On 1 January 2017 approximately 5 047 000 foreign citizens were registered in Italy, 21 000 more than in the previous year (corresponding to 8.3% of the total population). They constitute a relatively young population: 1 out of 5 was under 18 years old and almost 40% were under 29 years old. About half of them were women.
Among EU nationals, the main nationality was Romania (1.7 million, 2% increase since 2016). Legally residing third-country nationals numbered 3 717 000 (74% of the total migrant stock). Almost one third were born in Africa, followed by non-EU European and Asian nationals (29%) and Americans (10%). In line with the previous year’s patterns, the main countries of origin were Morocco (455 800, -4%) and Albania (442 000, -4%). China saw the largest increase in its immigrant population in Italy between 2016 and 2017 (+4%, reaching 319 000).
Between 2016 and 2017, about 220 000 first time residence permits were issued – almost half the number issued in 2007 (515 000). As in past years, only 4% of new permits were issued for work reasons, while 46% were issued for family reasons. By the beginning of 2017, a third of the total residence permits issued in Italy were for asylum or humanitarian reasons, up from 28% in 2015/16. Long-standing immigrant communities in Italy (such as Albanians, Moroccans and Tunisians) are more likely to have a family permit, while more recent nationalities (such as Chinese, Bangladeshi and Peruvians) mostly hold a residence permit for work. Some nationalities of migrants largely hold permits for protection: 95% of Malians, 94% of Gambians and 88% of Afghans and Somalis.
In 2017, Italy received over 130 000 asylum seekers (10 000 more than in 2016). The main nationalities were Nigerian (18%), Bangladeshi (10%) and Pakistani (7.5%). The number of unaccompanied minors reached a total of almost 18 300 by the end of the year.
In 2017, 119 000 migrants landed on the Italian coasts, 34% fewer than in 2016 and 22% fewer than in 2015. This reduction follows the Italian-Libyan agreements signed at the beginning of 2017 which imposed a barrier to migrant inflows from Africa. Even so, the main sources remain Nigeria, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire. A substantial number (approximately 16 000) of the landings in 2017 was by unaccompanied minors, mostly from African countries although 39% fewer compared to 2016.
The total number of foreigners who acquired Italian citizenship increased from 286 000 in 2001 to around 1 350 000 in 2016. During 2016, 202 000 foreign citizens acquired Italian citizenship due to long residence or as minors whose parent naturalised. This represents a 13% increase from 2015. About two fifths of citizenship acquisitions in 2016 were by Albanians (20%) and Moroccans (19%), with smaller shares by Indians (5%), Bangladeshis (5%) and Pakistanis (4%). In addition, approximately 15 000 EU citizens acquired Italian citizenship in 2016.
At the same time, a growing number of Italians left the country. The number of Italian citizens who declared their transfer of residence abroad increased by over 11%, from 102 000 in 2015 to 114 000 in 2016. Declared emigration is likely an underestimation; estimates of actual Italian emigration in 2016 range between 125 000 and 300 000.
Three main policy changes affected Italian migration legislation during 2017. On March 2017, the law “Provisions on measures to protect unaccompanied foreign minors” was approved by the Italian parliament. The new law pledges that foreign minors arriving in Italy without adults cannot be refused at the border. The maximum duration unaccompanied minors may be hosted in initial reception centres during identification and age verification was lowered from 60 to 30 days. In view of the superior interests of the child, the law initiates the possibility for the minor to be supported up to the age of 21 years. A National Information System for Foreign Unaccompanied Minors has been mandated under the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies.
In April 2017, the Italian parliament reformed the asylum procedure with the law “Urgent provisions for the acceleration of proceedings in the field of international protection and fighting illegal immigration”. Four major modifications occurred: (i) the abolition of one level of judgement for asylum seekers appealing against a negative decision on their application; (ii) the abolition of the need for the judge to listen personally to the asylum seekers appealing against a denial decision; (iii) an increase from four to twenty repatriation centres – one for each region; (iv) the introduction of voluntary work for asylum seekers and refugees.
In December 2017, a decree assigned Ministry of Interior officials, rather than Police officials, to the local asylum commissions. The same decree changed the procedure for assigning a guardian to unaccompanied minors.
