree – with a sub-amendment presented in the next few hours in the wake of the 2018 safety decree – in several cases provide for the cancellation of the possibility of converting the special protection into a work permit. Furthermore, it is requested that “serious calamities” and “medical treatments” no longer be considered among the reasons for accepting the request: even those suffering from “psycho-physical conditions or conditions deriving from serious pathologies” may be expelled, with the exception of those suffering from pathologies “not adequately treatable in the country of origin”. With regard to calamities (no longer “serious” ones but only “contingent and exceptional”) the permit, for 6 months, will no longer be renewable, but extendable “for a further period of six months”. The rights of those who can enjoy thepolitical asylum, which can be recognized to a person who requests it in a member state of the 1951 Geneva Convention, according to which “anyone, with a well-founded fear of being persecuted on grounds of his race, religion, nationality, his membership of a particular social group or his political opinions, is outside the State of which he is a national and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to apply for the protection of that State”. From the request until the application is accepted, the person assumes the status of asylum seeker and can legally stay in Italy. If granted, asylum guarantees the refugee a residence permit of at least five years (but can be renewed) during which it is possible to work, access services for the right to study, accommodation, meals and health services. Similar rights and with the same times are guaranteed to those who use the subsidiary protection, introduced by the European Union and transposed by Italy. It can benefit those who, although they cannot be considered a refugee (therefore who cannot enjoy political asylum) “would run a real risk of suffering serious harm” in the event that they return to their country of origin, from the death sentence to to torture. In 2023, out of 19,000 decisions adopted so far by the territorial commissions on requests, 20% was for recognition of special protection (about 3,800 permits), 17% for recognition of asylum or subsidiary protection and 63% was for refusal. In 2022, on the other hand, out of around 59,000 decisions by the commissions, 19% was for recognition of special protection (just over 10,000 permits), compared to 25% for recognition of international protection. 56% of the decisions were instead of refusal.