How to apply for international protection, before and after the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
Updated on 9 October 2026
If you are in danger in your country, in Italy you can apply for international protection (that is, asylum).
Since 12 June 2026, new rules apply in the whole European Union: the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. However, people who had already applied for asylum before that date usually continue with the old rules.
This is why this guide has two tabs. First of all, find out which one applies to you.
We can only give you general information: it is important that you get qualified legal help.
What matters is the day when you first told the Italian authorities (the Questura – the police immigration office – or the border police) that you wanted to apply for asylum. This moment is called making the application: telling the authorities that you want asylum (in Italian, manifestazione della volontà).
This happens often: you asked for asylum (or for an appointment) before 12 June, but the form at the Questura (the C3 or the registration) was done later.
The courts do not all agree. Many judges say that the old rules apply, because the office's delay cannot be your fault. Others look instead at the date of the form.
What to do: keep all the proof of the date when you asked for asylum (booking receipt, PEC from your lawyer to the Questura, receipt from the association or organisation you went to, statements from your reception centre) and talk to a lawyer about it.
If your first application was under the old rules but you made another one (a subsequent application, in Italian domanda reiterata) after 12 June 2026, the Pact rules usually apply to the new application.
For people who applied for asylum before 12 June 2026
You made your application in person at the Questura (or to the border police).
They took your fingerprints and asked you some questions about yourself, your family and your journey. The form is called C3.
If you have a passport, the Questura keeps it for the whole procedure.
You receive a residence permit for asylum seekers. It lasts 6 months and is renewed until the decision. At the beginning, the receipt from the Questura counts as a temporary permit.
With this permit you can study, register with the anagrafe (population register), have a family doctor and get a driving licence.
You can work 60 days after your application, if the Commission has not decided yet.
You are called for the interview before the Commissione Territoriale (the Territorial Commission, the office that decides on asylum applications). This is when you tell your story and explain why you cannot go back to your country.
It is not an interrogation, but a conversation. Try to be clear and precise, and bring the documents you have.
If you come from a country considered "safe" or you are detained, the procedure can be accelerated: the interview and the decision come within a few days. Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable people do not go into the accelerated procedure.
The decision is sent to your reception centre or to the address you gave to the Questura. Always tell them about every change of address, or you risk not receiving the decision and losing the time to appeal.
The possible answers are explained further down, in "What answers you can receive".
You can appeal to the court, but you need a lawyer. The deadlines are short: contact one immediately.
| Case | Time to appeal | Can you stay in Italy? |
|---|---|---|
| Normal procedure | 30 days | Yes, automatically |
| Accelerated procedure or detained person | 15 days | Often not automatically |
| Border procedure | 7 days | Not automatically |
When the appeal does not protect you automatically (for example if the application was judged "manifestly unfounded"), the lawyer must ask the judge for a suspension together with the appeal.
For people who applied for asylum from 12 June 2026 onwards
If you arrived by sea after a rescue, at the border without valid documents, or you are found in Italy after entering irregularly, you first go through screening (in Italian, accertamenti).
It lasts at most 7 days at the border and 3 days if you are already in Italy. It includes:
If you have health problems, are a minor or have suffered violence, say so straight away.
The first step is to tell the authorities that you want to ask for protection. This is called making the application (in Italian, manifestazione della volontà).
For now, and at least until 30 April 2027, in Italy it is received by the Questura (the police immigration office) and the border police. There are also other ways:
From this moment you have the right to reception, if you do not have the money to support yourself.
The Questura must register your application within 5 days (up to 15 if very many people arrive). They take your details and give you an information leaflet.
For now, in Italy, registration at the Questura also counts as "lodging" of the application (in Italian, formalizzazione): you do not have to do another step.
You receive a personal document with your name and photo. It is not a residence permit: with the Pact, the "residence permit for asylum seekers" no longer exists. This document only proves that you can stay in Italy during the procedure. It is valid for one year and can be renewed.
You must declare your address (domicile), and also a phone number or an email address.
You can work 90 days after your application, if the Commission has not decided yet and the delay is not your fault.
The Commissione Territoriale (the Territorial Commission, the office that decides on asylum applications) decides which procedure to use and tells you.
| Procedure | When | Time for the decision |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | In most cases | 6 months (can be extended) |
| Accelerated | For example: you come from a "safe" country; few applications from your country are accepted in Europe (20% or less); you say things that are not relevant or that contradict each other; you lied about your identity; you applied for asylum late | 3 months |
| Border | If you applied for asylum at the border or after a landing, without documents to enter, and you are in one of the cases of the accelerated procedure | 12 weeks in total, appeal included |
In the border procedure you must live in a place chosen by the authorities, and in some cases you can be detained in a centre.
Unaccompanied minors go into the border procedure only for security reasons. Vulnerable people do not go into it if they cannot get the support they need.
The personal interview is compulsory: it is the moment to tell your story and explain why you cannot go back to your country.
Before the interview you have the right to free legal counselling: a person who explains the procedure to you. Ask for it.
With the Pact your obligations are stricter. You must:
The decision is sent to your reception centre or to the last address you reported. The possible answers are explained further down, in "What answers you can receive".
You can appeal to the court with a lawyer. With the Pact the deadlines are even shorter: contact a lawyer on the same day you receive the decision.
| Case | Time to appeal | Can you stay in Italy? |
|---|---|---|
| Normal procedure | 30 days | Yes, automatically |
| Accelerated procedure, inadmissible or withdrawn application | 7 days | Not automatically |
| Border procedure | 5 days | Not automatically (yes for unaccompanied minors) |
When the appeal does not protect you automatically, the lawyer must ask the judge, together with the appeal, for authorisation to remain in Italy. The judge decides in about 10 days and, while the judge is deciding, as a rule you cannot be removed.
These apply both under the old rules and under the Pact. The Commission can give you:
If the Commission thinks you are not entitled to any of these forms of protection, the answer is negative: you can appeal within the deadlines shown in your tab.
If you come from a country that Italy considers safe, your application is examined more quickly and you have less time to appeal. Today the Italian list includes:
With the Pact (applications from 12 June 2026) there is also a European Union list, which applies in all EU countries:
Countries that are candidates to join the European Union (for example Albania, Serbia, Turkey, Georgia) are also considered safe, with some exceptions: for example, if there is a war in the country.
In addition, people from a country whose applications are accepted in Europe in 20% of cases or less also go into the accelerated procedure.
Coming from a "safe" country does not mean that your application will be refused. If there are serious and specific dangers in your personal situation, you must explain them well right from the start.
If you are:
… you have the right to special guarantees and to suitable reception, even if you come from a "safe" country. Say so as soon as possible: to the Questura, at the centre, to the Commission.
Unaccompanied minors have the right to a guardian and cannot be turned away at the border.
If you have already applied for asylum in another European country, or your fingerprints were taken there, it may be that Italy is not the country that must examine your application. In this case you could be transferred to that country.
For applications registered up to 30 June 2026 the rules of the old Dublin Regulation apply; for those registered from 1 July 2026 the new Pact rules apply.
What to do: ask a lawyer or an experienced support worker for help straight away.
If you apply for asylum and do not have enough money to support yourself, you have the right to a place in a reception centre.
You can lose your place in reception if you leave the centre, if you do not go to the interview or if you have enough money.
With the Pact, the authorities can also require you to live in a specific place (always, in the border procedure). If you move, you can lose your place in reception.