UK Immigration Bill
On 11th November 2020, the UK government’s Immigration and Social Security Co-Ordination (EU Withdrawal Bill) more commonly referred to as the ‘Immigration Bill’ received Royal Assent turning the bill into an official act of parliament. This bill does what Priti Patel was boasting about all year, i.e. that it officially ends the free movement of people between the EU and the UK and will be effective as of the end of 2020.
Background to Free Movement:
Free movement is a fundamental element of the EU ensuring that citizens are able to live, work and travel to any other EU country. This visaless way of movement presents a myriad of opportunities for EU citizens allowing a level of flexibility and freedom unparalleled throughout the world. However, some in the UK argued that by accepting free movement this forced the UK into accepting too many migrants from across from the EU. This argument ultimately became a core element of the Brexit campaign with those in favour arguing that post-Brexit the UK could gain back control of her borders and stop migrants from freely entering. Therefore, it is pretty unsurprising that when Johnson did in his words ‘get Brexit done’ one of the top priorities was passing legislation that changed how the UK immigration system operates and that is where the Immigration Bill comes in. Johnson said on 11th November 2020 in the House of Commons that ‘the landmark Immigration Bill receives Royal Assent thanks to this House fulfilling of our manifesto commitment to end free movement and have a new fair points-based immigration system’.
Contents of the new Immigration Bill and what it changes:
The first thing this bill does is officially change free movement between the EU and the UK, now requiring Europeans hoping to live and work in the UK to be subject to UK immigration controls. Europeans already living in the UK have had the opportunity to remain through the EU Settlement Scheme but Europeans hoping to live and work in the UK in the future will be subject to the new system. These changes do not apply to Irish citizens. This is because the government says that UK and Irish citizens have enjoyed a unique status in each other’s state since 1920 (before the EU was even founded) and therefore both sides should continue reciprocal access even after Brexit. This means that even after the UK leaves the EU at the end of the year, Irish citizens will not require permission to enter or remain in the UK.
With regards to the controls that Europeans hoping to live and work in the UK in the future will be subject to, unfortunately, even though the Immigration Bill has been passed, these immigration controls have not been finalised yet and they are not part of this Immigration Bill. The government wants to introduce a new “points-based system” but in the government’s own words the Immigration Bill does not set out the details of the future immigration system with the government’s own website simply referring us to the policy statement that they published in February 2020. Please enter the link below to access the policy statement:
Ultimately not much progress has been made and the end of the transition period is nearly upon us. The policy statement covers the government’s plans for a points-based system. Considering that in November 2020, the government is still referring us back to this old document, this means that not much has changed since its publication in February 2020 besides the fact that the government has slashed the minimum salary requirements in order for applicants to settle in the UK. In October it was found that these plans had changed reducing the minimum salary requirement to £20,480. It is worth noting that the previous figure of £35,800 was introduced by Teresa May in 2011 when she was Home Secretary in an attempt to limit migration. So, this new system actually reduces the minimum salary potentially in reaction to demonstrate the country’s need for lower paid migrants in Britain post-Brexit. The UK’s points-based system is expected to be rolled out at the beginning of December 2020 but crucially it is not included in this legislation. However, that did not stop Priti Patel in the government’s announcement video of the Immigration bill, stating ‘our British points-based system will bring in firm controls, fair controls, but most importantly will mean that we have taken back control of our immigration policy’. A points-based system that one month before the end of the transition period we are still not privy to!
Free movement in Europe:
However, Europe’s free movement does not end. The other 30 member states will continue to have free movement. They have only lost access to one country. Whereas Brits have lost access to all 30! Some will argue that this will allow Britain to take back control but for others it represents a major loss of freedom and opportunity in Europe. Brits looking for continued access to Europe could always apply for a visa and will still have the right to travel to Europe for holidays. The new visa system for travel and holidays is set to make trips pretty easy after Brexit but actually trying to live and work in Europe post-Brexit is said to be substantially harder than it currently is. This could potentially make European employers less likely to offer employment to Brits.
