The government of Georgia Meloni has decided to tighten the rules on immigration.

At the end of the cabinet meeting yesterday, Wednesday evening, it was announced that from now on police authorities will be able to check the mobile phones of illegal immigrants and refugees arriving on Italian shores, with the aim of establishing which countries they come from, their transit countries and their identity. However, the consent of the judicial authorities will be required.

At the same time, the ability of various NGOs to fly their aircraft into the central Mediterranean to facilitate illegal immigration is restricted. The Coast Guard and the Navy are given absolute priority, which will have to be notified immediately by the NGOs if any boat with illegal immigrants is located. For organizations that do not respect the new rules, a 10,000-euro fine and temporary confiscation of their aircraft are foreseen.

The period during which asylum seekers can appeal against the authorities’ rejection of their application is also reduced from 14 to 7 days. They will also be required to cooperate in a meaningful way with the police in order to verify their exact details.

Italy in 2025 is also to grant 10,000 new legal work permits to elderly carers while, at the same time, it will severely restrict the granting of permits to foreign workers deemed to come from countries “with a high risk of issuing false documents and certificates”.

Finally, the Meloni government has decided that foreign workers who are victims of exploitation and undeclared work when they report this illegal situation will be granted a six-month residence permit in an attempt to integrate them into the legal labour market. This permit will be renewable for an additional year or longer.