During the first 11 months of 1996, 573 persons applied for asylum in Italy. Assuming a similar rate of asylum seekers filing claims in December, about 625 persons would have requested asylum during all of 1996, a 64 percent decrease from the 1,732 claimants who applied the previous year. Of the 469 applicants whose cases were decided during the first six months of 1996, some 107 applicants, or 22.8 percent of the total caseload, were recognized as refugees. This is a substantial increase from the first half of 1995, when 14.8 percent of applicants received positive decisions. During 1996, 220,000 foreigners living irregularly in Italy, including would-be asylum seekers, were able to obtain residence and work permits as a result of an amnesty, the "Dini" decree of November 1995. Asylum Procedure Italy's asylum procedure is governed by the Martelli Law of 1990, which gives legal authority to reject asylum seekers at the border if they arrive via third countries that have signed the UN Refugee Convention and have spent more time in such countries than is required to transit them. Article 3 of the Martelli Law imposes fines, and in some cases prison sentences, on persons who knowingly facilitate the illegal entry of foreigners. A person wishing to apply for asylum in Italy must submit an application to the headquarters of the local provincial police (Questura). The Questura then transmits his or her application to the Central Commission for Recognition of Refugee Status, the competent authority for deciding asylum claims. The commission is required under law to interview applicants and issue a first-instance decision within 15 days. Asylum seekers are issued 45-day residence permits to await the Central Commission's decision. Under law, applicants without means to provide for themselves are eligible for modest cash grants for the first 45 days. In practice, however, the Italian Refugee Council reported in October 1996 that many asylum seekers have had difficulty obtaining such grants. No specific provision exists for sheltering asylum seekers and refugees in Italy; they are eligible to stay in reception centers for foreigners for as many as 120 days. Asylum seekers may not work during the asylum procedure, and have no access to subsidized health care except in emergencies. An applicant may appeal a negative decision within 30 days to the administrative court in the region where filing a claim. Further appeals to the Council of State and the president of Italy are possible. After a denial in the second instance, however, the applicant may be deported or issued an order to leave the country. The appeals process can take as long as eight years, according to the Italian Refugee Council. The "Dini" Decree Between November 19, 1995 and November 15, 1996, about 220,000 foreigners without status who were nevertheless employed and making social security payments were able to obtain Italian residence and work permits under the "Dini Decree" (no. 489/95). At the end of 1996, an estimated 150,000 undocumented immigrants remained ineligible for legal status because they did not have officially declared jobs. Accompanying these liberal measures, the Dini Decree also included stricter rules concerning the entry of immigrants as well as tougher measures on the expulsion of "clandestines" and "other undesirable aliens." Supporters of the Dini Decree reportedly have seen it as a way to come to terms with the large number of irregular migrants already in Italy and simultaneously prepare for a tougher line on unauthorized immigration. Italy's Western European neighbors have pressured Italy to shore up its porous borders, viewing this step as a prerequisite to Italy's being included in the implementation of plans for removing border controls within Western Europe. One element of this process is the Schengen Agreement, which lays down the requirements for the suppression of border controls between its member states. Although Italy is a signatory to Schengen, other member states, skeptical of Italy's ability to police its long coastlines, have been reluctant to include Italy in the agreement's implementation. To assuage critics, Italy stepped up interdiction efforts on its coastlines in 1995 and 1996. In 1995, the Italian army was given the task of patrolling its beaches along the Adriatic. In 1996, the authorities in the southern region of Puglia arrested and expelled about 21,000 Albanians directly upon arrival. During 1996, Italy and Austria agreed to increase border police cooperation to prepare for inclusion in the Schengen Agreement's implementation, which Italy hopes will begin by October 1997. Former Yugoslavs Although the Italian government rescinded the "state of emergency" declared for Bosnia and Hercegovina in June 1996, Italy had no plans at year's end to repatriate the 8,500 to 10,000 Bosnians living in Italy. Persons from the former Yugoslavia, numbering about 50,000 in total (including Bosnians), continued to receive temporary protection in Italy based on two laws: law 390 of September 24, 1992 provides hospitality on humanitarian grounds for conflict victims from the former Yugoslavia (and a subsequent series of regulations allows them to obtain one-year stay permits); and law 423 of December 23, 1991, which allows ex-Yugoslavs of Italian origin to obtain renewable, one-year residence permits.
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