Some see this as a major loss, a stolen opportunity to live and work outside of the UK. Others see it as Britain taking greater control of her borders, which to them is a price worth paying. Britain did already have more control over her borders pre-Brexit than many seem to believe. That is because under the 2006 Free Movement Directive, Britain had the power to control the entry of EU migrants. The directive states: ‘where admission is permitted, an EU citizen may remain in the UK for up to 3 months from the date of entry, provided that they do not become a burden on the social assistance system of the UK. If an EU citizen does not meet one of the requirements for residence set out in the directive, then they will not have the right to reside in the UK and may be removed’. Britain now has more powers than it did before, but it is worth noting that the UK was not previously completely powerless. The EU directive is used by countries like Belgium and Italy to send thousands of EU migrants back to their country of origin.
Economic analysis from the government’s own Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) suggests that tightening the grip on migration may not actually be the best idea. MAC has stated that immigrants contribute more to the public purse on average than native born Brits do. Newer migrants in fact are the most lucrative for the British economy. The average migrant from the EU contributed £2,370 more to the Treasury than a native-born Brit. Even if you do support Britain getting more control over migration, no one can deny that completely cutting or limiting migration is in the country’s best interest.
Is this a positive step and an example of the Conservatives fulfilling their manifesto promises or is it a sad day representing the rights of Brits being stripped away?
Decreto Flussi 2020
The following article is written in both an Italian and English language version.
Decreto flussi 2020, pubblicato in Gazzetta ufficiale (G.U. Serie generale, n.252, del 12 ottobre 2020)
Dalle ore 9 del 13 ottore 2020, è disponibile l’applicativo per la precompilazione dei moduli di domanda per i premessi di soggiorno in Italia. C’è quindi la possibilità di fare entrare in maniera regolare per attività lavorativa tutti gli stranieri che abbiano a che fare con l’attività dell’autotrasporto merci, dell’edilizia e turistico-alberghiero.
Di seguito le quote:
Sono riservati 6.000 ingressi per motivi di lavoro subordinato non stagionale nei settori dell’autotrasporto merci per conto terzi, dell’edilizia e turistico-alberghiero di cittadini di Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Corea (Repubblica di Corea), Costa d’Avorio, Egitto, El Salvador, Etiopia, Filippine, Gambia, Ghana, Giappone, India, Kosovo, Mali, Marocco, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Repubblica di Macedonia del Nord, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Ucraina.
Sono riservati 18.000 quote per lavoro subordinato stagionale nei settori stagionale agricolo e turistico- alberghiero per cittadini non comunitari di Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Corea (Repubblica di Corea), Costa d’Avorio, Egitto, El Salvador, Etiopia, Filippine, Gambia, Ghana, Giappone, India, Kosovo, Mali, Marocco, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Repubblica di Macedonia del Nord, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Ucraina.
Le quote rimanenti sono ripartite tra ingressi di cittadini non comunitari che abbiano completato programmi di formazione ed istruzione nei Paesi di origine, ingressi di lavoratori di origine italiana residenti in Venezuela e ingressi di cittadini non comunitari per lavoro autonomo. Nonché conversioni dei permessi di soggiorno già detenuti ad altro titolo in permessi di soggiorno per conversioni in lavoro subordinato e per lavoro autonomo.
Decreto flussi 2020, published in Gazzetta ufficiale (G.U. Serie generale, n.252, dated 12th October 2020)
As of 9am on 13th October 2020, application forms for residence permits in Italy are available. There is therefore the possibility for foreigners to enter Italy legally to carry out work in the fields of transportation of goods, construction and tourism (hotels).
The quotes are as follows:
6,000 places are reserved for non-seasonal subordinate work in the sectors of freight transport for third parties, construction and tourism (hotels) for citizens of Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Korea (Republic of Korea), Ivory Coast, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Gambia, Ghana, Japan, India, Kosovo, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of North Macedonia, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka , Sudan, Tunisia and Ukraine.
18,000 places are reserved for seasonal subordinate work in the seasonal agricultural and tourism (hotel) sectors for non-EU citizens of Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Korea (Republic of Korea), Ivory Coast, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Philippines, Gambia, Ghana, Japan, India, Kosovo, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of North Macedonia, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Ukraine.
The remaining places available are divided between non-EU citizens who have completed training and educational programs in their countries of origin, workers of Italian origin residing in Venezuela and non-EU citizens applying for self-employment. As well as conversions of residence permits already held for other reasons they can also be converted into subordinate work and self-employment permits.
