Italy to legalize 600,000 undocumented immigrants, about 30,000 Albanians beneficiaries

 Men collecting tomatoes at the plantation in South Italy (archive)

 Italy has decided to issue residence permits to about 600,000 illegal immigrants. According to authorities, those who will benefit are the people who contributed during the difficult days of the pandemic by working in the crop fields and caring for the elderly in need.

"The food that comes to our tables comes from these fields. It is time to take care of the rights of those who worked in these crop fields," said the Minister for South Italy Peppe Provenzano.

We remind that thousands of illegal immigrants worked in the fields planted around Italy. Many Albanians also benefit from this decision. It is estimated that there are currently about 30,000 undocumented Albanians living in Italy.

Although they risked arrest due to coercive measures applied in many areas due to coronavirus pandemic, they did not stop work and helped the elderly around.

The residence permits that are expected to be granted to immigrants do not provide the right to vote and are renewable every 6 months.