New simplifications in immigration matters

Article 4 of Law 182 primarily addresses the rules governing the guarantee of accommodation for workers from non-EU countries or stateless persons, to be included in the residence contract for subordinate employment. In particular, Article 4-bis of the Consolidated Law on Immigration is amended to establish that the employer is required to guarantee the availability of accommodation that meets the minimum standards set out in the Ministerial Decree of 5 July 1975 (Official Gazette no. 190 of 18 July 1975) regarding the minimum height and health and hygiene requirements of residential premises. 

The simultaneous addition of Article 22, paragraph 2, of the Consolidated Law on Immigration also establishes that where the accommodation consists of permanent dormitories on construction sites, a self-certification by the employer attesting to compliance with health and safety standards (in particular, Annex XIII of Legislative Decree no. 81/2008) is permitted. Otherwise, if the accommodation is located in a hotel or other accommodation facility, for the purposes of suitability, the mere indication of the host facility is considered sufficient.   

The same Article 4 of Law 182 also reforms the maximum term for issuing work permits for foreign workers participating in vocational and civic-linguistic training programmes in their countries of origin, governed by Article 23 of the Consolidated Law on Immigration. In fact, with the introduction of paragraph 5-quater to Article 22 of the Consolidated Law on Immigration, this period is reduced from sixty to thirty days. 

The Simplification Law (Article 20) also acknowledges the role of local structures attached to the most representative employers' organizations at national level, by amending paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 24-bis of the Consolidated Law on Immigration. Firstly, it is established that these local structures may also be responsible for verifying compliance with the provisions of the collective labour agreement and the adequacy of the number of applications submitted, for the purposes of issuing work permits for foreign nationals falling within the so-called quotas.

Secondly, Law 182 amends the rules governing the certification issued to employers in the event of a positive outcome of the above checks, stating that such certification is not required for applications submitted by employers' organizations that are comparatively more representative at national level, as for those submitted by their local branches that have signed a specific memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies.

Finally, the Simplification Law introduces (Article 21) a significant acceleration of the procedure for issuing work permits for highly skilled workers by the Immigration Office. In particular, with regard to the issuance of the EU Blue Card, Article 27-quater, paragraph 6, of the Consolidated Law on Immigration is amended to reduce the maximum time limit for the adoption of the authorization measure from ninety to thirty days. ​