“Sanatoria 2020” – Amnesty for undeclared foreign workers (D.L. n. 34 Maggio 2020)
The following article has been posted in Italian with an English translation below:
ARTICOLO 103 DEL DECRETO – LEGGE 19 MAGGIO 2020, N.34 – EMERSIONE RAPPORTO DI LAVORO 2020
E’ stata prorogata fino al 15 Agosto 2020 la SANATORIA 2020.
La legge ha previsto la possibilità di far emergere i rapporti di lavoro irregolare in essere con cittadini stranieri, nonché di rilasciare permessi di soggiorno temporanei ai cittadini stranieri che ne erano già in possesso, scaduti dal 31 ottobre 2019 non rinnovati né convertiti in altro titolo di soggiorno.
In particolare la norma:
►al comma 1, stabilisce la possibilità per il datore di lavoro italiano o straniero di sottoscrivere un nuovo rapporto di lavoro subordinato o di dichiararne uno irregolarmente instaurato con cittadini italiani o stranieri presenti sul territorio nazionale prima dell’8 marzo 2020;
► al comma 2 prevede per gli stranieri con permesso di soggiorno scaduto dal 31 ottobre 2019 di chiedere un permesso di soggiorno della durata di sei mesi. (attesa occupazione)
Le istanze possono essere presentate dal 1° giugno 2020 al 15 agosto 2020.
IL LAVORATORE DEVE RISULTARE PRESENTE IN ITALIA ALLA DATA dell’8 marzo
2020 I LAVORATORI POSSONO ESSERE ASSUNTI SOLO NEI SEGUENTI SETTORI DI ATTIVITA’
►agricoltura, allevamento e zootecnia, pesca e acquacoltura e altre attività connesse;
►assistenza alle persone affette da patologie o handicap che limitano l’autosufficienza;
►lavoro domestico di sostegno al bisogno familiare.
La domanda deve essere presentata esclusivamente con modalità informatica attraverso l’applicativo accessibile all’indirizzo: https://nullaostalavoro.dlci.interno.it
English translation
Regularisation of Existing Illegal Employment – Sanatoria 2020 (Article 103 of Decree n. 34 dated 19th May 2020).
The Sanatoria 2020 has been extended until 15th August 2020.
An amnesty or ‘sanatoria’ in Italian is an extraordinary measure that aims to regularise the status of people without a valid permesso di soggiorno who are employed in undeclared work in Italy. If you are undocumented and you report yourself to the relevant authorities with the support of your employer, you may get a valid permesso per motivi di lavoro in Italy.
As Sanatoria 2020 has been approved and further extended until 15th August 2020 you will only have to prove that you meet its requirements.
The recent law has provided for the possibility of regularising the immigration status of those engaging in illegal employment as well extending the validity of temporary residence permits which expired on 31st October 2019 to those foreign citizens who had them, which have not been renewed nor converted into another title of legal stay.
The law states as follows:
- Paragraph 1 establishes the possibility for the Italian or foreign employer to sign a new subordinate employment contract or to declare one illegally established with Italian or foreign citizens who were present in Italy before 8 March 2020.
- Paragraph 2 provides for foreigners with a residence permit, which expired on 31 October 2019 to request a six-month residence permit (awaiting employment).
Applications can be submitted from 1st June 2020 to 15th August 2020.
The worker must have been present in Italy on 8th March 2020. Workers can only be recruited in the following business sectors:
- agriculture, livestock and animal husbandry, fishing, aquaculture and other related activities
- assisting people who are handicapped and have limited levels of self-sufficiency
- domestic work to support family needs
The application can only be submitted electronically via the following Ministero dell’Interno address: https://nullaostalavoro.dlci.interno.it
Please contact Aleksandra Broom for further information about this application.
