Italy

According to the EU Temporary Protection Directive, Italy has granted temporary protection to those displaced from Ukraine as a result of the country's crisis.

Temporary protection lasts for one year starting from March 4th, 2022, extendable up to one other year (6+6 months), and provides its holders the following rights:

• to work;
• to move freely;
• to take residency;
• to receive medical care and welfare benefits;
• to have immediate access to the educational system for underage children.

The temporary protection permit allows the applicant to work and to move their residency to Italy. They cannot register their residency in another EU Member State.

To start the procedure for Temporary Protection, please refer to the relevant Immigration Office (Ufficio Immigrazione, in Italian) at the Questura (office for public security), which will give you all the information you need regarding the procedure, rights, and implications of being a beneficiary of temporary protection. To formalise your claim, you need:

• 2 passport-size pictures
• proof of private accommodation, where applicable
• passport with an entry stamp
• declaration of presence if you do not have an entry stamp on your passport; certificate(s) of family relationship, where applicable.

The Questura will complete the examination of the protection claim by issuing the residence permit in electronic and printed format.

The Italian Civil Protection provides temporary protection-seekers who have found private accommodation with a contribution of 300 euros per month per person and, in the case of minors, an additional monthly contribution of 150 euros for each child under the age of 18. The contribution will be paid for a maximum of three months from the date of entry to Italy. If the beneficiary finds a job in Italy, they will continue to receive the contribution for a maximum period of 60 days.
You can apply for assistance for yourself, your children, and minors for whom you are a guardian. Only the parent under whose name the child was registered while applying for the temporary protection status can receive the benefit for underage children. Any personal data of minors who arrived in Italy accompanied by their parents are automatically entered into the database. Parents only need to fill in an application.

To receive financial assistance, you must first apply for a residence permit under the temporary protection program. This should be done by the police department - at the Immigration Service in your location (Questura - Ufficio Immigrazione). This will give you an Italian identification number (Codice Fiscale), which will allow you to log in to the online platform of the Department of Civil Protection and apply for cash benefits. The deadline for submitting a request for financial assistance is September 30, 2022. The allowance is disbursed for a maximum of 3 months from the date of application for Temporary Protection.
You can fill in the application for financial aid here. In case of a technical problem, you can ask for support by sending an email to apps@protezionecivile.it You will be contacted as soon as possible to help resolve the issue.

Temporary migrants from Ukraine to Italy are entitled to free public medical care, but the amount depends on their status. If the permit of temporary protection is not issued, Ukrainians in Italy have free access to emergency care in emergency departments, vaccinations, referrals for clinical examinations, visits to specialists, and medication.

To receive health care, you need an STP code (straniero temporaneamente presente - a foreigner temporarily staying in Italy) or an SSR card for children and pregnant women. It is issued by the Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL). Contact them as soon as you arrive in Italy. To obtain the code, you must provide your personal data (bring your passport).

In Italy, the temporary protection certificate provides temporary migrants from Ukraine with access to free public medicine on an equal footing with Italian citizens.

To gain access, you need to register with the ASL medical institutions at the place of residence for which temporary protection has been requested, and choose a general practitioner (similar to a family doctor in Ukraine) or a paediatrician for a child. This is done immediately upon registration at the relevant institution.

The toll-free number for Ukrainians in Italy for all questions: 1500 (round the clock; from 8:00 to 20:00 - in Ukrainian and Russian).

List of free medical services for Ukrainians in Italy:

• consultations and observations at a general practitioner's or paediatrician's;
• emergency medical care;
• vaccination against COVID-19 and assistance in case of illness with COVID-19;
• consultations and supervision of narrow specialists upon a referral of a general practitioner or paediatrician;
• vaccinations according to the vaccination calendar;
• assistance during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as in the postpartum period;
• general medical examination;
• hospitalisation under the direction of a general practitioner or emergency physician;
• examination for tuberculosis;
• basic dental procedures;
• free medicines or medicines that are partially free.

If you have parents or friends you trust in Italy who can provide you with accommodation, food and shelter, you can register in the Questura of the city where your hosts live and declare that they will host you. Your hosts will then need to formalise this declaration at the Questura within 2 days.

Ukrainian citizens can find accommodation after they arrive in the following ways:

You can refer to the prefecture office in the city where you are. You can also contact the Regional Operations Centre at 800-894545 without a fee.

