ITALY Annual Report on Asylum and Migration Statistics

EMN EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK Italian National Contact Point ITALY Annual Report on Asylum and Migration Statistics Reference Year: 2007 edited by EMN National Contact Point IDOS Study and Research Centre with the support of the Ministry of Interior www.emnitaly.it ROME 2010 1

ITALY Annual Report on Asylum and Migration Statistics (Reference Year: 2007) Edited by Alessandra Ciurlo, Franco Pittau, Antonio Ricci IDOS Study and Research Centre Translation by Claudia Di Sciullo TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION.p.3 I.1. Methodology II. ASYLUM.. p.5 II.1. Analysis and interpretation of asylum statistics II.2. Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors) III. MIGRATION.. p.9 III.1. Analysis and interpretation of migration statistics III.1.1. Migration flows III.1.2. Population by citizenship III.1.3. Residence permits: annual total of first issuing III.2. Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors) IV. REFUSALS, APPREHENSIONS AND REMOVALS....p.12 IV.1. Analysis and interpretation of statistics IV.1.1. Trends and developments in refusals IV.1.2. Trends and developments in apprehensions IV.1.3. Trends and developments in removals IV.1.4. Specificity of particular citizen groups IV.2. Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors) 2

1. Introduction This Annual Report on Asylum and Migration Statistics 2007 falls within the area of responsibility of the European Migration Network EMN, which was established by Council Decision 2008/381/EC of 14 May 2008. The EMN s objective includes supporting policy makers at EU and national level, by providing an overview of the different national contexts through the exchange of information and comparability of statistical data at EU level. 1.1. Methodology The development of this report required laborious care in gathering statistical data, because it was necessary to do verification checks through the involvement of the main bodies in the field of statistics, namely the so-called data providers. This first paragraph, which explains the methodology used to compile this study on the basis of the specific requests listed in the working paper Migrapol 162, begins by specifying the administrative sources used and continues with the problems to cope with when pointing out the characteristics of specific migrations, and the methods for recording each source. Regarding the demographic balance of registrations from abroad and cancellations to abroad and the global population trend, the National Contact Point confirms the existence, at the national level, of two different ways of gathering statistical data, which culminate in different statistical results: - the first system uses statistical elaborations based on individual forms regarding the registration of persons who changed their residence during the year; this method is commonly used because of the high degree of information details contained in these forms, although it is more subjected to errors regarding the overall data accuracy, because the individual forms have not been filled in for every person involved 1 ; - the second system, which we have privileged in this study, is based on forms filled in by the competent Municipalities and refer to the total number of people involved (therefore only 8,103 forms exists, as many as the Italian Municipalities). Data gathered by using these forms represent the cornerstone of the so-called demographic balance, published by the Division for Population, Education and Culture of the Istat, a body which, when 1 See, ISTAT, Registrations and cancellations at the Registry Office. Reference Years: 1997-2005. Issued on: June 18 th, 2008 http://www.istat.it/dati/dataset/20080618_00/ 3

contacted for the 2006 report, suggested to use them because they provide the most reliable summary of information 2. Regarding the population and non-eu residents, we made reference to official data regularly issued by the Istat and accessible online at demo.istat.it, whereas for new residence permits issued during 2007 and still in force at the end of the year we referred to the archives of CEN (National Electronic Centre, Naples) of the Ministry of Interior / Department of Public Security. These data, which regard both resident and sojourning citizens, are unable to fully reflect the actual trend in new entries from abroad, due to the large scale of the recent migration flows that generate a delay of the administrative registration procedures, and this determines an under-representation in the statistics. As regards statistics on asylum applicants, the Italian NCP requested an apposite data extrapolation to the National Commission for the Right of Asylum of the Ministry of Interior because in the course of time they can understandably be susceptible to slight variations due to technical checks and subsequent corrections. With regard to law enforcement against irregular immigration (refusals, apprehensions and removals), we requested the final data to the competent authorities, that is the Department of Public Security of the Ministry of Interior; also in this case, subsequent corrections differ slightly from the previous data. 2 See, http://demo.istat.it/index_e.html 4

