How to apply for Civil invalidity benefit

Thursday, 15 April 2010  

Recognition of civil invalidity status guarantees to all disabled people who can’t work and lack means of survival, the right to financial support from the State and social assistance.

Apart from the right to receive financial support, recognition of civil invalidity status allows one access to some non-financial support such as physiotherapy, caregivers, prosthesis, thermal services, exemption from paying for some medicines, free lab exams, and specialist medical visits.

All who have any type of invalidity can apply so that their invalidity can be ascertained.Article 20 of Legislative Decree of 1st July 2009, converted into Law by amendments to Law number 3 of August 2009, titled “Fighting against civil invalidity fraud” changed the procedure to be followed in submitting the application for recognition of civil invalidity status.

The new rule introduced a simple and clear procedure to be followed in applying for recognition of civil invalidity status and in obtaining such a status within a very short time.

From 1st January 2010, in order to ascertain the invalidity status (civil, blindness, deafness, handicap, disability), the Medical Commission from the Local Health Offices (ASL) have been joined by a doctor from INPS. The final decision on whether to recognize the invalidity status still remains with INPS.

The application must exclusively be submitted telematically to INPS.

The personal doctor plays a key role in the submission of the application. He is in fact the one to fill in the online medical certificate. In order to do so, the doctor must first of all apply for authorization from INPS to access their system and certify the patient’s medical status. The doctor will be assigned a PIN to be used to access the system.

After filling in the online medical certificate, the doctor will be issued a receipt with the number of the medical certificate to be handed over to the applicant. The receipt must later on be attached to the application for recognition of civil invalidity status.

The application for recognition of civil invalidity status must be submitted within 30 days from the date the medical certificate is issued.The application can be submitted telematically by registering on the website of INPS or through Benevolent institutions (patronati) or other associations authorised to assist the disabled.

Once the application has been filled in and submitted, one can follow the state of the application by logging on to the website of INPS.After filling in the online application form, the system will issue a receipt with all the following information: the branch of INPS where the application was submitted, the date, type of medical visit required and the application protocol number.

The applicant will then be notified of the date of the medical visit to ascertain the type of invalidity.

If it’s not possible to go for the  medical visit on the assigned date, one can request for another  appointment.  However, if the applicant fails to turn up for the medical appointment, then this is considered as having given up the application.

It is possible to request for the medical visit at home if one can’t go to the hospital. One must request for the medical visit at home at least five days before the day of the appointment in the hospital. The application must be submitted telematically by one’s personal doctor authorized to do so.

The president of the medical commission will decide whether the medical visit at home is really necessary or not.After the medical visit, the commission will vote and the decision made by the majority will be implemented. The commission can as well ask for re-examination of the application and a new medical visit.

INPS will then send two reports, one containing all the sensitive personal data and the other, the final decision on whether financial support is to be given or not.If the final decision approves being given financial support, then the applicant must type in all the necessary information required by INPS in order to provide the support.

Hiring a domestic worker without Permit of Stay

Friday, 22 January 2010.

What to do to avoid facing criminal charges.

25th April 2009: According to Immigration Law, and Legislative Decree 286/98, the employer who hires a non-EU citizen without the Permit of Stay (one who has never had the permit in the past, or whose permit was revoked, or never renewed the permit when it expired) can be given a prison sentence ranging from six months to three years with a fine of 5,000 Euros for each illegal immigrant hired.

Attention: The penal sanctions are also applicable in case one hires an immigrant with other types of permits that don’t allow the holders the right to work (for instance, Declaration of presence in case of tourists).

In order to avoid the risk of facing criminal charges for hiring an immigrant without the right to work, it is important for the employer to verify if the worker has a Permit of Stay that allows him/her to work.Unfortunately on the new Permits of Stay this is not indicated. There are plans of introducing new ones indicating the reason why the permit has been issued.

It is therefore upon the employer to check to ensure that he/she doesn’t hire a foreigner without a Permit of Stay that allows him/her to work.This has been affirmed many times by various court sentences, including one by the Cassation Court.

Even if the domestic worker is an illegal immigrant, the employer is still obliged to respect all the labour laws. At the time of hiring, even if it is not formalised at the offices of INPS, an informal contract of work is formalised entitling each party to rights and responsibilities.

The employer is therefore obliged to pay the worker the right minimum wage as established by INPS, and to pay the bonus payment in December called "tredicesima" (the 13th salary).

In case of termination of work relationship, the domestic worker has a right to claim all the money the employer owes him/her. He/she also has a right to present the case to the competent Labour Tribunal in order to claim his/her rights and sort out all controversies between him/her and the employer.

