The Role of Local Socio-Economic Integration in Italian Asylum Adjudications

This chapter focuses on the Italian case and explores if judges’ final decisions in granting humanitarian protection actually consider asylum seekers' level of integration into the society of residence. More precisely, analyses focus on the appeal stage and, therefore, consider asylum applications rejected at first instance by Territorial Commissions and re-examined by Italian Civil Courts. Adopting a mixed-method approach, the chapter aims to understand if, and to what extent, asylum seekers’ level of integration is a potential determinant in favouring judges to grant humanitarian protection at the appeal stage. Findings reveal that, by and large, factors of integration are deeply considered by Italian judges in the decision to grant humanitarian protection, but employment status and language proficiency seem to be more important than other factors.