The Legalisation of Undocumented Migrants - Italy

The economic situation, characterized by the prevalence of the submerged work, and the national custom of declaring cyclical regularisations, have constituted two elements of strong attraction for the arrival of undocumented migrants in Italy. Besides, some of the specific aspects of the Italian immigration model are linked to the demographic and social trends of the population. Immigrants are a fragile category within the Italian welfare system (especially in the sphere of the Italian pension system). Their fragility is caused by the fact that, despite the innovations introduced by the Bossi/Fini law, they often perform multiple jobs in order to reach a “dignified” standard of living. Their main activity – a regulated but de-skilled job – is generally economically insufficient and is therefore supplemented by other non-regulated jobs that remain outside the reach of pension regulations