Due to skills shortages reported both by companies and entire sectors, the Draghi government attempted to simplify the Decreto flussi system, and quotas are regularly set by the current government as well. This measure aims to facilitate the regular entry of foreign workers for seasonal or non-seasonal work, whether as an employee or as a subcontractor. However, the current system remains insufficient in terms of quotas and the procedure itself is particularly complicated. Additionally, the illegitimate practices recently detected within Italian Embassies, further hinders the effectiveness of this measure.
Gaining access through the Decreto flussi system involves several bureaucratic steps. Following the submission of an application by the Italian employer on behalf of the prospective employer, a clearance (nulla osta) must be issued by the relevant local prefecture within 60 days (and 20 for seasonal work). Then, an entry visa must be issued by the Italian Embassy in the worker’s country of origin within 30 days. Then, upon entering Italy, a contract must be signed at the location of the relevant prefecture within 8 days, triggering the commencement of the permit of stay.
This bureaucratic process requires engagement with various authorities, thus each step could present potential setbacks. Consequently, the “success rate” – so to speak – of the process is way below 100%, in terms of the ratio between the quotas of people allowed for entry and the people eventually successfully “recruited” and allowed to regularly stay in Italy. According to a report published in May 2024 by the “Ero Straniero” campaign entitled “The Real Numbers of the Flows Decree”, only 23.52% of the quotas provided for by the decree were reflected in the number of residence permits issued, and 35.32% in 2022. The outcome is that third-country nationals are denied access to regularity if they are already working the jobs, or are prevented from accessing jobs that they could and will readily perform, and companies suffer from the failure of this burdensome procedure.
In particular, concerns have been raised regarding the incidence of rejections of entry visas for traditional working formats (employer/employee) by various Italian Embassies abroad. The denials, when examined, seem unjustified or based on irrelevant findings. The arbitrariness of Embassies’ decisions in these instances harms both the foreign workers and the companies engaged in this complicated regularization process.
For example, the Italian Embassy in Abu Dhabi is alleged to have denied a visa based on the assumption that the applicant was unwilling to work legally in Italy, given the precarious employment situation in the UAE. Other instances of unfounded or unreasonable denials were also observed at the Italian Embassies in Islamabad and Doha, despite employers’ advocacy on behalf of their prospective workers.
In light of these findings, Member of Parliament Rachele Scarpa and Senators Cecilia D’Elia and Graziano Delrio have submitted an inquiry to the competent Ministries, aimed at investigating the awareness of our Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Affairs regarding the described situation. They demand for a clear justification about the denials, which are almost entirely blocking the system’s effectiveness. Lastly, they urge full transparency on the matter and prompt action to protect employers damaged by these rejections.
The interrogation, presented on August 6th, requires an urgent written response. It is essential that the competent authorities condemn these illegitimate practices by the Administrations responsible for issuing entry visas. Moreover, the Ministries are expected to take concrete actions to enhance the effectiveness of the decree.
According to lawyer Gennaro Santoro, who prompted the Parliamentarians to submit the inquiry, “The current government claims to favor regular entries. As a matter of fact, it is preventing those entries, damaging both employers and foreign workers. It is time to end the farce of the Decreto flussi. It would be better to invest in regular entries detached from quotas, so that companies’ demand for labor is met and the system’s setbacks are prevented from affecting foreign workers intending to enter Italy legally”.
Cover image: Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
