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29.05.2012

Humanitarian permits for North Africans renewed for a further 6 months

The validity period of residence permits granted to third-country nationals from North Africa who entered Italy from 1st January until midnight 5th April 2011 has been extended for a further six months, in accordance with the decree of the President of the Council of Ministers dated 15th May 2012, published in the Official Gazette on Monday 21st May.

As explained in the introductory remarks to the decree, the decision to renew these permits is motivated by governmental authorities’ desire, on the one hand, to facilitate the inclusion of foreign nationals benefiting from these measures who are holders of either a residence permit for work purpose or another type of permission to stay and, on the other hand, to give time to those who are interested in returning to their country of origin through Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programmes.
Furthermore, these new measures fall within the framework of the overall strategy to help tackle migration emergency sparked by upheavals in North Africa.

Residence permits are part of temporary protective measures on humanitarian grounds adopted in Italy by decree of the President of the Council of Ministers dated 5th April 2011. Their validity period as originally fixed was later prolonged through the adoption of a new decree on 6th October 2011. Residence permits on humanitarian grounds are envisaged in article 11, paragaph 1 c-ter of Presidential decree no. 394/1999 (implementing legislation for the Consolidated Text on Immigration).