Check these websites to find a shelter for refugees from Ukraine (NOT VERIFIED):

• UkraineTakeShelter
• Refugees Welcome Italia
• Prihistok
• Group help, accommodation and shelter for Ukrainians in Italy (Facebook)

EL*C has created a lesbian hosting network of individuals who made their flats and spare rooms available to Ukrainian refugees. Please notice that EL*C can provide you with a temporary solution (up to a few months). Contact the relocation team at: +48 571 944 400 and info@lesbiangenius.org

Underage children can have instant access to the educational system. To enrol children in school, parents must fill in the form provided by the school office.
If parents already have the following documents, you can provide them to the office:

• birth certificate
• certificate of vaccination
• certificate of the school where the child studied in their country of origin

In the absence of these documents, the parents themselves certify the date of birth of the student, the class that the child attended in the country of origin, and other necessary information.

You can enrol your children in a school at any time of the school year, even if the school programme has already begun. All children have the right to attend school in Italy, even if they do not follow the rules of stay and vaccination.

Preventive vaccinations are obligatory to attend nursery and kindergarten, because they are not compulsory education institutions.

Ukrainian refugees entering Italy can travel for free within 5 days from their arrival on Intercity, Eurocity, and regional trains by Trenitalia or on boats to reach the islands.
Trenord: free travel on all trains with a Ukrainian passport or an ID card.
Flixbus: free travel on all buses with a Ukrainian passport or ID card.
MarinoBus: free travel on all buses with a Ukrainian passport or ID card.
Itabus: free travel on all buses with a Ukrainian passport or ID card and either a negative Covid test or proof of vaccination.
Ukrainians arriving in Rome after fleeing the Russian invasion of their homeland can travel for free on the capital's buses, metro, tram, and light-rail services operated by municipal transport provider ATAC, upon presentation of the STP code.

The status of Temporary Protection entitles you to work in Italy, you do not need to apply for additional permission.

Ukrainians need to contact a Questura - a regional commissariat. First, they will issue the primary document, La ricevuta del Modello 209, with a photograph and a tax code (codice fiscale). This document gives its holder the right to legally work in the country. Ukrainians will receive their temporary residence permit later.

Additionally, you can go to the Centre for Employment (CPI) and private employment agencies (APL) that provide job listings, information about trainings, and can help you write a resume. You can find the closest Centre for Employment here. All 16-year-olds legally residing in Italy can register at the Employment Centre.

To register with the CPI Employment Centre, you must also complete the Immediate Readiness Declaration (DID). It can be completed with the help of employees of the employment centre, or on the online platform ANPAL.

Sexual acts between people of the same sex are legal. Same-sex marriage is not legal. Same-sex couples can legally enter into civil unions or register as ‘de facto couples’ under Article 1 of Law no. 76/2016. A marriage entered into by a person who changes their legal gender after the union is automatically converted into a civil union, provided that the relevant couple does not want to dissolve their union. Recently, courts have started to grant second-parent adoption to same-sex couples under particular circumstances (e.g. Court of Cassation, 22 June 2016, no. 12962).

Same-sex couples cannot jointly adopt children as adoption is reserved for married couples only. Recently, courts have started to grant second-parent adoption to same-sex couples under particular circumstances (some exceptions are made to allow the adoption of a partner's child - where the other birth parent agrees). Since 2021 Italy recognises the adoptions made abroad by same-sex couples.

Sex reassignment surgeries are legal, with medical approval. However, gender identity is not mentioned in Italy's anti-discrimination law, meaning that transgender people may face discrimination in areas such as employment, access to goods and services, housing, education, and health services.

Lesbian organisations

ALFI - Associazione Lesbica Femminista Italiana is a lesbian organisation based in 4 cities: Naples, Bergamo, Udine, and Perugia. Find here the list and contacts of their local chapters.

Lesbiche Bologna is a lesbian organisation based in the city of Bologna.
Contacts available here.

LGBTI+ organisation

Arcigay is the biggest LGBTI organisation in Italy, they have chapters across the country in several cities and towns. Find here the list of their members.

General organisations helping Ukrainians

Caritas Italiana tel. (+39) 06 661771
https://www.caritas.it/

Українці в Італії / Украинцы в Италии

People for Development
https://www.facebook.com/fondazioneavsi

Citizens of Ukraine can travel to Italy with pets without documents.
If you have problems at the border while traveling with animals, go to LAV Italia. Tel.: +39064461325
Email - info@lav.it