The "Migration and Mobility Agreement" between Italy and India, which intends to improve interpersonal relationships and enable the mobility of students, skilled workers, business professionals, and young specialists, was post facto approved by the Union cabinet. It will facilitate collaboration on problems pertaining to irregular migration.
“The agreement locks in the current Italian visa regime, including mechanisms for post-study opportunities, internships and professional training, assuring an advantage for India under the existing labour mobility pathways under the Flows Decree,” the government said.
Cooperation between the two nations in the fight against irregular migration has also been formalised through agreement. Some of the key provisions of the MoU include allowing temporary residence of up to one year in Italy to Indian students wishing to gather initial professional experience after completing academic and vocational training there. The Italian side has detailed provisions related to professional training, extracurricular and curricular internships which allow Indian students to gain experience in Italian skill and training standards.
For workers, the Italian side has reserved a quota of 5,000, 6,000 and 7,000 non-seasonal Indian workers for 2023, 2024 and 2025 under current Flows Decree (total reserved quota stands at 12,000 for nonseasonal workers). Additionally, the Italian side has reserved a quota of 3,000, 4,000 and 5,000 seasonal Indian workers for 2023, 2024 and 2025 (total reserved quota stands at 8,000 for seasonal workers).
The agreement also formalises efforts to advance youth mobility and the recruitment of qualified Indian professionals in the healthcare and medical services sectors. These topics will be further explored within the joint working group. The agreement also formalises the work on advancing mobility pathways between India and Italy.