Italy’s government, under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is intensifying its efforts to reduce irregular migration by extending its crackdown to planes involved in migrant rescue operations. A new draft decree outlines fines of up to 10,000 euros for pilots of aircraft that search for migrant boats in distress without adhering to proper regulations. This move follows Italy’s strict approach to curbing migration, which includes working with African governments to prevent migrant departures and establishing migrant centers in Albania. These centers are expected to become operational soon.
Over the past year, Italy has tightened restrictions on charities operating rescue ships, limiting their ability to save migrants by enforcing regulations that require them to follow strict guidelines. Rescue ships are often seized or forced to make long detours when bringing migrants to shore, further complicating their operations. With this latest decree, aircraft that depart from or land in Italy must now immediately report any emergencies related to migrant rescues and follow instructions from Italian authorities.
Failure to comply with the new regulations could result in the impoundment of aircraft for 20 days, with repeated violations potentially leading to confiscation. This decree follows a similar move in May when Italy banned charity planes from using airports close to shipping routes to track migrant boats. Despite these restrictions, some charities have continued their efforts to assist migrants in distress.
The new regulations also address fraud within Italy’s migrant visa system, aiming to prevent crime groups from exploiting the system to grant visas to individuals who are not eligible. Employers who have filed requests to hire foreign workers in the past three years but failed to follow through will be prohibited from applying again. This is part of a broader effort to tighten Italy’s immigration policies and address potential loopholes.
In response to the growing demand for labour, Italy has increased its work visa quotas for non-EU citizens to 452,000 for the period from 2023 to 2025, marking a significant rise of nearly 150% compared to the previous three years. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy issued only 30,850 visas in 2019.