The proposal advanced by Lega Nord concerning the introduction of a new regulation for the permesso di soggiorno (permit to stay) based on a points system should be an even more rewarding method, and demoting towards certain behaviours too, as someone thinks.
The first opinions on this topic, as also reported by Italian newspapers, and as often happens in the Italian political environment, have been a leap into the unknown, namely without being aware of what the points system is exactly about.
Some even assumed that this might be a good solution as it could have a positive effect, that is a gradation of incentives and disincentives which can be an integration encouragement for the immigrants, if orientated in the right direction.
Article 18-bis proposed by Lega Nord and nominated “Integration agreement for the release and the renewal of the stay permit”, suggests adding to Article 4 of the legislative decree 286/98, i.e. Testo Unico sull’immigrazione – Immigration law-, a further article 4-bis which says: “Standing on the current law, integration refers to the process aimed at facilitating the cohabitation between the Italian citizens and the foreign ones, respecting the Italian constitutional values and mutually engaging to take part in the society’s economic, social and cultural life.”
Once the definition of integration has been stressed, though, sociologists give various meanings and explanations of this word, the precise idea of the amendment is being developed.
Is being provided that, contextually to the permesso di soggiorno release request and based on Article 5, the foreign citizen subscribes to an integration agreement founded on credits, and applies himself to approve specific integration aims which are to be accomplished during the period of validity of the permesso di soggiorno, respecting a set of conditions pointed in succession: it is therefore very clear that, from his or her first arrival in Italy, the foreigner should commit himself to subscribing to this integration agreement in order to get the credits. If he or she does not sign the agreement, they will not receive a permesso di soggiorno, despite having the authorisation to work, realised consequently to the procedures regulated by the flows decree.
The conditions required when subscribing to the integration agreement provide a 10-credit assignment to the foreign citizen possessing the following demands:
– A minimal knowledge of the Italian language (a certificate relating to the minimal standards set by the European Council regarding European common languages);
– Adherence to the Values Act of citizenship and integration, corresponding to the Home Secretary decree of the 23th of April 2007;
– Basic knowledge of the main rules of the legal order. Its’ obedience is an essential requirement for peaceful living.
We should therefore imagine that the person concerned, in order to obtain the first 10 points as soon as he or she arrives in Italy, or better still in order to get the permesso di soggiorno, must prove that they have the necessary knowledge of the Italian language. We should therefore imagine that he or she must sit an exam or some sort of test, or however must prove that he or she has the right knowledge of the Italian language, probably at their own expense.
Then they need to subscribe to the Values Act of citizenship and integration, standing to the Home Secretary decree of the 23th of April 2007: in this case a document is to be signed, and therefore should not cost anything.
As far as the third demand is concerned, i.e. basic knowledge of the main rules of the legal order, whose obedience is an essential requirement for peaceful living, it apparently might require an exam in this case too.
Thus these would be the requirements of obtaining the permesso di soggiorno: a minimum of one or two years’ qualification and concerning certification, possibly at one’s own expense, upon arrival in Italy; as if the new arrivals in Italy have nothing else to think about.
Try to imagine for instance a badante (care worker) who, after incredible proceedings, succeeds in passing through the front door and instead of beginning to work and start the paperwork for their permesso di soggiorno, needs to worry about their language and their knowledge of the main rules of the legal order test…
That is not all.
When renewing the permesso di soggiorno, a foreign citizen has the possibility to increase the credits he received on entering the country. The ten credits could increase at the time of renewal. This could happen if the following three requirements are attested:
– During a two year period of time there must be no violation of the behavioural rules, which can otherwise lead to a reduction of credits;
– The foreign citizen must pass a course to assess their social and cultural integration and the fulfillment of the subscripted aims (obviously there is no doubt that all this take place without any state expense, as the final part of the proposal clearly explains:-);
– The right economic and social involvement grade to the national and local community life (as if the right minimal income level has not been already assigned by the law regarding the annual amount of the social allowance).
