The Protection System for Asylum and Refuge Seekers, the so-called “second reception”, is established by the Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration of the Ministry of Interior and operated by Anci (the National Association of Italian Municipalities).
Applicants who have filed a request for asylum and have no means of subsistence (determined by the welfare check annual amount) are brought into the system of secondary level reception centres. Besides food and shelter, centres must provide services such as linguistic and cultural mediation, Italian language courses, vocational training and guidance and legal assistance so as to facilitate integration. Accommodation is granted for six months, which can be extended for a further six months and is in any case guaranteed until the decision of the Territorial Commission or, in case of appeal, until the outcome of the suspension request and/or the definition of the first degree proceeding.
