Asylum seekers in Italy will have to pay 4,938 euros ($5,259) to avoid detention while their request for protection is being processed, the government said on Friday, in a measure apparently aimed at deterring migrants.
Report informs via Reuters that facing a surge in new arrivals, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition announced this week that it would increase the number of detention centres around the country to hold migrants ahead of their possible repatriation.
It also said that it would increase the amount of time people could be detained to 18 months from three months.
At present migrants to Italy who apply for asylum are free to move within the country while their application is reviewed, but the government decree published on Friday said they would have to pay a type of bail to stave off the threat of detention.
At present there are 10 repatriation centres in Italy, which have a current capacity of just 619. Meloni has said she wants to at least double the number, and place one in each of the country’s 20 regions.