2. Asylum 2.1. Analysis and interpretation of asylum statistics 2.1.1. Trend in asylum applications During 2007, foreign citizens who, once arrived in Italy, applied for recognition of refugee status amounted to 14,053. Between 2004 and 2007 the trend in applications underwent some variations: between 2004 and 2005 applications decreased by 4.8% (from 9,850 to 9,377), but during the subsequent year there was a significant increase by 10.4% (10,348 applications), that continued between 2006 and 2007 and reached 36%, which means a total of 14,053 asylum applications. This upward trend was shared by several other Member States of Southern Europe such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus, and by some countries which recently joined the European Union such as Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania, Poland, Hungary: in these countries, in 2007 asylum applications recorded an increase ranging from 41% to 200%. ITALY. Time Series of Asylum Applications (1997-2007) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 1,874 13,194 24,809 18,361 17,403 16,131 13,982 9,850 9,377 10,348 14,053 SOURCE: The National Commission for the Right of Asylum Most of the foreign citizens who in 2007 applied for international protection were from the African continent, whereas some of them were from other European and Asian countries. The main countries of origin of asylum applicants were: Eritrea with 2,260 applications and Nigeria (1,336), followed by Serbia and Montenegro (1,100), Côte d'ivoire (982), Somalia (757), Ghana (673) and Afghanistan (663). The number of new asylum applicants from Eritrea was confirmed as the highest, as occurred in 2005 and 2006. However, compared to 2006, a significant increase in asylum applications regarded nationals from Nigeria, Serbia Montenegro (whose number doubled up - in particular those submitted by people from Kosovo) and, slightly less consistently, Côte d'ivoire. Unlike past years, in 2007 the applications from Ghana, although increasing in 5

number, were not among the most numerous. Instead, contrary to 2006, applications submitted by nationals of Togo showed a decrease. In 2007, numerous were the asylum applications submitted by people fleeing from Somalia and Afghanistan, in line with what observed in other industrialized countries. Instead, asylum applicants from Ethiopia, Morocco, Sudan and Bangladesh, who had been numerous during the previous year, in the 2007 statistics are no longer among the first countries. ITALY. Asylum Applications Submitted in 2006-2007 SOURCE: The National Commission for the Right of Asylum 2.1.2. Asylum applications examined in 2007 2007 was the third year of implementation of decentralized procedures for recognition of refugee status, which came into effect on April 21 st, 2005. The seven local Commissions examined 13,509 applications, which represent an increase of 46% in comparison with the 9,260 ones of 2006. Out of the total number of applications examined, 1,408 (equal to 10.4%) resulted in the recognition of refugee status, representing an increase of about three percentage points from 7.1% in 2006; 6,318 applications (46.7% of the applications examined) resulted in a negative decision and a consequent request to the police headquarters for a permit of stay for 6

humanitarian reasons, representing an increase of about ten percentage points from 36.6% in 2006. Denied applications which have been excluded from humanitarian protection amounted to 4,908 (36.3% of the total number): a higher figure compared to the previous year (3,621), when they accounted for 32.2% of the total examined applications. The establishment of Territorial Commissions - and the decentralization of powers from the Central Commission in Rome, which previously was the only competent body for procedures regarding asylum produced a substantial decrease in the number of applications, whose examination could not be completed due to the impossibility of contacting applicants during examination procedures. In fact the rate of untraceable applicants fell from 57% in the period before decentralization, to 6% in 2007 (equal to just 875 applications). Furthermore, these applications also include the few waived cases or the so-called Dublin cases (whose responsibility is assigned to another European country). ITALY. Asylum applications examined in 2006-2007 SOURCE: The National Commission for the Right of Asylum 2.1.3. Changes regarding specific groups A characteristic of Italy is that its territory is mostly surrounded by sea and its southern shores, being so close to those of North Africa, represent a gateway to the country. According to UNHCR estimates for 2007, in Italy approximately 50% of asylum applications 7

