The Italian constitutional court has ruled that migrants with work permits of just six months or more are eligible to receive a baby bonus as well as a maternity allowance.
Italian constitutional court judges determined that the previous rules, which only allowed migrants with long-term residency to qualify for the baby bonus and maternity allowance, were unconstitutional after a hearing earlier this week.
According to a report from the European Union-funded website InfoMigrants, the constitutional court found that the previous rules conflicted with two articles of the Italian constitution dealing with equality before the law and the right of asylum.
The court also found the previous policy contradicted Article 34 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which states, “Everyone residing and moving legally within the European Union is entitled to social security benefits and social advantages in accordance with Union law and national laws and practices.”
The baby bonus benefit, which is given to new mothers and families who either conceive their own child or adopt a child, has been around since 2014.
Starting in March of this year, a universal child benefit will include and unify the various forms of maternal support, including a monthly sum of between €80 (£67/$91) and €160 (£133/$182) for one year for a first child based on the family’s income.
In 2020, the Italian government proposed to grant amnesty to an estimated 700,000 illegal immigrants, granting them the ability to gain residency through a work permit, a move that was criticised by a senior member of populist Matteo Salvini’s League.
By November of that year, at least 230,000 illegals had applied for regularization under the scheme. The new ruling could see many of those granted work permits and amnesty under the scheme the ability to qualify for the new baby bonus benefit.
The ruling comes just weeks after it was revealed that Italy’s birthrate among Italian citizens reached record lows in 2020, dropping to just 1.17 births per woman on average. The number of births in which one parent is born overseas, meanwhile, accounted for 21.8 per cent of all births.
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