Milan Police and Notaries to Cooperate for the Rights of Foreigners

The Milan Police Command, the Notarial Council of Milan, Busto Arsizio, Lodi, Monza and Varese and the Notaries’ Union Association of Lombardy join hands over the question of immigration, signing a collaboration agreement aimed at assisting foreigners present in Italy in the exercise of their civil rights and in their relations with the Public Service. The agreement signed today provides for close cooperation and includes three novel aspects:

1. setting up of an information channel based on the exchange of certified e-mail messages that will allow notaries quick access to information from the Immigration Office at Milan Police Headquarters which has territorial responsibility for the Province of Milan, in order to draw up legal documents for foreigners whose residence papers have not yet been issued or have not yet been renewed;
2. promotion of public meetings for study and mutual updating on questions of immigration in order to facilitate day-to-day activities and the tasks of professionals and public servants who deal with problems relating to the life of foreigners in Italy;
3. launch of a bridging program between the Police Command and the notariat that in future will allow notaries on-line access to the data base of residence permits, while respecting the rules on privacy and data security, as is already the case in other areas of dealings with the Public Service.

The aim of the agreement is to assist foreigners to enjoy their civil rights to the full even while waiting for their residence permits to be issued. The notary called upon for assistance can access clear information on the status of a foreigner and thus protect his legitimate interests, guaranteeing legal certainty and safety and the correctness of documentation.

This agreement follows in the tradition of a series of initiatives that the Notaries’ Union Association of Lombardy has implemented on the subject of immigration, being aware of the important role of notaries with respect to the 4 million-plus foreigners present in Italy. On 20 September 2010 it arranged a meeting called “foreigners, legal residency and the role of the notary”, the minutes of which are available on the site www.federnotizie.org.

On other occasions initiatives have been undertaken together with Caritas, Ismu, the Municipality of Milan and other non-profit bodies.

Notaries are called upon daily to address problems involving foreigners in Italy and have an important role as mediators, drawing up documents and handling legal negotiations regarding the purchase of a house or the starting up of a business, or facilitating the resolution of cases involving inheritance, the composition of the nuclear family, the legal subdivision of spouses’ assets or private property law.