Italy to Recruit Migrant Workers in Lebanon, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia

Italy is to admit 300 migrant workers from Lebanon, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia who will not have refugee status under a pilot project spearheaded by the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic charity and advocacy group.

The “work corridors”, which Sant’Egidio agreed on Friday with the interior ministry, follow pledges by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s rightist government to balance a tough approach on irregular migration with some openings for legal migrants.

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Italy registered around 158,000 irregular sea arrivals from North Africa last year, and more than 16,000 in the year to date {snip}

Meloni’s administration has expanded the number of work visas for non-EU citizens to 452,000 for 2023-2025.

These visas typically benefit undocumented migrants already in Italy who use the quotas to legalise their situation {snip}