Speaking in Bari on 10 November 2025, Deputy-Prime Minister and Lega leader Matteo Salvini revealed that his party has completed drafting a new decree-law that will bundle security and immigration measures and could reach the Council of Ministers “within the week.” Although Salvini did not disclose the full text, he indicated that the package will tighten rules on irregular migration, accelerate expulsions, and introduce provisions on urban safety, including tools to speed up evictions in public-order cases.
The announcement comes just five months after Parliament converted the ‘Citizenship Decree’ into law and amid continuing pressure on the Meloni government to curb both irregular landings and overstays by rejected asylum-seekers. Interior-minister Matteo Piantedosi has repeatedly argued that Italy needs “more agile” procedures to remove persons with final deportation orders; the new decree is expected to expand the network of detention centres for repatriation (CPRs) and lengthen maximum detention from the current 45 days to 18 months in line with recent EU proposals.
![Italy’s Lega Readies New Security-Immigration Decree, Salvini Confirms]()
For employers, the most closely watched element is whether Salvini’s draft will modify the separate 2026-2028 ‘Flow Decree’ that raised legal-migration quotas to almost half a million entries. Government sources say the security decree will not cut those quotas but will impose stricter background checks before entry visas are issued, including mandatory biometric enrolment at Italian consulates. Business chambers worry that additional red-tape could slow down the hiring of seasonal and highly-skilled workers just as tourism and manufacturing face record labour shortages.
Another contentious point is a reported plan to empower prefects to order the closure of businesses found employing irregular migrants. Critics inside the ruling coalition warn that collective punishment could hit legitimate firms that rely on subcontractors, while trade unions fear it might push undocumented labour further underground.
If the decree is approved this month, it will take immediate effect but must be converted into law by Parliament within 60 days. Observers expect heated debate; the Democratic Party has already labelled the bill “repressive optics without structural solutions,” whereas the centre-right Forza Italia is pressing for parallel incentives that would help firms regularise existing workers. Corporate mobility managers should monitor the parliamentary timetable closely: tighter detention rules could affect travel documentation for dependants, while new consular vetting requirements may lengthen visa lead-times for intra-company transferees.
The announcement comes just five months after Parliament converted the ‘Citizenship Decree’ into law and amid continuing pressure on the Meloni government to curb both irregular landings and overstays by rejected asylum-seekers. Interior-minister Matteo Piantedosi has repeatedly argued that Italy needs “more agile” procedures to remove persons with final deportation orders; the new decree is expected to expand the network of detention centres for repatriation (CPRs) and lengthen maximum detention from the current 45 days to 18 months in line with recent EU proposals.
For employers, the most closely watched element is whether Salvini’s draft will modify the separate 2026-2028 ‘Flow Decree’ that raised legal-migration quotas to almost half a million entries. Government sources say the security decree will not cut those quotas but will impose stricter background checks before entry visas are issued, including mandatory biometric enrolment at Italian consulates. Business chambers worry that additional red-tape could slow down the hiring of seasonal and highly-skilled workers just as tourism and manufacturing face record labour shortages.
Another contentious point is a reported plan to empower prefects to order the closure of businesses found employing irregular migrants. Critics inside the ruling coalition warn that collective punishment could hit legitimate firms that rely on subcontractors, while trade unions fear it might push undocumented labour further underground.
If the decree is approved this month, it will take immediate effect but must be converted into law by Parliament within 60 days. Observers expect heated debate; the Democratic Party has already labelled the bill “repressive optics without structural solutions,” whereas the centre-right Forza Italia is pressing for parallel incentives that would help firms regularise existing workers. Corporate mobility managers should monitor the parliamentary timetable closely: tighter detention rules could affect travel documentation for dependants, while new consular vetting requirements may lengthen visa lead-times for intra-company transferees.