New immigration lawyer joins Oliver & Partners
We are pleased to announce a new addition to the Immigration and Citizenship department. Liliana Petrolo is an Italian lawyer with extensive experience in applications for visas for entry to Italy, in particular from non-EU countries, including: visas for re-entry into Italy, for family reasons, study, or elective residence (visto per reingresso, motivi familiari, residenza elettiva e studio); “blue card” applications for skilled workers (carta blu); permits for family re-union (permesso di soggiorno per ricongiungimento familiare); permanent, temporary and seasonal work permits (permesso di soggiorno stagionale e temporaneo); residence permits for EU long-term residents (Carta di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo) and residence cards for family members of EU citizens (Permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo a favore dei familiari).
UK post-Brexit immigration law
The new post-Brexit immigration bill for the UK has received initial approval by Parliament.
The House of Commons approved the general principles of the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill 2019-21 at a second reading of the Bill on 18 May 2020.
The aim of the new legislation is to force EU and EEA citizens to meet the same requirements for a grant of entry clearance as third country national applicants. The idea is for all migrants to be ‘highly skilled’. To meet the threshold of a ‘highly skilled’ worker, the government will be introducing a new points-based system. Points will be awarded for knowledge of the English language to a certain standard, having a job offer from an approved employer (who will act as the sponsor) and meeting a minimum salary threshold of £25,600. Further points will be awarded for having certain professional qualifications where there is a shortage of a workforce in that profession in the UK.
There has been a backlash that many of the frontline workers would not meet the requirements of this new immigration bill and would not score enough points to be granted entry clearance. They would not fall into the category of ‘highly skilled workers’ as many do not earn the minimum amount required. Clearly the aim of the Home Secretary is to extract as much money in taxation as possible but this will be at a cost of a decreased NHS workforce and other frontline workers. Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said that the earnings of frontline workers do not reflect their contribution to society. This begs the question that if the requirements of this new immigration bill are not relaxed, will there be a decrease in the number of frontline workers? Had this bill received Royal Assent before the pandemic, with what frontline force would we have fought a global pandemic?
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for immigration in the frontline services and how a significant minority are not British citizens. Britain has literally needed immigrants to survive and many frontline immigrant workers have lost their lives during the pandemic. We will remember Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s address to the nation following his release from St Thomas’ Hospital after he contracted the virus, where he praised ‘Jenny from New Zealand’ and ‘Luis from Portugal’. They are but two of thousands of immigrants working for the NHS.
The government currently does not intend to relax the proposed rules, saying that it is needed as part of the recovery plans for the government to recoup the money it distributed during the pandemic. Home Secretary Priti Patel states: “We will no longer have the routes for cheap, low-skilled labour that obviously has dominated immigration and our labour market for far too long in this country”.
The next stage of the passing of the bill will be the Committee stage at the House of Commons on 9 June 2020.
For those clients who wish to enter the UK, we would advise that applications are submitted sooner rather than later to avoid having to meet the somewhat draconian requirements to be classified as a ‘highly skilled worker’.
To read the bill as it stands please click the link below:
Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill 2019-21
Travelling to Italy from overseas
The Italian government has issued new guidelines relating to travelling to Italy from overseas, lifting the restrictions in place due to COVID-19. These are effective from 3rd June 2020.
The new rules were published in Article 6 of the Presidential decree no. of 17th May 2020 (see link below to full text of the new law).
Article 6 provides that from 3rd June 2020 there is no restriction on travel to or from the following countries:
a) Member States of the EU;
b) Member states of the Schengen Agreement;
c) United Kingdom;
d) Andorra, Monaco;
e) San Marino and Vatican.
Movement to and from any other country will still be prohibited up to 15th June 2020, unless these are for proven reasons of work, absolute urgency or for health reasons, or return to one’s home or place of residence in Italy.
The rules are subject to Law no. 33/2020 of 16th May, which sets the condition that notwithstanding any lifting of restrictions, it must be possible to continue to guarantee the safety of the public, otherwise the easing of lockdown could be suspended.
Residence in Italy during transition period
This post sets out the rules for British citizens already resident in Italy, and also aims to give some guidance for those hoping to apply for residence in Italy during the post-Brexit transition period.
The UK ended its membership of the EU on 31st January 2020, under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement concluded on 19th October 2019.
We are currently in the transition period, during which time all EU law is still binding in the United Kingdom and applies to British citizens resident in Member States. The transition period is due to end on 31st December 2020, however we note there is the possibility for this to be extended for “up to 1 or 2 years” if an agreement is reached between the EU and the UK before 1st July 2020.
