A new regulation that is currently under consideration by the Italian government could become a huge obstacle for all non-EU migrants who are new to Italy to communicate with their hometowns.
The new regulation, which is part of a public security bill under consideration by the government, involves several changes to the Electronic Communications Code, which have not previously attracted much attention, according to the Italy newspaper La Repubblica.
However, the new changes in response to the tightening of immigration seem to make the Italian media unbearable, according to reports, the relevant new regulations require: non-EU citizens must show a residence card in addition to their personal identity documents when buying a mobile phone SIM card.
In case of non-compliance, both the buyer and the seller will be severely punished: if they try to get a friend to buy a mobile phone SIM card and are found out, the principal will face a ban on signing a contract with the phone operator for 6-12 months; If a seller sells a SIM card to a customer with incomplete documents, he may face a hefty fine and be ordered to close down his business.
But the problem is that for non-EU migrants, the process from making an appointment to apply for residence to obtaining a residence card is extremely long and difficult. Even if all the residency application conditions are met, people still have to wait for months, even more than a year, to get a residency application, and sometimes only to get an appointment for a residency application!
In this regard, even the Italian media can't help but bluntly say that the purpose of this move is to make it difficult for new immigrants to Italy to live normally, so as to achieve the "deterrent effect" that Prime Minister Meloni wants.
Italian media pointed out that once the new regulations are approved, it will inevitably have a serious impact on the lives of newly arrived immigrants - because in the first few months of their arrival in Italy, they will not be able to buy Italy SIM cards because they do not have a residence card. This means that it will be very difficult for them to connect with their friends and family back home!
(Yi Yi Original, Editor: Hua Jiayan, Translation: Toth, Image source: Pixabay, please indicate Yi Stew: oushitalia)