On this page, you will find:
To find organisations working for LGBTQI+ rights, visit our Italy LGBTQI+ Resources page.
For Italy country of origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents visit our Italy COI page.
Refugee protection
Click here to see the numbers and origins of refugees hosted by Italy.
The following sections contain information on the most important international treaties and agreements of which Italy is signatory, as well as national legislation relevant to the protection of refugees.
Italy has been a State party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol since 1990, following the abolishment of its geographical limitations. Prior to the 1951 Refugee Convention’s ratification, Italy also acceded to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. And, most recently, in 2015 Italy ratified the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
In 2017, following a period of particular pressure on the Italian asylum system due to an increase in arrivals, Legislative Decree no. 220 reformed the national refugee status determination (RSD) system to better line with the principles of professionalisation and specialisation, as well as hire an additional 250 dedicated decision-making officers. However, only a year later, in October 2018, the Italian Government approved Law n. 113 (later Law n. 132) which weakened former implementation standards related to RSD procedures, detention and reception of asylum-seekers.
Legal aid organisations
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Email: cases@advocatesabroad.org
Advocates Abroad is an in-person and remote legal aid organisation that provides volunteer attorneys, interpreters, and asylum experts to refugees and asylum seekers. Advocate field attorneys operate throughout Northern Italy and remote attorneys are available to respond to questions and calls, offering either personalized legal advice and referring cases to field teams or third party partners on the ground.
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Registered Office Address: Via San Bernardino 4, 20122, Milan, Italy.
Operational HQ Address: Piazza San Giorgio, 2-20123, Milan, Italy.
Tel: 0276316718
Fax: 0276313016
Email: info@avvocatiperniente.it
APN, or Lawyers for Free in English, is an association of volunteer lawyers and legal experts that provide legal assistance interventions at a variety of levels. APN specifically deals with legal advice for families and minors, gender-based violence, civil and administrative law, and immigration law. APN also organises a variety of training and awareness initiatives aimed at social and legal operators.
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Address: Fondazione Casa della Carità, A. Abriani Onlus, Via F. Brambilla, 10, 20128 Milan
Tel: +39 02 25 935 317
Email: relazione@casadellacarita.org
Casa della Carità, or, House of Charity, is a foundation which pursues a variety of social and cultural aims. It provides assistance to refugees and migrants in pursuit of their rights, bringing individual cases to the attention of the legislature when needed. Casa della Carità’s legal department provides advocacy, as well as free legal counselling and integration support.
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General email: info@cild.eu
For Afghans seeking legal advice: fabi@cild.eu
CIPBRA, launched in collaboration between Coalizione Italiana Libertà e Diritti civili (CILD) and four international law firms, is a network of lawyers who provide training and supervision, as well as efforts for family reunification applications and other legal pathways to Italy for Afghan individuals and families.
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Address: Associazione Centro Astalli – Servizio dei Gesuiti per i Rifugiati, Via degli Astalli 14/a, 00186 Rome
Tel: +39 (0)6 69 70 03 06
Email: astalli@jrs.net
The Italian JRS has a centre called the Astalli Centre, which provides food, a place to shower, Italian courses, and access to medical care, psychological support, and legal advice. The San Saba reception centre provides 37 beds for refugee men while the La Casa di Giorgio has 35 beds for refugee women and children. The Astalli Centre will also help refugees find employment and has a laundry business that provides employment for refugees.
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Address: CIR via del Velabro 5/a-00186, Rome, Italy
Tel: 0669200114
Fax: 0689222438
Email: cir@cir-onlus.org
CIR has offices across Italy, including Malpensa, Gorizia, Venezia, Ancona, Caserta, Napoli, Palermo, and Catania (to name just several), all of which defend the rights of refugees and asylum seekers through border protection assistance and social and legal support. In particular, CIR provides reception and care for victims of torture, women, and unaccompanied minors.
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Address (Main Office): Via Zamenhof, 7/A, 20136 Milano
Tel: +39 (0)2 58 10 2599
Fax: +39 (0)2 83 92 927
Email: naga@naga.it
Naga Har Centre
Address: Via San Colombano 8, 20142 Milano
Tel: +39 (0)2 39 25 466
Fax: +39 (0)2 47 97 70 47
Email: har@naga.it
The commitments of Naga are divided into areas including social health, legal and social, refugees and asylum seekers, and research and documents. Within each of these areas, Naga offers free services such as basic and specialist medicine services, psychological and psychiatric consultancy, legal assistance for immigration and detention services, as well as hospital observatories and community centres. The Naga Har Centre provides a space for refugees through training and socializing activities including Italian and IT courses, as well as musical and sporting activities. It’s open Tuesday to Friday from 2:30PM to 6:30PM (address listed above).