Watch out: the credits designated to each foreign citizen standing to letter a and b, i.e. the credits assigned when releasing and renewing the stay permit, stand reductions proportionately to the gravity of the committed offence, in the cases of:
– Condemn due to violation of one of the penal code laws, except deportation orders decided by the judge:
– Administrative illegalities (not specified);
– Tax illegalities (not specified).
In the case that reductions standing on letter c involve a reduction in credits lower than five, the citizen will have to submit integration courses (voluntarily or imperatively). The courses makes foreigners take part in social activities, a rule formulation rather vague.
Then in case reductions standing on letter c reduce the number of credits to zero, the permesso di soggiorno repeal and the foreigner’s deportation out of the country is to be activated. The police commissioner will behave as established by the Testo Unico (consolidated law).
The credits assigned to the foreign citizen, standing to the previous paragraph, are being noted down the electronic permit of stay. The regulation goes on to say that the stipulation of the integration agreement is an essential clause for the release of the permesso di soggiorno. It also states that the Home Secretary, with his own decree to be adopted within 60 days from the date on which the standing law comes into force (obviously at the moment we are just talking about a legal proposal), settles with appropriate charts the assignation standards, the increasing and the reduction of the credits, respecting the proportional principle standing to the paragraph 2 letter c.
In fact, paragraph 2 letter c does not provide a proportional standard, but rather a proportional principle which is to be discretionary defined through this ad hoc decree of the Home Secretary. Basically, the Home secretary should establish, through the decree within 60 days, the criteria for the release of the Italian language certification standing to paragraph 2 point 1, as well as the programme and development modalities of the integration courses standing to paragraph 2 point b2. All these, once the Department for Education and skills, for the University and Research, Department for Work and Pensions, and Department of Health are being consulted.
In other words, in Lega Nord’s opinion, the law should be voted sight unseen and then wait for the Home Secretary to adopt the proportional standards, the programmes, the development modalities of the integration courses and above all, the way these courses are supposed to be realized.
The conclusive part, i.e. the one standing on article 4-bis, paragraph 6, is regarding an essential matter. It says: “at the development of the activities connected to the signing/renewal, the implementation and verification of the agreement of integration, provides a value to human resources, financially and instrumentally in charge of … of the functions relative to the issue and renewal of the permesso di soggiorno.”
It is a complex expression which briefly means that this particular law with its complicated management of points, courses and exams, should have no costs. The offices which work on releasing and renewing the permesso di soggiorno, i.e. the police headquarters concerning foreigners (Questura), should also deal with this complex process which provides a continuous accounting per each foreigner, with reference to various aspects involving administrative laws, Italian language exams, integration courses etc. All of this is enough to consider this proposal absolutely inapplicable from a practical, administrative and economic point of view.
The question is this: if the foreigner behaves well, he gets the ten credits immediately; then he gets other points –it does not say how many- when renewing the permesso di soggiorno, in case he passes the exam concerning the social and cultural integration and he proves –no criteria either- the right economic involvement level (we do not know for instance, if a temporary worker can be considered socially and economically adjusted to the community and if, in the legislator’s opinion, he has the right economic and social involvement level in the national community life); Is there any advantage to this system? Where is the reward and the motivation system? How can the credits gained be used?
The credits gained are absolutely useless. One might obtain a tiny bit of satisfaction by spending all his credits on committing a violation or behaving in the way the Home Secretary considers proper for a reduction. We are reminded that at one time, “Martelli” law provided a very simple rewarding mechanism, easy to be administrated and, above all, efficient as a disincentive against anti-social behavior. The measure established that the foreign citizen who behaved correctly during the first permesso di soggiorno, at the time of renewal he could obtain a new one for double the length of time. This is how in those times, when there were certainly fewer immigrants in Italy and the offices were not overloaded with papers, the activity of the offices dealing with foreigner streamlined and there was an encouragement for the foreigners as well. Good behavior was rewarded by releasing a permesso di soggiorno for double the period of time compared to the previous one. That meant major stability and minor dependence on the administrative fulfillments which, as is well known, are very complex and require intolerable waiting times.
