Italian Prime Minister Giorga Meloni has said that Bangladesh has the largest share of workers from outside the European Union in Italy.
Jorge Meloni has also warned of strict action against corruption in Italy’s labor visa.
In a video message released after a meeting of the Italian cabinet on Tuesday, he said the diplomats raised the issue of buying and selling of labor visas in Bangladesh. They said that a visa in the country is sold for 15,000 euros (about 18 lakh rupees).
Criminal gangs are using the flaws in Italy’s visa system to smuggle foreign workers into the country illegally. Prime Minister Giorga Meloni said anti-Mafia prosecutors should investigate.
She said her government has taken various measures as part of its tough stance on the migration issue. Besides, various measures have also been taken to meet the growing labor shortage.
Last year, Meloni’s government increased the quota for work visas for non-EU citizens for the period 2023-2025. Now this quota is four lakh 52 thousand. This number is about 150 percent more than the previous three years. Before the Corona epidemic in 2019, Italy issued only 30,850 visas.
Meloni said the investigation of the visas had yielded some “alarming” information. It was found that some regions (especially the southern part of Campania) applied far higher than the number of potential employers.
A speech from Meloni’s office said: “Few foreigners who received work visas have signed work contracts against such a large number of applications. In Campania, the rate is less than 3 percent. ’
He said the incident showed that “organised crime syndicates” had arranged for migrants who did not have the right to enter Italy to apply for visas in exchange for around 15,000 euros.
Meloni said anti-mafia investigators in the country had been alerted. He also promised to pass new measures to curb the irregularities after the G7 summit in Italy from June 13 to 15.
According to the Italian Interior Ministry, 21,574 irregular migrants have reached Italy by sea so far in 2024. This number is less than half of the same period last year.
Source: Deutsche Welle