The European Court of Justice has reprimanded Italy for discrimination in terms of income support for third-country nationals. According to the European jurisprudential body, maternity and birth allowances should also be granted to non-EU citizens residing in Italy, rejecting the provisions of the 2015 Budget Law. In fact, with the 2015 financial law, it was decided to exclude from the granting of the allowance those non-EU citizens holding a single work permit, even if they legally resided in Italy.
The birth allowance is a monthly payment that the Italian state pays to families to help them in the process of raising and supporting their children. A measure that is part of the measures adopted by the Italian government to encourage an increase in births. This allowance ranges from €960 to €1,920 per year for the first child based on the family’s financial situation, as specified by INPS.
How do birth incentives work?
The allowance is paid monthly until the child is one year old or the year after adoption or productive placement. Maternity allowance, on the other hand, is paid to families who do not reach a certain income threshold, do not have social security coverage, or whose parents work atypical and discontinuous jobs. Italian law requires that an allowance be paid monthly to Italian and EU citizens as well as to citizens of third countries who hold a long-term residence permit in Italy. In the 2015 Budget Law, it was decided to exclude from the benefit non-EU citizens with a single work permit because they are not long-term residents. However, according to the ruling issued by the EU court, the two allowances fall within the scope of “social security” benefits to which citizens of non-EU countries are entitled under EU law.
The 2011 EU directive states that “workers from non-EU countries should enjoy equal treatment in terms of social security”. A directive that the Budget Law disregarded and that the Italian government will now have to restore by extending the benefits of those income support benefits to non-EU workers with a work contract and residing in the Bel Paese.