were submitted by migrants arrived by sea. Among the thousands of migrants who land on southern shores each year, about half of them need protection, because they flee persecution, violence or war in their countries of origin. Out of the total number of landed persons, about 35% applies for asylum on the spot or later; the recognition rate of some form of protection (refugee status or humanitarian protection) corresponds to approximately 65% of the total. In 2007, landings - which mainly took place in Lampedusa, Sicily and, to a lesser extent, in Calabria and Puglia - involved about 20,000 people, 22% of whom were deemed in need of international protection. Faced with the need to strengthen Italy s ability to host migrants, the UNHCR and partner organizations (the International Organization for Migration, the Italian Red Cross) have joined the Praesidium project, funded by the Ministry of Interior, and the EU project called ARGO (which is operational in Lampedusa - Sicily). 2.2. Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors) As far as legislation on asylum is concerned, 2007 was an important year because the Italian government made an effort to implement two EU directives on minimum standards to be applied in the procedure for granting international protection (Directive 2005/85/EC - 10/12/2005 and Directive 2004/83/EC 29/04/2004), which brought significant improvements to the Italian asylum system. Of course, minimal results are observable during the same year, because the full implementation requires more time; nevertheless, in 2007 asylum applications increased by 36% compared with 2006. 8

3. Migration 3.1 Analysis and interpretation of migration statistics 3.1.1. Migration flows Regarding immigration and emigration to and from a foreign country, the statistical analysis shows a very positive balance that, over the years, can assure a steady increase in the overall population. As far as recorded immigration is concerned, the regularization measure of November 2002 must be taken into account, since its effects lasted until 2003 and even 2004, due the enormous amount of applications presented (about 704,000) and the complexity of its administrative obligations. After a declining trend in the years 2003-2005, the number of immigrants from abroad significantly grew in the years 2006 and 2007. In 2007, recorded immigration corresponded to the entry quotas of the previous year, initially set at 170,000 and then raised to 520,000. At the end of 2007, the enormous amount of applications (over 170,000) exceeded the available quotas, which once again were equal to 170,000, but this time there was no adjustment of quotas a part from the successive examination (which will happen in 2008) of some of the applications which had not been taken into consideration. The number of foreign people who emigrated from Italy to a foreign country, instead, even if slightly increasing is still extremely low compared to new entries. In 2007 the incidence of emigration on immigration was equal to 5.4%. ITALY. Balance between immigration and emigration of foreign citizens (2002-2007) 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Resident population (December 31 st ) 57,321,070 57,888,245 58,462,375 58,751,711 59,131,287 59,619,290 Immigration 424,856 394,756 282,780 254,588 515,201 496,549 Emigration 12,886 14,019 15,951 16,974 20,316 27,023 SOURCE: http://demo.istat.it/index_e.html 9

3.1.2. Population by citizenship 2007 was particularly significant as regards foreign population resident in Italy, which reached 2.5 million units, equal to 4.2% of total residents. If we take into account EU citizens as well (including citizens from countries which recently joined the European Union), the incidence would rise to 5.8%, due to the significant impact of Romanian citizens presence (equal to more than 600,000 at the time, and almost one million two years later). Among third-country nationals, Albanians confirm themselves as the first community (16.1%), followed soon after by Moroccans (14.6%). Then, with a lower percentage, there are nationals from China (6.3%), Ukraine (5.3%) and Philippines (4.2%). It should be noted that the ranking has not experienced significant changes over the recent years, apart from the joining of the EU by Romanians and Bulgarians since January 1 st, 2007. ITALY. Resident population classified by main countries of origin (December 31 st, 2007) Total population 59,619,290 Italians 56,186,639 EU Nationals (26 countries) 934,435 out of whom from EU-10 118,013 out of whom from EU-2 (Bulgaria, Romania) 658,755 Non-EU nationals 2,498,216 Main Third Countries: Albania 401,949 Morocco 365,908 China 156,519 Ukraine 132,718 Philippines 105,675 Tunisia 93,601 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 78,090 India 77,432 Ecuador 73,235 Peru 70,755 Others 942,334 SOURCE: http://demo.istat.it/index_e.html 3.1.3. Residence permits: annual total of first issuing Data regarding new entries are available for the reference year 2007, during which 150,500 residence permits (still valid at the end of the year) were issued. As explained in the methodological introduction, these figures only partially reflect the real situation, due to the 10

long lapse of time required for visas, entries, issues of residence permit and relative administrative registration at the registry office. 3.2. Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors) Regarding the contextual interpretations, two regulatory updates must be mentioned in particular, because not only in 2007 but also in the subsequent years they affected the Italian trend in migration: 1. during 2007 Italy implemented several important European directives on migration, such as Directive 2003/86/EC on family reunification, which eliminated the necessity of issuing a residence permit for non-eu minors adopted or in the process of adoption; 2. in turn, Decree-Law No. 154/2007 set the conditions of admission of third-country nationals for the purposes of studies, pupil exchange, unremunerated training or voluntary service in accordance with EU directives. ITALY. Main countries of origin of foreign resident population (January 1 st, 2008) SOURCE: http://demo.istat.it/index_e.html 11

