Italy to Grant 12,000 Work Visas to Tunisians by 2027

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Italy and Tunisia have officialised an agreement, creating employment opportunities for thousands of Tunisian nationals. 
• The two countries will work together to fill gaps in order to fight labour shortages in the Italian market with Tunisian workers. 
• The two countries came to terms with the agreement in 2023, as the EU is committed to helping Tunisia develop economically. 

A total of 12,000 Tunisians can work in Italy over the next three years, as an agreement inked by the two countries includes.

According to this agreement signed by the Italian Ministry of Labour and the Tunisian Ministry of Labour, the two countries will work together to fill gaps in order to fight labour shortages in the Italian market with Tunisian workers.

The agreement, which will be valid for the next three years, was initially decided upon in October of 2023, as ANSA reports. 

EU to Offer Employment to Tunisian Nationals in Efforts to Help Ease African Migrant Pressure

In 2023, Italy signed the deal to take some 4,000 workers from Tunisia in an effort to help the country handle large numbers of African migrants, with the majority of them heading to the EU. 

Tunisia has a geographical proximity of 140 kilometres to Italy, indicating that it is the closest African country to the Member States.

Data from Frontex, the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency, indicates that the majority of migrants that arrived at the Central Mediterranean route, implying Italy, came from Tunisia. More specifically, in January 2024, 1,533 migrants, mainly from Tunisia, arrived in Italy. 

In 2023, Italy’s Lampedusa island was flooded with African migrants who had reached the EU via the Mediterranean Sea. This caused congestion on the island and very unhappy residents. 

On the other hand, reaching the EU is often a deadly path for desperate migrants searching for a better life. According to Al Jazeera, more than 2,000 people and 289 children died in 2023 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea, often to make it to Lampedusa.

Italy’s Foreign Worker Quoata Set at 151,000 Between 2023-2025

The EU recently announced that applications for seasonal and non-seasonal employment in Italy have been opened, and those interested can apply until December 31, 2024. 

Indian nationals are some of the migrant workers that Italy will receive in the upcoming years, with the total number reaching 134,000. 

As of 2024, around 6,000 Indian seasonal workers will start offering their services in Italy, while in 2025, this figure will rise to 7,000. As per non-seasonal Indian workers, 4,000 will be working in Italy in 2024, with this number rising to 5,000 in 2025. 

According to the Italian Ministry of External Affairs, there are 157,000 non-resident Indians in the country, and 45,000 people of Indian origin live there. Data shows that the share of the Indian population in Italy is ten times higher in a two-decade period.