Italy: Migrants forced to sleep rough in Turin for residence permit

Rome: Dozens of migrants in the northern Italian city of Turin were forced to sleep rough for several nights in front of the Immigration Office, in freezing temperatures, so they could be in line to renew their residence permits.

Dozens of migrants were forced to sleep rough in line in Turin so they could renew their residence permit, Italy’s largest and most left-wing union CGIL has denounced. The union said migrants were forced to wait for days last week at the Immigration Office of the northern city’s Corso Verona. People made makeshift beds to sleep outdoors in freezing temperatures.

The local central police department said in a note on Saturday, January 18, that “this unpleasant situation occurred because the facility could accommodate fewer people”. It said that, in order to solve the situation, part of the department’s activities were being moved to the police headquarters in Via Tommaso Doré and at the precinct of Barriera Milano.

“The decentralization of such activities will take place in the coming weeks, with a more structured and functional solution expected by next fall, when a new building will be constructed within the barracks on Via Tirreno,” stated the central police department.

Applications for stay permits submitted through the Italian postal service will be processed at police headquarters, while documents will be distributed at the Barriera Milano police precinct, the department added.

The municipality of Turin, according to the central police department, “has pledged to assist foreigners who queue in the streets overnight.” Decentralization efforts will include the implementation of an online reservation system. Additionally, 10 extra officers have been assigned to the Immigration Office since the beginning of the year, the department explained.