The migration and integration of Moroccan and Ukrainian migrants in Italy: policies and measures

Anna Di Bartolomeo, European University Institute
Giuseppe Gabrielli, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Salvatore Strozza, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

The aim of the paper is to looks at the integration of Moroccan and Ukrainian migrants in Italy. Beyond being quantitatively important in the Italian context, these two groups largely differ in terms of demographic characteristics, migration patterns, insertion modalities. Two different sources of data have been employed: the ISMU Sample Survey of 2008-09 and the INTERACT Quantitative Study of 2013-14. After presenting trends and main demographic and social characteristics of Moroccan and Ukrainian migration to Italy, the main findings evidence that levels, determinants and, specifically, the role played by origin factors largely varies across dimensions. In the labour market, both Moroccan and Ukrainian migrants living in Italy show high levels of integration. These extremely positive performances seem due more to destination than origin factors, namely Italian labour market specificities and migration history. In the education dimension, thinks do differ. At an international level, Ukrainians living in Italy show good levels of integration also once controlled for natives’ performance. Origin determinants – in terms of conditions at home – seem thus to prevail. Not surprisingly, the degree of integration in the “access to citizenship” dimension is certainly connected to the degree of openness/restrictiveness of host citizenship laws and, accordingly, to the length of presence in the country. Our results confirm that Italy is still one of the countries where getting citizenship is one of the main constraints for migrants for both recent (Ukrainians) and well established communities (Moroccans). In the end, cultural integration is a main obstacle to Moroccan integration, while Ukrainians are found to be in a difficult position with respect to social and political integration. In terms of ties between migrants and their country of origin, a micro-level analysis confirms a very clear pattern: the lower the (cultural, economic, political, social) ties, the higher the level of integration.