The Italian governmnet approved the sanatoria, or amnesty in English, in May 2020. You have time to apply for one of the two permessi under this sanatoria until August 15, 2020.

Remember: the current sanatoria applies to you only if you have prior experience in one of the following sectors:

Agriculture, farming and husbandry, fisheries and aquaculture, and alike
Caretaker work, including care workers for the elderly or people with disabilities
Domestic housework, including housekeepers, babysitters.

You can use this article to learn more on the 6-month Permesso Temporaneo, including:

Who can apply
How to apply
Who can help

More info about: Sanatoria

Who can apply

You may be eligible for a 6-month temporary permesso to look for a job in the sectors we mentioned above, only if you meet all the requirements listed below:

You’re currently in Italy (as of March 8, 2020)
You have your national passport, or an equivalent travel document, or an identity certificate issued by the Embassy of your home country in Italy
You can prove that before October 31, 2019, you have worked in one of the relevant sectors
Your permesso expired on or after October 31, 2019 and you couldn’t renew or convert it to another type of permesso.

If you meet the requirements listed above, and you are waiting for the commission response or for your asylum appeal you can apply for this permesso. However, it's important you understand that the relevant authorities will ask you to drop your asylum claim.

For this, we suggest you check with a legal expert to make sure that this permesso is the best option you have.

Learn more: Sanatoria for asylum-seekers

What can I do with this permesso?

The permesso is valid in Italy only, this means that you’re not allowed to travel outside the country.

This 6-month temporary permesso will allow you to stay in Italy while looking for a regular job or working in one of the relevant sectors we mentioned above (agriculture, farming, husbandry, fisheries, aquaculture, caretaker work and domestic house work).

It can be converted. If you are able to find a valid work contract in one of the relevant sectors, you can convert it into a permesso di lavoro. This is possible even before your permit expires.

The 6-month temporary permit cannot be renewed. This means that if you cannot find a valid work contract in one of the relevant sectors, you may lose your legal right to stay in the country unless you're eligible for any other permesso.

How to apply

If you meet the requirements for the 6-month temporary permesso per ricerca lavoro, you need to request this type of permesso at the Questura that will examine the documentation and decide if you meet the requirements for this permesso.

Please mind that the Questura might give you an expulsion order if you apply for the sanatoria but you do not meet its requirements. This is a good reason to check with a legal expert before applying.

You have time between June 1 and August 15. Just like for any other type of permesso, you will need to submit your request for a permesso di soggiorno at the Poste. You can apply in one of the 5.700 Sportello Amico of the Poste. Click here to find one in your area.

IMPORTANT: Between June 1 and 10, the poste will only take applications in alphabetical order, based on your surname. Make sure you check the schedule before going to the post office, it’s available here.

At the Poste

To apply for this permesso you will need to pay 30 euro, as an administrative fee to process the request and send the envelope with the relevant documentation to the Questura.

The envelop will need to include:

Modulo per la compilazione, to request a temporary permit under the Rilancio Decree.
Modulo 1, that you can also find in the kit at the poste. If you’re having troubles filling out these forms you can use this guide available in Italian, English, French and Spanish
Receipt of the 130-euro payment. To pay you’ll need to use the F24 form instead of the usual bulletin, or ‘bollettino postale’ in Italian. Here you can find instructions to fill out the F24 form.
A copy of your national passport, or an equivalent travel document, or an identity certificate issued by the Embassy of your home country in Italy
Your codice fiscale
Your usual address ('dimora' in Italian)
A copy of your expired permesso di soggiorno, or a copy of the police report if you’ve lost or got stolen your permesso
Documentation to prove that you have worked in one of the relevant sectors (agriculture, farming, husbandry, fisheries, aquaculture, caretaker work and domestic house work) before October 31, 2019.
Marca da bollo (16 euro), duty stamp in English.

Once you’ve submitted your request, the Poste will issue you a receipt that is valid to legally stay in Italy and work in one of the relevant sectors only. Remember that the 6 months start from the moment you submit your application.

At the poste, you will also receive a letter, or ‘lettera di convocazione’ in Italian. You will need to show up at the Questura to fingerprint based on the appointment date in the letter.

What if I don’t have my national passport?

If you do not have a national passport or an equivalent travel document, you will need to get in contact with the Embassy of your home country to get the certificate to prove your identity, ‘attestazione anagrafica’ in Italian.

As you know, asylum-seekers are not allowed to contact their Embassy. So, if you’re an asylum-seeker and are considering applying for the sanatoria, please check with a lawyer who can advise on your case and help you with the documentation.

How can I prove my prior experience?

The decree is quite clear on the documentation you can provide to prove that you have worked in one of the relevant sectors before October 31, 2019.

In truth, you should not have any issue in proving your prior experience if you've worked a regular job with a valid work contract. For instance you could use one of the following documents: your work contract, the certificate issued by INPS, the centro per l’impiego, your certificazione unica (CU), your pay slips, a copy of the bank check to pay your salary, post or bank account statement where it is clear the payment of your salary, and alike.

If you’ve worked under the table, ‘in nero’ in Italian, you may not have any of these documents. In this case you may use any written communication (for example an email or SMS) that you or your employer sent during the working relationship, and that can help you prove that you’ve worked in one of the relevant sectors. For instance, you can use any written paper communication to request a change in working hours, vacation, leave, or disciplinary actions.

If you have doubts on the documentation to submit, check with a legal expert or a helpdesk.

Who can help

The procedure to apply for the sanatoria is quite new and complex, so it’s always a good idea to check with an expert, regardless of the permesso you or your employer are going to apply.

ARCI – SOS Diritti has set up a hotline for the regularization. You can call the 800999977 from Monday to Friday in the monring (9 am - 1 pm) and in the afternoon (2.30 - 6.30 pm).

CILD – Italian Coalition for Civil Liberites, you can send an email (in English or Italian) if you have questions about the sanatoria: legal@cild.eu They have also created FAQ document on the sanatoria in Italian.

Community Center Network offers an online help desk service, you can contact them by sending an email to virtualcenter@diaconiavaldese.org or calling 3441874631. The service is available Monday to Friday, from 10 am to 1 pm. They can also point to local services available in Torino, Milano, Bologna, Perugia, Napoli and Catania.

‘Siamo qui - sanatoria subito’ network has various legal help desks across Italy, you can find the whole list here.

Italia Hello also wrote an article including associations that can support in many Italian reagions. Here for the English or French version.

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