Chapter 1 of the Withdrawal Agreement deals with citizen’s rights and, in particular, the right of residence in EU member states (Articles 13 – 23).
British citizens already resident in Italy at 31st January 2020
The Withdrawal Agreement permits EU countries to treat the rights of British citizens and their family members who were already resident in member States before Brexit, in one of two ways.
Italy fortunately adopted the simpler of these, the “declaratory” procedure, which means British citizens already resident in Italy pre-Brexit do not need to apply for residence again from scratch. The “declaratory” procedure enable British citizens already resident in Italy to simply exchange their present certificate of residence for a new document declaring the continuation of their existing status and all rights which this conferred.
The Ministero dell’Interno (Italian Home Office) issued a guidance note Circolare n. 3/2020 in February 2020 . The Circular sets out the contents of the new residence document, which is named “Attestazione di Iscrizione Anagrafica” (a template is shown here).
The new Attestazione di Iscrizione Anagrafica
From 1st February 2020 British citizens already registered as resident may attend their local Comune to request this new document, simply by showing proof of ID.
As at the time of this guidance note, it has not been clarified whether this new document is actually mandatory, or if there is a time limit by which to apply for it. In the meantime, it is likely that a simple “certificato di residenza” should be sufficient to demonstrate a British citizen’s current status in Italy.
There is also a lack of clarity regarding the “Attestazione di Soggiorno Permanente” during the transition period. Many long-term British residents may have already applied for this document in the past after 5 years residence. We understand that the Ministero dell’Interno has issued guidance to Comuni to refuse to issue this document post-January 2020, although this decision may be unlawful and is being challenged.
It should not be necessary for a person to hand in their Attestazione di Soggiorno Permanente on being issued with the new “Attestazione di Iscrizione”, however we understand this has happened on occasion, and guidance is also needed on this.
British citizens not resident in Italy at 31st January 2020
British citizens who were not already registered as resident before 31st January 2020 may still enter Italy during the transition period without a visa, under the Terms of the EU Directive on Free Movement n. 38/2004, and then may apply to the Comune to be registered as resident under the usual rules for EU citizens up to the end of 2020.
An application for residence made before 31st December 2020 must be made on one of the grounds set out in Article 7 of the Free Movement Directive. The British citizen must therefore show that they fall into one of the following categories, and provide documentary evidence that they:
(a) are workers or self-employed in the host Member State;
(b) have sufficient resources for themselves and their family members and have comprehensive sickness insurance cover in the host Member State;
(c) are students enrolled at a private or public establishment and have comprehensive sickness insurance;
(d) are family members accompanying or joining an EU citizen who satisfies the conditions referred to in points (a), (b) or (c).
They must provide proof of the address where they are living and permission to residence there (tenancy agreement or ownership) and their presence will be checked by the Municipal Police.
Once registered with the Comune, new residents will be issued with the “Attestazione di Iscrizione Anagrafica”.
The British Embassy in Rome has published guidance on the new rules which can be consulted here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-italy
The Free Movement Directive and rules for EU citizens applying for residence in another member states was implemented in Italian Legislation in Legge no.30/2007.
Decreto Flussi – when are we likely to know the 2020 quota?
Every year the Ministero dell’Interno issues the Decreto Flussi, which is the quota of how many non-EU citizens are allowed to enter Italy to carry out seasonal subordinate work, self-employed work and non-seasonal work from eligible countries.
In 2018, the Decreto Flussi quotas were already available in January, with the application being submitted on 31st January 2018. In 2019, they were released on 24th April 2019. 30,850 workers were allowed to enter of which 18,000 were seasonal workers. Many of these worked in agriculture.
Among the countries that made the most requests and that entered Italy following the 2019 Decreto Flussi were India with 22,000 (49%), Morocco with 9,000 (21%) and Egypt (11%).
The Italian provinces that have received multiple applications are Naples 13,000 instances; Verona and Latina 2,000 instances; and Rome and Trento 1,500.00 instances.