Last February, the European Parliament approved the European Directive against employers of illegal immigrants.  Under the Sanctions Directive, employers of illegal immigrants would be penalised while illegal immigrants would be granted legal conditions of employment.

The Sanctions Directive introduce minimum penalties at European level against employers of illegal immigrants. Employers could be fined, forced to pay wages in arrears at legal levels or even banned for up to five years from bidding for public sector contracts or from receiving state aid – whether national or European.

Under the Directive, an employer found guilty of hiring illegal immigrants will have to refund any state aid received the previous year and pay a graduated fine according to the number of illegal immigrants employed.  

In addition, he must pay a sum equal to the amount of taxes and other levies he would have paid if the worker had been employed legally and, where applicable, the cost of returning the migrant.

Member States will have to establish lower financial penalties for people using clandestine immigrants as domestic staff, provided the working conditions are not exploitative.

They’ll also be asked to set up mechanisms to enable illegal immigrants to lodge complaints. Irregular immigrants who cooperate with the legal action against their employer will be given a temporary residence permit.

Guide against workplace accidents

Monday, 07 June 2010  

A foreigner, not a stranger - ABC of safety at workplace. Inail publishes special guide for foreign workers.

Inail - The National institute for work injury and occupational illness insurance, has just published the brochure titled “A foreigner, not a stranger - ABC of safety at workplace”.

The Guide has been published in response to the need of directly addressing ethnic communities in Italy mainly exposed to risks at workplace, to help them know the basic safety rules in a simple and direct language.

It provides information about how to avoid workplace accidents, and indicates what must be done immediately an accident occurs, who to contact and information about the branches of Inail.

“A foreigner, not a stranger - ABC of safety at workplace” has been published in Italian and ten other languages: Ukrainian, Romanian, Albanian, Polish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Arabic, Spanish, English, and French.

Even a family breadwinner can be expelled

Friday, 22 January 2010

Cassation Court: It cannot stop the expulsion order from being executed.

7th August 2009: An illegal immigrant can be expelled from Italy even if he/she is sustaining the family in the home country.

The Cassation Court has ruled that having a family to take care of in one’s home country doesn’t allow him/her to remain in Italy after being given an expulsion order.

The Court made the ruling in the case of an expelled Nigerian who was given an expulsion order in 2005. A Tribunal in Bergamo cleared him in 2006 because the judge considered a justified reason, his decision of not leaving Italy because of the need to cater for his family’s needs. The man didn’t have any past criminal records.

But the Cassation Court annulled the sentence saying that while the need of sustaining one’s family in his home country is a socially and humanly good gesture, it cannot stop the expulsion order from being executed.

EC long-term residence permit issued by another country

Thursday, 06 May 2010 

Ministry of Home Affairs has been receiving many questions from foreigners in other EU Member States who are holders of EC long-term residence permit interested in coming to live in Italy for a period exceeding three months.

Many wanted to know if they’ll be issued another EC long-term residence permit by Italian authorities once they arrive here.

Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a Circular letter saying that a holder of EC long-term residence permit issued by another EU Member State who wants to live in Italy has a right to be issued a Permit of Stay and not an EC long-term residence permit.

Family members of such a person also have a right to be issued a Permit of Stay similar (type and validity period) to the one issued to the former holder of EC long-term residence permit from another EU Member State.

Italian authorities will only issue the EC long-term residence permit to the foreigner who meets all the requirements established by Italian law which obviously includes legal residence in the country for at least five years.

Court of Cassation: Expulsion order without reason invalid

Friday, 22 January 2010

It must indicate why it’s not possible to detain illegal immigrant.

13th January 2009: Each time the Provincial Police Commissioners issue an expulsion order to an illegal immigrant, they must justify why it is issued, otherwise it is not valid, the Court of Cassation (the highest court of appeal) has said. The ruling was published on 9th January 2009,

Almost a year ago, the Tribunal in Verona acquitted a foreigner without Permit of Stay who failed to obey an expulsion order by the Provincial Police Commissioner, to leave the country within five days. According to the judge, the order lacked justification because the Provincial Police Commissioner simply stated that it wasn’t possible to detain the foreigner in question at the temporary detention centre.The public prosecutor of Verona appealed against the sentence but the Court of Cassation rejected the appeal.

In order to ensure that the order is valid, it is necessary for the expulsion order to clearly state the reasons, it is not enough to literally reproduce what the law states without clearly indicating why it is impossible to detain the illegal immigrant.

