As explained by the Italian interior minister, the acceptance system is made up of three main phases of enactment: rescue, first acceptance and second acceptance. Upon arrival on Italian shores, migrants are transferred to primary reception centres called hotspots, whose scope is limited to first aid and identification. These structures are found in the main southern Italian ports of arrival: Trapani, Lampedusa, Pozzallo and Taranto. This is where health screening procedures take place, as well as pre-identification, registration, photo identification and fingerprinting. Migrants who don't wish to apply for international protection are transferred to "Centres for Identification and Expulsion" (CIE), that have recently been redefined as "Repatriation Stay Centres" (CPR) according to the recent Minniti decree.

From here, migrants are repatriated to their countries of origin or through voluntary assisted repatriation. Foreign minors cannot be repatriated, except for reasons of public order and state security, and subject to the right to follow an expelled parent or guardian.

Those who wish to apply for international protection, including those who qualify for relocation in European countries (as in the case of some nationalities, such as Syrians and Eritreans), are transferred to regional hubs, former government centres in which migrants formalize their international protection application.

Once they present the necessary documentation, asylum seekers enter into what is defined as the second acceptance phase, whose scope is to provide for long-term hospitality. SPRAR (Protection System for Refugees and Asylum Seekers) centres and CAS temporary reception centres make up part of this second acceptance phase. Accomodation in a SPRAR centre consists of lodging as well as legal and health assistance, language courses, and initiatives to favor integration. There are specialized projects for vulnerable populations such as the disabled, pregnant women, and unaccompanied minors. Asylum seekers can stay in a SPRAR centre for the entire duration of their international protection request, including the appeals phase in the case of a denial. In the case of beneficiaries of a form of international protection, the length of stay in the centre is six months, in some cases with the possibility for extension.


For more information on EU law regarding international protection:  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1488803810142&uri=CELEX:32013L0033

Infomigrants