legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

The Dublin Convention
The current Italian legislation does not explicitly refer to the Dublin Convention, which entered into
force on 1 September 1997. However, the Draft law currently discussed in Parliament includes some
specific provisions regarding the implementation of the Convention.
Asylum seekers dealt with under the provisions of the Dublin Convention are issued with a
provisional residence permit, valid for one month and renewable on a monthly basis until a decision
has been made as to the state responsible for processing their application. During this period, they
may apply for financial assistance.
If Italy appears to be the state responsible, the asylum seeker is transferred to the normal
determination procedure and issued with a residence permit valid for three months, which has to be
renewed every three months until a decision on the application has been made.
Entry into the territory
In principle, a person seeking asylum in Italy should submit a formal application to the Border
Police. However, according to an established practice, any asylum seeker having entered the
country legally or illegally may lodge his/her request at the Local Police Headquarters
(“Questura”) without contacting the Border Police. Although the law does not require the asylum
claim to be lodged through a written application, this is requested by the authorities.
According to Section 1(2) of the Presidential Decree No. 136 of 15 March 1990, the Questura
must take down the particulars of the applicant’s identity (name, address, date of birth, etc.) and
his/her statement explaining the reasons for seeking asylum in Italy, and send a report to the
Central Commission within seven days, together with any supporting document provided by the
applicant. The four grounds for rejection at the border mentioned above still apply at that stage
(see “Rejection at the border” above). There is no accelerated procedure under current Italian
legislation and all applications which are not rejected are then transferred under normal
determination procedure. It is expected that an accelerated procedure will be incorporated in the
new asylum legislation.
Determination procedure
Asylum seekers dealt with under the normal determination procedure are given a three-month
residence permit, renewable in general every three months pending a decision by the Central
Commission.
The Central Commission for the Recognition of Refugee Status is responsible for taking first
instance decisions regarding the granting or refusal of Convention status. It is an inter-ministerial
administrative body, whose members are nominated by the President of the Council of Ministers
upon recommendation of the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs. The Chairperson of the
Commission is a prefect from the Ministry of Interior. The other members are senior officials from
the Council of Ministers and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs respectively, and two representatives
from the Ministry of Interior: one from the Department of Public Security and the other from the
Directorate for Civil Affairs. A UNHCR representative attends the meetings of the Commission on
an advisory basis.
Asylum seekers have the right to be heard personally by the Central Commission. During this
interview, they are asked about the reasons why they left their country. No legal assistance
before the Commission is foreseen by law and it is not possible for asylum seekers to be assisted
or represented by a lawyer before the Commission.
If the applicant does not to appear before the Commission to be heard personally, the decision is
made solely on the basis of the police report. In such cases, the decision is generally negative.
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