On 29th March 2022, the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi signed a decree which entitles the Italian authorities to grant the Ukrainian citizens temporarily living in Italy a residence permit for temporary humanitarian protection. Such decree is the result of the enforcement of the Directive 2001/55/EC on the temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and of the Council implementing decision (EU) 2022/382 establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine.
Entering Italy for Ukrainian citizens
As reported on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukrainians are among those non-EU citizens who are exempt from the requirement to possess a visa for entering Italy for a stay of maximum 90 days on a period of time of 180 days for tourism, business, religious reasons, transit, study and sports competitions. In order to enter the country, they will only be required to show a valid passport.
Moreover, within 8 days after entering the country, they will need to register their presence at the police headquarter.
For those who wish to remain in Italy for more than 90 days, there is the possibility to obtain a residence permit for temporary humanitarian protection.
Terms of the permit
The temporary humanitarian protection shall begin on 4th March 2022 and shall continue for one year. After such period of time, the permit may be automatically renewed every six months for a maximum of one year. In any case, the protection may cease in advance upon decision of the Council of the European Union.
Recipients of the temporary protection and family reunifications
The temporary protection is applicable to the following categories of people:
- Ukrainian citizens domiciled in Ukraine before 24th February 2022 and their relatives;
- Stateless people and citizens of countries other than Ukraine eligible for international protection or equal national protection in Ukraine before 24th February 2022 and their relatives.
Article 1, paragraph 4 of the decree considers relatives:
- The spouse of the involved party or the partner living in a stable relationship with the involved party without being married;
- Unmarried minor children of the involved party;
- Other relatives as indicated in article 29 paragraph 1 letters c) and d) of the Legislative Decree No. 286 of 1998 (Consolidated Immigration Act), living in the same nuclear family when the invasion of Ukraine started and dependent on the recipient of the temporary protection.
Family reunifications are allowed only for those who live in non-member states of the European Union.
Submission of the request
The request for the residence permit for temporary humanitarian protection shall be submitted to the police headquarter and then the police commissioner of the place in which the involved party is domiciled issues the permit.
The permit is issued in an electronic format and it is free of charge.
Allowed activities
The residence permit for temporary humanitarian protection allows the involved party to be enrolled to the National Health System, to have access to the labour market and to study.
Temporary protection and international protection
The owner of the residence permit may at any time submit a request for international protection according to the legislative decree No. 25 of 2008, which is the implementation of the Directive 2005/85/EC on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status.
In any case, the examination of the request for international protection is postponed to the moment of the cessation of the temporary protection.
Exclusions
In the case in which the applicant is considered a threat to national security, the issue of the residence permit may be ruled out, in accordance with article 13 paragraph 1 of the Consolidated Immigration Act. In any case, the applicant excluded from this type of residence permit may submit the request for international protection, thus avoiding the notification of the procedure of expulsion from the national territory.