What is the Integration Agreement?
The Integration Agreement is an agreement between the Italian government and a non EU citizen, who enters Italy for the first time. Foreign citizens agree to learn and respect Italian laws, to learn Italian language and to enroll their children in Italian schools. The government agrees to welcome foreign citizens and help them to integrate in Italy.
Who has to sign the agreement?
All foreign citizens who come to Italy for the first time, are over 16 years of age and apply for a yearly visa have to sign the Agreement.
All foreign citizens who are under 16 years, the ones who are not self-sufficient or have serious learning difficulties do not have to sign the Agreement.
Unaccompanied children, victims of human trafficking and mistreatment and asylum seekers will not be asked to sign the Agreement.
How long does the agreement last and how many points does one have to get?
The Agreement lasts for two years and when foreign citizens sign it, they get 16 credits (or points). At the end of the two years foreign citizens should collect 30 credits (or points).
What do foreign citizens have to do in these two years?
After signing the Agreement, foreign citizens have to attend a lesson of Social Studies and about the rules and life in Italy.
If they do not attend, they will lose 15 credits.
Furthermore foreign citizens have to study Italian and obtain A2 level, at least. To do so, depending on their age, they have to attend a school or university in Italy or do a course for adults in a centre CTP CPIA. At the end of these courses they will get a certificate, which certifies their level.
If foreign citizens do not go to school or university and they do not do a course for adults, they can do an exam at the end of the two years anyway and show they have got to the level required.
Foreign citizens can also get credits (or points) in other ways, for example by choosing a GP (General Physician), by renting an accommodation and registering the contract, by enrolling their children in school and by starting a business or doing charity work.
Credits (or points) are not awarded if foreign citizens do not enroll their children in school, if they are found guilty of tax evasion or any other wrong doing, including bureaucratic matters.
Credits can be checked on the website below: http://accordointegrazione.dlci.interno.it
A month before the Agreement expires, foreign citizens will be called to go to Sportello Unico Immigrazione to show the number of credits (or points) gathered until that point . If they do not have the papers with this information, they can do a test to demonstrate their level of Italian and Social Studies
Who is exempt from doing the tests of Italian and Social Studies?
All foreign citizens who have a high school diploma, either from junior high/first level diploma ("licenza media") or senior high/second level diploma (high school or vocational school) and the ones who have passed the first two years of high school (high school or vocational school) are exempt from doing the tests of Italian and Social Studies.
All foreign citizens who have done and passed the first or second level of the course for adults in CTP or CPIA and the ones who have a certificate of Italian level A2 are also exempt from doing the test.
Foreign citizens who have a certificate CELI1 (University of Perugia) and CILS A2 (University of Siena) do not have to do the test
All foreign students regularly enrolled in university and attending courses are exempt too.
What happens at the end of the two years from the beginning of the Agreement?
If at the end of the two years from the beginning of the Agreement foreign citizens collect 30 credits (or points) and they show an adequate integration level, the agreement is closed positively.
If at the end of the two years from the beginning of the Agreement foreign citizens collect between 1 and 29 credits (or points) and they do not show an adequate integration level, the Agreement is extended for another year to give them the chance to collect the 30 credits (or points) required.
If at the end of the two years from the beginning of the Agreement foreign citizens lose all the credits and they not abide by the Agreement, their visa will not be renewed and they will have to leave the country; with the exception of those foreign citizens who have an international protection visa, the ones who are in the country for humanitarian of family reasons, have a EU visa for long stay or a visa and in general the ones who have been reunited with their families.
For further information on the Integration Agreement, you can visit the website of Home Office, where you can find a guide translated into 19 languages: http://www.libertaciviliimmigrazione.interno.it/dipim/site/it/documentazione/documenti/politiche_immigrazione_asilo/Accordo_integrazione_e_brochure_tradotti_in_varie_lingue.html