This year’s workforce is significantly lacking because foreign labourers are blocked in their countries of origin or because they felt that coming to Italy would pose health risks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the data collected from the Report on Migration and Rural Areas published by the European Commission’s Joint Research Center, in Italy the percentage of foreign workers employed in this sector increased from 15 to 20% of migrants, especially seasonal workers who are entering Italy to work in the fruit and vegetables industry. For example, Verona (Veneto) this year are requesting a 1,200 man workforce. Agriculture Minister Teresa Bellanova is working on this emergency.
Applications are made via: https://nullaostalavoro.dlci.interno.it/Ministero/Index2.
We are regularly checking the Ministero dell’Interno (nulla osta) website but note that the quotas listed on this page remain to be those of 2019.
We do not believe that the quotas for seasonal workers will be released before June or July 2020. The delay is clearly due to the pandemic. Although it would seem that every year the quotas are released later and later. The Department of Agriculture wants these quotas to be released urgently because there is a lack of agricultural workers in the Italian countryside e.g. to pick fruits. A lot of fruits and crops have gone to waste, which has had a devastating effect on the Italian economy and will continue to get worse until there are people on the fields.
Ironically, the UK, which has now reached the same COVID-19 death rate as Italy, had a mass of Romanians enter the UK to pick fruit in mid-April despite the pandemic at the time being at its peak.
It would be prudent to already start preparing documentation as those clients who submit the documents quicker when the quotas are released will have a higher chance of success.
Suspension of citizenship and immigration applications
The suspension of ongoing administrative procedures, and the extension of deadlines or expiry dates, was formalised by decree dated 17th March 2020, n.70 (more commonly referred to as ‘Decreto Legge Cura Italia’) in response to the COVID-19 epidemic.
LINK TO DECRETO:
https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2020/03/17/20G00034/sg
By administrative procedures we are referring to applications made to “public authorities” in Italy. This article does not cover administrative proceedings (ie legal proceedings challenging decisions of the public authorities before the administrative courts at the TAR or Consiglio di Stato).
Article 103 paragraph 1 of the ‘D.L. Cura Italia’ states that any administrative procedures pending from 23rd February 2020 are suspended until 15th April 2020 (Sospensione dei termini nei procedimenti amministrativi). This means that any time falling in that period this period is not taken into account in relation to any deadlines.
Article 103 paragraph 2 of ‘D.L. Cura Italia’ states that all certificates, permits and concessions, expiring between 31st January 2020 and 15th April 2020 have an extended validity until 15th June 2020 (Atti amministrativi in scadenza).
We are expecting guidelines shortly to confirm whether the date of April 15th 2020 is being extended further as the country is still in lockdown as at the time of posting this article.
The Ministero dell’Intero (Dipartimento per le Libertà Civili e l’Immigrazione) has issued Circolare n. 3351 dated 24th March 2020 (here on in referred to as ‘the Circular’), which clarifies precisely which immigration and citizenship procedures are affected by these provisions.
If you wish to read the Circular in Italian you can do so by clicking on the link below:
The Circular makes the following clarifications:
Citizenship:
For citizenship matters (applications for Italian citizenship on the grounds of residence or marriage) there has been a suspension of administrative procedures for the dates between 23rd February 2020 and 15th April 2020. This will for example extend deadlines for the production of supplementary documentation or for the interviews at the Prefettura (convocazioni) of foreign nationals. It will also extend the time period of 4 years which the Ministero dell’Interno has to consider applications.
Further the Circular clarifies the position for a minor who was born in Italy and was continually resident in Italy until their 18th birthday. If the 18th birthday fell in the period from 23rd February to 15th April, there will be an extension to the 12 months deadline as to when they can submit their application to the Comune for the recognition of Italian citizenship.
Any certifications from Italy and from the country of origin, obtained for the purpose of an application for Italian citizenship, expiring between 31th January 2020 and 15th April 2020, have an extended validity until 15th June 2020 as per Article 103 paragraph 2. Please note that certificates which have been legalised with an “Apostille” fixed abroad are considered to expire 6 months from the date of the Apostille itself.
The Circular also states that when the emergency provisions are over there will need to be new measures put in place to deal with matters affected by the suspension which need priority, suggesting that it will consider applications giving reasons for urgent consideration.
