This recent memorandum was jointly enacted by Home Office and by Ministry of Labour and Welfare. This memorandum gives instructions on the functioning of Prefectures’ front offices, which should take care of foreign workers employment through flows decrees, of residence contracts’ renewal and of course of residence papers, of family rejoinings in case of non-EU citizens.
The memorandum explains that directives are now available as provided for by Immigration consolidated act. Directives tell how operators are to be chosen within Prefectures (UTG). Don’t forget that front offices (Sportelli Unici per l’immigrazione) put together the functions of different offices that are part of different administrations (Local Labour departments, police headquarters, Prefectures).
The memorandum underlines that front offices are to be “a light structure”, which is to become the only institutional and decision-making referee in those proceedings established by law and by the rules for the enforcement of the law. This means: authorizations to labour, to residence papers, to family rejoinings, etc. Front offices will take care of accepting application forms, of communicating information to migrants and to qualified offices.
The memorandum also underlines that front offices transmit investigations to qualified offices (local labour departments and police headquarters) since front offices have no personnel, funding nor instrumentations. This simply means that nothing will really change.
the memorandum holds an interesting issue that may raise some interpretative trouble: “Proceedings are over when the head of the front office establishes so, this provision is to be appointed by the same officers as a consequence of meetings, which he/she himself/herself appoints. A report must be written after each meeting, examined applications and data must be there noted. Provisions are definitive, they can be only impugned as provided for by law.”
The memorandum then says that “qualified offices of Home office, of Ministry of Welfare and Labour will call for technical meetings in order to solve eventual problems and in order to have activities synergistically rationalised through out Italian territory.”
Law establishes that provisions are formally adopted by front offices, provisions are signed by the head of front offices that can be either a member of Local Labour Department or of Prefecture. It will be only and always this person in charge of signing provisions.
Now our question is: are police headquarters and Local Labour Departments to be still autonomous? Will they be still able to freely choose whether to issue residence papers or not? Will front offices only sign documents or will they be able to operate a mediation?
It may in fact happen that police headquarters and labour departments have a different point of view in proceedings (such as papers renewal, labour authorisation).
Front offices’ representatives may interpret matters differently from headquarters that proceeded residence papers’ renewal documents.
We wonder whether Prefectures will only move documents and papers or they will be allowed to mediate and interpret matters, which as memorandum states can be studied at higher levels. This last detail should guarantee homogenous interpretations.
We will see how everything is to be preceded. Anyway all procedures are to be at first slowed down especially when labour is involved.