The immigration office belonging to UIL was the first one taking office. The permesso di soggiorno on points proposal was literally defined as; “indecent, because it injures the immigrant’s right to equal treatment in front of the law. There are already laws which punish the ones committing crimes and which eventually revoke the permesso di soggiorno to those who have demonstrated that they do not deserve it. Comparing the driving license to the ambitions of an immigrant means diminishing its’ value in front of others, and so it also injures one’s dignity”. The note of the UIL continues to say: “It is easy to predict the impossibility for our bureaucratic system to support this task. How could a system that nowadays releases the renewing permit after one year instead of 40 days standing to the law and which consigns the working authorisation (nullaosta) to the 10% of companies after two years’ time, administrate such a (points) system?”. The UGL has also intervened concerning this proposal with similar feelings, expressing strong doubts regarding the utility, the administration possibility and the sense in this initiative.
In any case, it must be stressed that this proposal, as previously stated, has no rewarding content. There is only a sanction system based on discretionary deliberations, firstly of all that the Home Secretary should establish these criteria, and secondly of the offices that should apply them. It is therefore a system of courses and examinations which are to be charged to the immigrant workers already burdened with the costs involved in renewing their permesso di soggiorno, i.e. 70 € for each renewal; 280 € for a family unit consisting of a father, mother and two children, for getting a permit valid for six months, which is consigned after a six months waiting time has already expired.
It becomes natural to think that these integration courses are practically some sort of forced indoctrination which rarely brings positive results, rather negative ones.
Considering that our country holds the record for the number of deaths at the working place, why not giving some real economic support to the work place, or in collaboration with companies, Italian language courses, and above all safety courses?
Accessing the 150-hour courses for immigrant workers is absolutely impossible. The opportunity to attend Italian language courses or even to learn the essential rules and security measures, is extremely rare for workers – to reach out of the working program and away from the working or living place. And Italian workers are in the same situation too.
There are already many legal penalties involving the loss of a permesso di soggiorno. Therefore the possibility of losing it is always imminent. Stealing a bicycle of ridiculous value involves the loss of a permesso di soggiorno, but this is already established by the law! What other anti-social behaviours should lead to the loss of a permesso di soggiorno, and therefore risk the life of a whole family which may have been living in Italy for many years?
The loss of credits take place following the condemnation for the violation of one of the penal code rules when there is no deportation order from the judge (actually the condemnation, according to immigration laws, does not involve a deportation order, but rather the revoke of the permesso di soggiorno and then deportation at a later date).
With this proposal, any kind of crime produces the loss of a permesso di soggiorno and therefore families run the risk of harming their whole life projects. So what are the crimes that do not involve deportation?
It is about offences, for example, punishable with legal action, for example criminal damage, as opposed to disturbing the peace, or to be more precise, disturbing people’s rest and quiet, as stated in Article. 659 of the Penal Code, or even a more minor offence such as not caring properly for animals, such as not having the dog on a leash, as written in Article 672 of the Penal Code, or an offence in which you can run the risk of, beyond Italian businessmen, also the new businessmen, often foreign traders or craftesmen, as written in Article. 451 of the Penal Code, or to be more precise, the guilty omission of caution against an accident at work, the not having placed a note or one of the obligatory notes for an accident at work.
Why should the same crimes be punished in different ways depending on whether they involve foreigners or Italian citizens? The same remarks also count for the other hypothesis: administrative offences, illegal acts involving taxes. As “no parking” is an administrative offence too, is the foreigner citizen which commits normal violations of the highway code, supposed to lose his permesso di soggiorno and therefore the permesso di soggiorno of all those who live under his charge? It is the same in cases of illegal acts involving taxes: why should foreign citizens answer to their offences in a more severe way as the Italian citizens do.
Translated by Mihaela Oprea