4. Refusals, Apprehensions and Removals 4.1 Analysis and interpretation of statistics 4.1.1.Trends and developments in refusals Regarding the number of refusals, after the critical phase in the 1997-2002 period (more than 30 thousand refusals per year), the total number has gradually decreased to 20,000 in 2005 and even below 10,000 in 2007 (9,394). This trend is mainly due to visa exemption agreements regarding nationals from applicant Member States whose stay is shorter than three months. ITALY. Time series of Refusals (1997-2007) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 39,888 29,593 36,434 30,563 30,287 37,183 24,003 24,003 19,336 20,267 9,394 SOURCE: Ministry of Interior / Department of Public Security As confirmed by the analysis of national groups, a decisive factor that can explain the downward trend of the phenomenon is the gradual enlargement of the EU: on the one hand it has shifted the irregular migration pressure towards the new Member States, which now are themselves the new EU borders; on the other hand, it has sensibly reduced irregular pressure migration from important countries like Bulgaria and Romania (which in 2006 represented 41.1% of the total irregular presence). Therefore the current figures regarding countries of origin of foreign nationals refused at the border present a greater fragmentation, involving different countries from all continents: Europe (Serbia-Montenegro, Albania, Turkey, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), America (Paraguay, Brazil), Africa (Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria) and Asia (China). The ranking is led by Serbia-Montenegro with 797 refusals, followed by Paraguay and Albania with about 500 refusals (respectively 504 and 499) and then Morocco (439) and Brazil (410). 12

ITALY. Refusals by country of origin (2007) SOURCE: Ministry of Interior / Department of Public Security 4.1.2.Trends and developments in apprehensions This section refers to non-eu foreigners apprehended in a irregular condition. Data recently provided by the Ministry of Interior on this regard, have pointed out a strong decrease of apprehensions during the last year (54,140), although, in the years immediately preceding, pressure had remained significant, despite the fluctuations from year to year (over 90,000 apprehensions in the period 2000-2002 and again in 2006). ITALY. Time series of Apprehensions (1997-2007) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 57,539 69,789 64,523 91,460 90,160 92,823 59,535 61,024 83,809 92,029 54,140 SOURCE: Ministry of Interior / Department of Public Security As regards countries of origin, North African countries are the most frequently involved: Morocco ranks first, followed by Egypt (third), Tunisia and Algeria (respectively sixth and ninth). 13

As regards Europe, nationals from Albania (second) and Moldova (tenth) are the most numerous; as regards Asia, nationals from China and India respectively rank fourth and eighth; nationals from Senegal (fifth) and Nigeria (seventh) represent the rest of the African continent. South American citizens are not included in these statistics. ITALY. Apprehensions by countries of origin (2007) SOURCE: Ministry of Interior / Department of Public Security 4.1.3. Trends and developments in removals In 2007 there was a total of 8,771 removals, a figure which is very close to the one recorded in 1998 (8,394). In the elapsed years, however, the amount of removals has experienced a rapid growth until 2002, when almost 33,000 cases occurred; subsequently the trend has gradually fallen over the next few years (2003-2005), until it was drastically halved between 2006 (over 16,000) and 2007 (8,771). Once again, when analysing the effectiveness of law enforcement against irregular migration, we should not forget the obvious link between the recorded decrease and the joining of the EU by important communities of migrants like the Poles in 2004 and the 14

