Italy To Allow Indian Students To Stay For 12 Months After Degree Completion

In a significant move benefiting Indian students, Italy has agreed to allow an additional 12-month stay for those completing their degrees. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, granted ex-post facto approval to the migration and mobility agreement between India and Italy. The agreement aims to strengthen people-to-people contacts, promote mobility of students, and enhance cooperation on issues related to irregular migration, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) reported on Wednesday. 

The Italian visa regime's current provisions, including post-study opportunities, internships, and professional training, will be secured under the Flows Decree, giving India an advantage.

Key provisions:

Indian students completing academic/vocational training in Italy can stay for up to 12 months for initial professional experience.

For the workforce, Italy has allocated quotas of 5,000, 6,000, and 7,000 non-seasonal Indian workers for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively, under the current Flows Decree (with a total reserved quota of 12,000 for non-seasonal workers). 

Additionally, Italy has set aside quotas of 3,000, 4,000, and 5,000 seasonal Indian workers for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 under the current Flows Decree (with a total reserved quota of 8,000 for seasonal workers).

Italy has outlined specific provisions for professional training, extracurricular internships, and curricular internships, enabling Indian students/trainees to acquire experience aligned with Italian skill/training standards.

Under the Flows Decree, Italy has proposed incremental reserved quotas for both seasonal and non-seasonal workers from 2023-2025. Furthermore, the agreement formalizes collaborative efforts to enhance mobility pathways between India and Italy. This includes discussions on youth mobility and the facilitation of the recruitment of Indian-qualified professionals in the healthcare and medical services sectors, to be addressed under the Joint Working Group (JWG). The agreement also establishes cooperation between the two countries to combat irregular migration. The agreement will remain in force for five years and will automatically renew for a similar successive period unless terminated by any participant.

To monitor the agreement, a Joint Working Group (JWG) will be formed, meeting periodically in virtual or physical mode as convenient, to oversee its implementation. The JWG will share relevant information, assess the implementation of the agreement, and discuss appropriate proposals to support its implementation as needed. The agreement was signed on November 2, 2023, with Dr. S Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister, representing the Indian government, and Shri Antonio Tajani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, representing the Italian government.