Immigration (Sportello Unico)
Residence permits for non-EU citizens “Permessi di soggiorno” expiring between 31st January 2020 and 15th April 2020 have an extended validity until 15th June 2020 giving the holders of these permits the possibility of applying for a renewal at any point up to that date.
The suspension of deadlines in administrative procedures also concerns the following forms of immigration status:
- Issuing “no impediment” to seasonal work (nulla osta al lavoro stagionale)
- Issuing work permits for special cases e.g. research, Blue Card or intra-corporate transfers (nulla osta al lavoro per casi particolari)
- Conversion of residence permits from study to subordinate work and from seasonal work to non-seasonal subordinate work
- Issuing no impediment to family reunification
- EU residence permits for long-terms residents *
- Statelessness certificates
*There has also been a suspension of deadlines with regards to sitting Italian language exams for those applicants applying for EU residence permits for long-term residents.
If you have any concerns about the validity of your current immigration status, a pending application or a future application that you wanted to submit please contact Aleksandra Broom. (a.broom@oliverpartners.it)
BREXIT IS REALITY…
The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act became law on 23rd January. The next step will be for the withdrawal agreement to be ratified by the European Parliament, scheduled for 23rd January.
The UK is then due to leave the EU on 31st January 2020 under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement concluded between the UK and the EU on 19th October 2019, and from that date British nationals will no longer be able to enjoy the benefits of being EU citizens.
Although the Withdrawal Agreement provides that the transition period (due to end on 31st December 2020) may be extended for “up to 1 or 2 years” by agreement before 1 July 2020, the UK government has so far ruled out any extension in the legislation implementing the Withdrawal Agreement.
What does this mean for lawyers at our firm representing British citizens living in the EU? We now know that British citizens who have exercised their right to reside in Italy by the end of the transition period (meaning that a valid application for residence has been made before that date) will be guaranteed the protection of Articles 9-39 of the Withdrawal Agreement, in that their rights, including those of continuing to reside and work here, will be recognised.
We do recommend that for further details as they develop, our clients follow the campaigns of British in Europe and British in Italy, and if possible donate funds to these groups support the work that they are doing to keep us all informed, including challenging the Italian government and British Embassy to give clarity to our future status. Further information and analysis has also been prepared by Steve Peers, a very highly respected Professor of Law at the University of Essex, in his Citizens’ rights chapter of Withdrawal Agreement
In the remainder of this post, we consider the implications for our private clients from the UK, during the transition period, in the fields of cross-border family law, inheritance and succession law and civil litigation.
The Withdrawal Agreement provides (at Article 127) that EU law will apply to and in the UK during the transition period, unless otherwise provided in the Withdrawal Agreement, and any reference to EU Member States in EU law will be understood as including the UK. Accordingly, very little should change between now and 31st December 2020. The UK courts will continue to apply EU law and to interpret it in accordance with case law of the CJEU.
For the next 11 months therefore, the following EU Regulations to which the UK is a party (and notably had a significant hand in drafting) will continue to apply at least at the moment where proceedings are commenced:
Family Law
Reg. 2201/2003 – Separation and divorce proceedings – determines the correct jurisdiction for the commencement of proceedings where spouses are of a different nationality or have different countries of residence.
Reg. 4/2009 – Maintenance claims – determines jurisidiction and enforcement where a debtor and creditor are resident in different member states.
Civil litigation
Reg. 1215/2012 – Recast Brussels Regulation on jurisdiction and enforcement of civil judgments
Reg. 1393/2007 – Service of Proceedings
Reg. 1206/2011 – Taking of Evidence
The Rome I and II Regulations on the law governing contractual and non-contractual obligations will apply to contracts concluded before the end of the transition period, and in respect of events which occurred during the transition period which give rise to damages.
European Enforcement Orders will apply in the transition period (provided that the certification as a European Enforcement Order was applied for before the end of the transition period – Article 67).
Succession Law
As the UK opted-out of the EU Succession Regulation 650/2012, there will be no impact or change in the advice we give on cross-border inheritances. UK private international law rules will continue to apply where a succession is “opened” in the UK and the law of scission will determine the applicable law to moveable assets and immoveable assets, and therefore will depend either on the domicile of the deceased or the place in which the assets are situated. All wills made prior to Brexit will continue to be valid as before.
