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Special-protection residence permit

ItalyHumanitarian protection

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

Official link

What exactly is this: asylum, temporary protection, humanitarian admission, resettlement or another protection mechanism?

A national protection residence permit ('protezione speciale') regulated by art. 32, paragraph 3, D.Lgs. 25/2008: issued when the Territorial Commission recognises neither refugee status nor subsidiary protection but finds the conditions of article 19, paragraphs 1 and 1.1, of the Consolidated Immigration Act (prohibition of refoulement); the Commission sends the file to the Questore, who issues a two-year ('biennale') permit marked 'protezione speciale'.

See recorded sources

Which population, circumstances or geographic group does the mechanism cover?

Foreigners who cannot be expelled or returned to a State where they may be persecuted on grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, language, citizenship, religion, political opinion, personal or social conditions, or be sent on to a State not protecting them from persecution; also where there are well-founded grounds to believe that on expulsion they risk torture or inhuman or degrading treatment, or where the obligations of article 5, paragraph 6 of the Consolidated Immigration Act (constitutional or international obligations) apply. Since Law 50/23 the private/family-life ground no longer bars expulsion.

See recorded sources

Where can protection be requested, and is this a direct application, border/in-country request, referral or other process?

The current Article 32(3) route arises within an international-protection application: where the Territorial Commission does not grant international protection but finds the Article 19(1) or (1.1) non-refoulement conditions, it sends the file to the Questore for a two-year special-protection permit, subject to the statutory alternative of removal to a state providing analogous protection. The official integration portal describes direct Questura applications outside asylum as apparently no longer available after Law 50/2023, but expressly hedges that statement pending Interior Ministry clarification.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The current Article 32 capture proves the Commission-to-Questore referral channel. Neither this article nor the hedged portal statement conclusively establishes every possible direct or other application channel, or that none exists.
  • Normattiva Art. 32(3), in force 16 July 2026
    3. Nei casi in cui non accolga la domanda di protezione internazionale e ricorrano i presupposti di cui all'articolo 19, commi 1 e 1.1, del decreto legislativo 25 luglio 1998, n. 286 , la Commissione territoriale trasmette gli atti al questore per il rilascio di un permesso di soggiorno biennale che reca la dicitura "protezione speciale", salvo che possa disporsi l'allontanamento verso uno Stato che provvede ad accordare una protezione analoga. Il permesso di soggiorno di cui al presente comma è rinnovabile, previo parere della Commissione territoriale, e consente di svolgere attività lavorativa, fatto salvo quanto previsto in ordine alla convertibilità dall' articolo 6, comma 1-bis, del decreto legislativo 25 luglio 1998, n. 286 . (12)

What happens after the request: registration, family handling, major support and rights where officially stated?

The permit lasts two years; renewal depends on a re-assessment by the Territorial Commission. It allows employed and self-employed work, but after law n. 50/23 it can no longer be converted into a work permit, except permits issued before 5 May 2023, still valid, meeting the legal requirements (and some issued after 5 May 2023 following a court ruling on a pre-5 May 2023 refusal). The official source does not state registration steps, family handling or support measures.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Registration steps, family handling and support measures not described.

Which competent authority, UN body or official assistance channel should the person use?

Competent bodies: the Territorial Commission (assessment within the international-protection procedure and renewal re-assessment) and the Questore (issues the permit).

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • No fraud/scam warning or assistance channel given.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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