Fast-track procedures for repatriation: the Interior Ministry tightens the rules. New centres from Milan to Reggio Calabria

The government’s initiative to facilitate the repatriation of irregular migrants is taking shape. The decree issued by the Ministry of the Interior on 21 July 2026 was published in the Official Gazette on 10 August; it supplements and redefines the geographical scope of border and transit zones within the country. There are 25 provinces in which new centres have been designated for carrying out accelerated border procedures. These include Bologna, Genoa, Milan and Venice, and, in the south, Benevento, Reggio Calabria and Vibo Valentia.

The measure addresses border areas which, within the context of contemporary migration policies, are not merely transit routes, but genuine strategic areas for the management, screening and containment of migration flows.

The decree also amends the territorial commissions responsible for granting international protection, establishing additional sections and defining their areas of competence.

The map of border zones is being expanded to include specific strategic maritime, air and land hubs. In these designated areas, public authorities and police forces will be able to directly enforce administrative regulations and border operational procedures.

The formal inclusion of a locality amongst border or transit zones has significant procedural implications. In particular, at the designated locations, accelerated procedures apply for the examination and assessment of applications for international protection (up to and including possible return or refoulement). Furthermore, anyone who enters or is taken to these designated areas is formally considered not yet to have entered the national territory for the entire duration of the initial checks and screening.