Romanians in 2007. Moreover, as already mentioned, we must take into consideration the increase of entry quotas in 2006. ITALY. Time series of Removals (1997-2007) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 8,394 12,681 24,044 26,734 32,000 33,413 31,013 27,402 24,001 16,597 8,771 SOURCE: Ministry of Interior / Department of Public Security In 2007, more than a fifth of removals involved nationals from Albania (22.1%). Albanians (1,940), together with Egyptians (1,217) and Moroccans (1,201), represent half of total removals. ITALY. Removals by country of origin (2007) SOURCE: Ministry of Interior / Department of Public Security 4.1.4. Specificity of particular citizen groups In general, law enforcement against irregular immigration has pointed out that the current Italian situation is mainly characterized by polycentrism, meaning that immigration originates from many countries and different continents. However, with regard to particular 15

citizen groups, on the basis of the analyses conducted, it is possible to make the following specific considerations: - Albania and Morocco, representing the first two national groups present in Italy, maintain their top position also in refusals, apprehensions and removals; - as regards nationals from China, law enforcement against irregular migration is easier at the time of their entry in Italy rather than at later stages, as suggested by the meagre amount of removals; - nationals from Latin America are more often refused rather than apprehended or removed. Finally, given the geographical location and current trends, the joining of the EU by former communist countries has played a key factor for the standardization of law enforcement against irregular entry and residence of foreign nationals. Refusals, Apprehensions and Removals (2007) Refusals Apprehensions Removals TOTAL 9,394 TOTAL 54,140 TOTAL 8,771 Serbia Montenegro 797 Morocco 9,526 Albania 1,940 Paraguay 504 Albania 3,832 Egypt 1,217 Albania 499 Egypt 3,366 Morocco 1,201 Morocco 439 China 3,356 Ukraine 491 Brazil 410 Senegal 3,094 Tunisia 480 China 375 Tunisia 3,006 Serbia Montenegro 366 Senegal 327 Nigeria 2,523 Moldova 349 Turkey 312 India 2,481 Nigeria 316 Nigeria 281 Algeria 2,294 Algeria 315 F. Yug. Rep. of Macedonia 250 Moldova 2,065 Palestine 266 Others 5,200 Others 18,597 Others 1,830 SOURCE: Ministry of Interior / Department of Public Security 4.2 Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors) With regard to law enforcement against irregular migration, in 2007 the Italian government issued a decree extending removals even to EU citizens residing in Italy but without the requirements for residence. In particular, the Ministry of Interior has granted the Prefects the power to issue deportation orders based on their jurisdiction over public safety. 16

It might be surprising at first sight that a country having such exposed borders like Italy, in 2007 experienced a number of removals that was only slightly higher than in 1998, whereas, since then, the regular resident population has tripled; therefore migration flows were particularly intense. In this regard we must consider several factors: 1. the vast majority of foreign citizens who are interested in settling in Italy even in the absence of an authorization, enter regularly (as tourists with visa exemption, or holding a visa or a temporary permit of stay) and then stay beyond the time allowed; in this way they can not be refused at borders but only on the territory where, however, it is easier to hide; 2. enlargement of the EU, with the joining of 12 new Member States, has reduced the migration pressure on the Italian border, especially in the case of the Romanians; 3. over the time, the Italian government has raised the amount of entry quotas for new workers in order to reduce the need to implement subsequent regularization measures; in this regard, 2006 was very significant (even if effects were visible only during the following year); 4. the trend of landings has experienced the highest increase (almost 50,000 people) in 1989 during the Kosovo war, after stood at around 20,000 units. After the drop below the 15,000 units reported in 2003 and 2004, the threshold of 20 000 units was again exceeded in three following years for the effect exerted by the Spanish-Moroccan agreements on Ceuta and Melilla, which decrease the landings in Spain and transfer the starting point in Libya with Sicily as the main destination. These flows involve potential migrants from Maghreb (especially Morocco and Tunisia), Egypt and other Sub-Saharan countries (Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nigeria and others), which, starting from Morocco, could be intercepted by joint patrol while the route to the Canary Islands, firstly moved in Mauritania and then in Senegal, has become increasingly dangerous. Of course the study of control and enforcement of unauthorized flows is functional to the programming of the flows themselves. Migration flows of asylum applicants, instead, present their own specific characteristics: since they are determined by more pressing causes than the ones affecting migrants for economic reasons, and are particularly protected by EU legislation, they should never be confused with the normal migration flows. Therefore statistics on immigration and asylum, when examined from this broader perspective, represent an observation point on the future development of migration and a support to future migration policies. 17