According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), last year Italy saw a significant increase in the number of residence permits issued, with a total of 449,118 issued. The data also showed an 86% increase over the previous year, representing record numbers not seen in more than a decade. The impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine has been particularly significant, as 148,000 temporary protection permits have been issued to Ukrainians. Of these licenses, 36.8% were issued to minors and 71.7% to women. Furthermore, Italy continues to welcome more than five million foreign nationals, a slight increase compared to the previous year. As a result, 59.1 per cent of these foreign nationals have chosen to reside in the northern regions of Italy. Last year, Italy saw about 9,000 unaccompanied minors under 18 enter the country without their adult parents. Faced with this increase in figures, the Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, expressed concern about the strong migratory pressure that the country has been facing for several months in the central Mediterranean. He noted that the increase in migration flows from Tunisia increased by more than 376% compared to the previous year. Minister Piantedosi also said that as of October 4, a total of 3,471 migrants had been repatriated, this number was higher than in 2022 and 2021, meaning that 70% of these repatriated migrants were in transit. through CPR, a detention center for migrants. expulsion. Recently, Italian authorities revealed that the country has received more than one million migrants since 2013. The death rate among those using migration routes to Italy has exceeded 28,000 people. This tragic trend began in the early 2010s, with 368 people killed in 2013 as migrants left Libya. Earlier this month, Italy also made legal changes to improve the treatment of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the country. New law revises standard procedures for assisting unaccompanied minors seeking asylum. This shift may be related to changes in the way these adolescents are integrated into the reception and integration (SAI) system, potentially improving care and support for them. The Decree also introduces new age determination procedures. These protocols are particularly relevant when it comes to unaccompanied minors who travel to Italy regularly and continuously. Accurate age determination is important to ensure that minors receive appropriate care, services and legal protections based on their actual age.