Meeting in Brussels on 1 October, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council gave final approval to a package that harmonises procedures for returning migrants with no legal right to remain. The regulation—part of the wider Pact on Migration and Asylum—introduces stricter deadlines for appeals, stronger obligations on migrants deemed a security threat, and, crucially, allows Member States to establish processing or accommodation centres for returnees in third countries. For Italy the new framework is politically significant: Rome has argued for years that the EU must back its bilateral deals with North-African partners by underwriting reception hubs outside EU territory. Interior-minister officials told reporters that the law “creates legal cover” for pilot projects with Albania and Tunisia that could start in 2027. Operationally, the regulation standardises travel-document formats, mandates mutual recognition of return decisions, and lets Member States pool charter-flight capacity—potentially reducing costs for Italy, which spent over €100 million on removals in 2025. The rules will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal and must be applied six months later. Corporate-relocation managers should note that the reform does not affect legal migration pathways such as the Decreto Flussi quotas or intra-company transfers. However, it could shorten processing times for rejected residence permits, making compliance with visa conditions even more critical for foreign assignees. The Commission will publish guidance on data-exchange standards this quarter; companies employing third-country nationals should verify that their immigration providers can interface with the upgraded Return Case Management System (RCMS).
Source: ANSA