In this case the Provincial Police Commissioner was supposed to clearly state that it was impossible to detain the foreigner in the temporary detention centre (for example, because there was no room) without limiting himself to saying that it was not possible to do so.

Conversion of foreign driving licences

Wednesday, 10 March 2010 

In order to drive in Italy, one needs to have a valid driving licence issued by the Dipartimento Trasporti terrestri del Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasport (ex Motorizzazione Civile). 

Foreign citizens who have not been residents for more than a year can drive in Italy using the driving licence or international driving licence issued by their home countries. 

For them to do so, the driving licence must be accompanied by an official translation in Italian. The translator must first translate the original licence then go to officially swear before a notary or the Italian courts attesting to the accuracy and fidelity of the translation. The translation can also be authenticated at the foreign citizen’s Embassy/Consulate in Italy. In this case the signature of the Embassy/Consulate official must be authenticated at the Prefecture. 

If you’ve been a resident in Italy for more than a year, you can longer drive using your foreign driving licence. You must therefore apply for its conversion into an equivalent Italian driving licence. 

Conversion can only be done if there is a bilateral agreement between your country of origin and Italy on the conversion of driving licences. 

· Countries with bilateral agreements with Italy on conversion of driving licences 

Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, El Salvador, The Philippines, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, Moldavia, Norway, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Principality of Monaco, Czech Republic, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Romania, San Marino, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Hungary. 

For Algeria, the agreement is valid for five years from 15th August 2009. 

Conversion of licenses issued by Sri Lanka has been suspended until the agreement is finalised. 

There are some countries (Canada, US, Zambia, Chile) whose driving licences can only be converted for some categories of citizens such as diplomats and their families, or citizens on government mission. 

•  How to apply 

The application for conversion must be presented to the local offices of the Dipartimento Trasporto Terrestri.

The application can be submitted by the licence holder by showing a valid ID document, or by someone else with a written delegation and a copy of the licence holder’s valid ID document. 

Driving schools and automobile consultant offices can also submit the application on behalf of the foreign citizen. In this case they have to a present a written delegation and a copy of the licence holder’s valid ID document. 

Non-EU foreign citizens are required to show the original and a copy of valid Permit of Stay, both at the time of submitting the application and at the time of collecting the Italian driving licence.

In case the application is submitted by a delegate, a copy of the Permit of Stay of the licence holder must be attached to the application together with a substitutive declaration proving the conformity of the copy to the original. 

The application must be submitted on Form TT 2112 (distributed freely at the office mentioned above) filled in and signed according to the instructions contained therein. The following must be attached: 

• Proof of payment of 9 Euros on current account number 9001. 

ü Proof of payment of 29,24 on current account number 4028 (the deposit form is already pre-printed and you cannot use the blank ones available at the post office). 

ü A Substitutive declaration of certification using a specially prepared form in which you indicate the following information: current residence, date, month, year, the first place in which you obtained the Italian residence status, the foreign country you arrived from (this is very important because conversion of the license can only be done if it was obtained before you became a resident in Italy) 

• Stamped medical certificate (and a copy) with photos, which should not be more than six months old, issued by a medical doctor 

•  Two identical, recent passport size photographs on white background, without headcoverings. One these photos must be authenticated. Photos printed on thermal paper are not accepted. The applicant may be asked at the counter to prove the authenticity of the photo. If the application is being submitted by a delegate, then the photo can be authenticated by a notary or at the City Council. 

•  The original foreign licence which must be valid, and a photocopy, plus the translation. The official can ask the Italian Embassy/Consulate in the country where the licence was issued, to verify if it is authentic. 

• Copy of the fiscal code. 

Once Italian driving licence is issued, the foreign driving licence will either be collected or sent to the Embassy/Consulate of the country that issued it. 

If a foreigner has been resident for more than a year and is caught driving using a foreign licence issued by his home country, he can be subject to an administrative fine and others foreseen by the law for those driving without a driving licence. 

The person will be liable to a fine ranging from 155,00 to 624,00 Euros, and the licence will be withdrawn. 

If one is caught driving without a licence, whether the licence was withdrawn or expired but the holder failed to renew it, he’ll be liable to a fine ranging from €2,257,00 to €9,032,00 Euros. 

And should one repeat the same mistake within two years, the person will be liable to a prison sentence of up to one year. 

The vehicle will also be banned from circulation for three months, and if the mistake is repeated, it will be confiscated. 

In case it is not possible to either ban the vehicle from circulation or confiscate it, then the driving licence will be suspended for a period ranging from three to 12 months.