A second component of Wednesday’s security package zeroes-in on beneficiaries of ‘protezione speciale’—Italy’s subsidiary protection status often awarded when full refugee status is denied. The new bill, approved in the same cabinet meeting, makes the status conditional on meeting four cumulative criteria: at least five years of legal residence, certified Italian-language proficiency, suitable housing, and proof of financial means equivalent to family-reunification thresholds.
The Interior Ministry argues the changes will curb abuse of the category, which ballooned after previous humanitarian permits were scrapped in 2018. Human-rights NGOs counter that many applicants will struggle to secure formal housing contracts or meet income tests while still waiting for work authorisations—a Catch-22 likely to push people into irregular labour.
For readers who need hands-on assistance in navigating Italy’s changing immigration landscape, VisaHQ offers a convenient solution. Its dedicated Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) provides real-time updates, document checklists, and end-to-end filing support, helping both individuals and employers stay compliant with the new protection criteria and related work-permit procedures.
![Supplementary Protection Under Italian Asylum Law Tightened to Four Strict Conditions]()
From a mobility perspective, the stricter rules may reduce the pool of foreign nationals eligible for eventual work conversion or corporate sponsorship, particularly in low-wage sectors such as care work and agriculture that depend on humanitarian permit holders. Employers should anticipate longer lead times to regularise staff and may need to switch to quota-based hiring channels.
Law firms expect an uptick in appeals as existing holders try to renew under the narrower framework. Companies providing relocation support should budget for higher legal costs and ensure affected employees enrol quickly in state-recognised language courses to preserve their status.
In the medium term the government hopes the measure will dovetail with the EU safe-country list, allowing faster returns of rejected applicants. However, if courts strike down the financial or housing thresholds as disproportionate, the reform could be partially rolled back, repeating a pattern seen in earlier Salvini decrees.
The Interior Ministry argues the changes will curb abuse of the category, which ballooned after previous humanitarian permits were scrapped in 2018. Human-rights NGOs counter that many applicants will struggle to secure formal housing contracts or meet income tests while still waiting for work authorisations—a Catch-22 likely to push people into irregular labour.
For readers who need hands-on assistance in navigating Italy’s changing immigration landscape, VisaHQ offers a convenient solution. Its dedicated Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) provides real-time updates, document checklists, and end-to-end filing support, helping both individuals and employers stay compliant with the new protection criteria and related work-permit procedures.
From a mobility perspective, the stricter rules may reduce the pool of foreign nationals eligible for eventual work conversion or corporate sponsorship, particularly in low-wage sectors such as care work and agriculture that depend on humanitarian permit holders. Employers should anticipate longer lead times to regularise staff and may need to switch to quota-based hiring channels.
Law firms expect an uptick in appeals as existing holders try to renew under the narrower framework. Companies providing relocation support should budget for higher legal costs and ensure affected employees enrol quickly in state-recognised language courses to preserve their status.
In the medium term the government hopes the measure will dovetail with the EU safe-country list, allowing faster returns of rejected applicants. However, if courts strike down the financial or housing thresholds as disproportionate, the reform could be partially rolled back, repeating a pattern seen in earlier Salvini decrees.