Organisations providing other support to refugees
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Address: Via dei Monti di Pietralata 16, 00157 Rome
Presidency Tel: 06 41609507 / 504
Presidency Email: presidency@arci.it
Immigration Office Tel: 06 41609503
Immigration Office Email: migration@arci.it
Legality Office Tel: 06 41609274
Legality Office Email: legalitademocratica@arci.it
ARCI is a large cultural and social promotion association who work to defend and develop democracy through the freedom of association and self-organisation of people. ARCI carries out a number of campaigns aimed to promote and support rights, solidarity, and culture such as the Juma Refugees Map Services which indicates the services offered to refugees and asylum seekers throughout Italy.
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Address: Via U. Monari 2, 40137 Bologna, Italy
Email: info@asiloineuropa.it
Asilo in Europe, or in English, Asylum in Europe, is an NGO focusing on the promotion of the right to asylum and international protection through training, dissemination, and analysis activities. Their activities work in the following three areas: Country of Origin Information, Law and Regulations, and Training and Public Initiatives.
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Address: Via Gerdil, 7, 10152, Torino, Italy
Tel: +39 3894988460
Email: info@asgi.it
ASGI is a membership-based advocacy association which focuses on all juridical aspects of immigration. Made up of a pool of lawyers, academics, consultants, and civil society representatives, ASGI advocates for national and international immigration reform, and carries out international protection campaigns for migrants and refugees in Italy.
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Address: Via Ritiro n 24, 97015 Modica (RG)
Tel: +39 331 2048044
Email: info@borderlinesicilia.it
Borderline Sicilia monitors migration in Sicily including the arrival of migrants and their administrative detention, publishing yearly reports on their discoveries. Borderline Sicilia publishes frequent current event articles and deliver monthly newsletters that provide legal and social advice.
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Caritas Roma
Address: Via Aurelia 796, 00165, Rome, Italy
Tel: +39 06 661771
Fax: +39 06 66177602
Email: segreteria@caritas.it
Caritas Ambrosiana
Tel: +39 (0)2 76 03 73 37
Email: stranieri.ambrosiana@caritas.it
Caritas Treviso
Via Venier, 50, Treviso, (ingresso davanti al Park Dal Negro)
Tel: +39 (0)4 22 54 65 85
Fax: +30 (0)4 22 41 20 11
Email: caritas@diocesitv.it
Caritas Italiana is provides a range of humanitarian services to refugees and asylum seekers in Italy, Greece, and Ukraine. They also provide stories and testimonies from those with lived displacement experience through their listening centres, and organise a variety of human rights activist campaigns. Caritas Italiana has offices in every diocese, depending on location, some services may include legal advise and other support.
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Address: Piazza Sant’Egidio 3a, 00153 Roma, Italy
Tel: +39 06 4292929
Fax: +39 06 5800197
Email: info@santegidio.org
The Community of Sant’Egidio holds a wide variety of community-centred programmes. For arriving migrant communities, they provide immediate accommodation, counselling and canteens, language courses, as well as a range of meetings, conferences, and gatherings aimed at fostering social inclusion by creating the occasion for encounters between people.
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Address: Via Anfiteatro, 14 20121 Milan
Tel: 02 869 3194
Fax: 02 864 60052
Email: info@associazioneverga.org
Fondazione Franco Verga offers every day services aimed at supporting immigrations and refugees in their integration process. Such support services include a guidance and counseling desk which offers a listening space and provides up-to-date information on immigration and legislation, work orientation, as well as Italian language and culture courses.
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Address: Via San Antonio Maria Gianelli 19/19B, 00182 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39 0645753490
Email: info@programmaintegra.it
Programma Integra and its Migration, Asylum and Social Integration Centre, facilitate and support social integration of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Italy. The centre provides a range of services including Italian language courses, vocational training courses, cultural events, and debates aimed at raising awareness among citizens about immigration, international protection, human rights, and intercultural dialogue.
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Tel: 166 105 612
Stranieri in Italia, or, Foreigners in Italy, provides a telephone ‘advice line’ for all foreigners in Italy, including refugees and asylum seekers. Their website, linked above, also provides useful information about the Italian asylum system in nine different languages including Italian, English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Albanian, Russian, Arabic, and Farsi.
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Address: Via Ceresole 42, 10155 Torino
Tel: +39 (0)1 12 42 092
Email: migranti@diocesi.torino.it
The UPM engages in family reunification practices, furnishes help regarding citizenship requests and papers renewal, and helps to prepare CVs and work interviews. It also provides Italian classes and vocational guidance.
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Email: contact@w2eu.info
W2eu.info, or Welcome to Europe, is an online platform with a breadth of resources for refugees and migrants, including access to counseling service contacts and legal aid organisations in your area. W2eu.info also has relevant information on the current national and international legal protections, updating the frameworks accordingly. Their website is available in English, French, Arabic, and Farsi.
Italy LGBTQI+ Resources
Find organisations working for refugee LGBTQI+ rights in Italy.
Italy COI
Find Italy Country of Origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents.
We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant resources, or you are aware of organisations and/or individuals to include in our directories, please get in touch.
Last updated May 2023