Italy is planning to provide additional migrant work visas to elderly caregivers

The government of Italy announced on Wednesday that it will provide an additional 10,000 migrant work visas next year to individuals who provide care for the elderly and disabled. This announcement was made in conjunction with the adoption of a new set of migration regulations.

Italy has long grappled with a paucity of caregivers due to its aging population and sluggish birth rate. Charities, such as the Sant’Egidio Catholic group, have advocated for the government to permit a greater number of caregivers to immigrate from abroad.

The 452,000 work visa number announced for the 2023-2025 period last year, which represented a nearly 150% increase from the previous three years, will be supplemented by the “experimental” additional quota for caregivers.

In response to the increasing labor shortages, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government has implemented a variety of measures to reduce unauthorized immigration.

Another crackdown on sea rescue NGOs was implemented in Wednesday’s decree, which mandated that aircraft charities used to locate migrant vessels in distress must promptly notify authorities of their movements or else incur penalties.

The measure is similar to the provisions that are already in place for NGO vessels, which are subject to fines and grounding at port when Italian authorities determine that their rescue operations have not been properly coordinated with the coast guard.

In response to Meloni’s declaration that the migrant visa system had been fraudulently exploited and infiltrated by crime groups, including the mafia, the new decree also implemented more stringent anti-fraud safeguards.

Among other things, the government statement stated that for applications from countries that are considered to be at a higher risk of fraud, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, more stringent checks would be implemented in 2025.

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