Help for migrantsOrganisations helping migrants in Italy: who does what, where, for free
Permesso di soggiorno, asylum, health care, meals, Italian classes: the organisations helping migrants in Italy for free, city by city. Naga, Centro Astalli, Emergency, Caritas, Red Cross, Sant'Egidio, ARCI, ASGI, and the public offices.
Founder · Compatri, the social network for diasporas
Information checked on 2 November 2026.
In an emergency in Italy, dial 112, the European emergency number. For everything else (a stuck permesso di soggiorno, an asylum claim, health care without a health card, a meal, first advice), several organisations helping migrants in Italy will see you without a paid appointment: Naga in Milan, Centro Astalli in Rome and seven other cities, Emergency in its clinics, the Caritas network in every diocese, the Italian Red Cross, the Community of Sant'Egidio and ARCI. ASGI, an association of lawyers, publishes guides and goes to court against discrimination.
This guide presents these organisations helping migrants in Italy: what each one does, for whom, where, and the link to reach it. It does not replace legal advice: the organisations can refer you to a lawyer. Compatri has no link with any of them. For the steps of a legal stay (study permit, family reunification), first read our guide to arriving in Italy and getting your permesso di soggiorno.
Organisations helping migrants in Italy at a glance
| Organisation | What it does | For whom | Where | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naga | Health care, legal and social help, all activities free | Migrants with or without legal status | Milan | naga.it |
| Centro Astalli | Canteen, clinic, legal desk, Italian classes, job help | Asylum seekers and refugees | Rome, Bologna, Catania, Grumo Nevano, Padua, Palermo, Trento, Vicenza | centroastalli.it |
| Emergency (Programma Italia) | Free clinics, guidance towards care | Migrants, foreigners, people in poverty | Marghera, Castel Volturno, Naples, Sassari, Milan, Calabria, Brescia, Sicily | emergency.it |
| Caritas | Listening centres, basic aid | Anyone in difficulty | Every diocese | caritas.it |
| Italian Red Cross (CRI) | Reception, legal information, family tracing | Migrants, separated families | Arrival ports, over 40 centres, local committees | cri.it |
| Community of Sant'Egidio | Free Italian classes, canteens, humanitarian corridors | Migrants, people without resources | Rome, Milan, Genoa, Naples, Florence and elsewhere | santegidio.org |
| ARCI | Reception in its Circoli Rifugio network, humanitarian corridors, advocacy | Refugees and asylum seekers | All of Italy | arci.it |
| ASGI | Legal guides, court cases, anti-discrimination service | Migrants and those who defend them | All of Italy | asgi.it |
Opening hours and addresses of drop-in sessions change often: they are not listed here. Follow each organisation's link before you go.
Right of residence: understanding your permesso file
Centro Astalli: a legal desk in Rome
Centro Astalli runs an information point for refugees in Rome. Its legal desk helps with residence permits, asylum claims, appeals and family reunification. The same place offers a postal address, showers, a canteen, a clinic, Italian classes up to B1 level and a job desk (CV, job search). The organisation has branches in Bologna, Catania, Grumo Nevano (near Naples), Padua, Palermo, Trento and Vicenza.
Naga: Milan's immigration desk
In Milan, Naga is a volunteer association founded in 1987. Its website says all its activities are free and that it provides health, legal and social help to foreigners, with or without legal status. It runs an immigration desk and a legal desk, with a limited number of people seen per session: arrive early and check the days on its services page.
ASGI: guides, not a desk
ASGI (Associazione per gli Studi Giuridici sull'Immigrazione) brings lawyers together. It does not run a drop-in for the public: it publishes practical guides (for example on getting a passport from an embassy), tracks case law and brings court cases. Its anti-discrimination service offers legal support to victims of ethnic, racial or religious discrimination, and you can report a case through its website.
Asylum claims: getting support
In Italy, recognition of refugee status and subsidiary protection is decided by the Territorial Commissions, after the file is examined (Ministry of the Interior). Before the interview, having someone explain the procedure makes a big difference.
- Centro Astalli: legal desk for asylum and appeals, and the Samifo centre for specialist care, psychological support and medico-legal certificates.
- Naga Har, Naga's centre in Milan, receives asylum seekers, refugees and torture survivors.
- The Italian Red Cross is present at arrival ports: first aid, psychological support, legal information and guidance. It runs more than 40 reception facilities.
- ARCI hosts refugees in its network of « Circoli Rifugio » clubs and takes part, with the Community of Sant'Egidio and others, in humanitarian corridors from Libya or Afghanistan.
Emergencies, meals and shelter
- Caritas: every diocese has its Caritas, with listening centres (centri di ascolto) open to anyone in difficulty. Find the one in your city in the directory of diocesan Caritas.
- Sant'Egidio runs canteens and reception centres (page « Le mense e i centri accoglienza »).
- Centro Astalli serves a hot meal in Rome.
- The Red Cross also refers people outside the reception system to services that can help them.
If you have lost track of a relative during the journey, the Italian Red Cross Restoring Family Links service, with the international Red Cross and Red Crescent network, helps find family and restore contact.
Health: getting care without a health card
- Emergency, through its Programma Italia, runs clinics where care is free for migrants, foreigners and people in poverty, who often go without care because they do not know their rights or the language. Clinics in Marghera, Castel Volturno, Naples and Sassari, projects in Milan and Calabria, a health guidance desk in Brescia, support for farmworkers in Sicily.
- Naga runs a medical clinic in Milan.
- Centro Astalli has a clinic in Rome and helps people register with the national health service.
These services will also tell you how to access public health care in your situation: ask at your first visit.
Learning Italian and finding work
Speaking Italian opens almost every door. Sant'Egidio's schools of Italian language and culture offer free classes, in the afternoon and evening, in Rome, Milan, Genoa, Naples, Florence and other cities. Centro Astalli teaches up to B1 level and runs a job desk.
Public bodies to know
These are not associations but public offices:
| Body | Role |
|---|---|
| Questura (police) | Issues the permesso di soggiorno to foreigners living in its province |
| Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione (in each prefecture) | Work authorisation (nulla osta) under the quota decree, family reunification, conversion of a study or seasonal permit into a work permit |
| Territorial Commissions | Examine applications for international protection |
Beware of paid intermediaries
A serious organisation never promises a residence permit. Be wary of anyone who asks for money to « speed up » a file, sells you a Questura appointment or a place in the quota decree, or claims to be a lawyer without proving bar membership. In Italy, a lawyer is registered with the bar (Ordine degli Avvocati) of their city: ask which one and check. The organisations in this guide help for free or for a simple membership; none sells a result.
Keep a copy of every document you hand over, never give away your passport, and have any contract read before signing it.
Compatri: fellow nationals in your city
An organisation helps you with a file; your fellow nationals help you live. On Compatri, the Italy page gathers cities and meetups, such as Rome and Milan. Diaspora pages lead to your community: Senegalese in Italy, Nigerians in Italy, Moroccans in Italy. Those who arrived before you know which drop-in opens early and which queue moves. Read how mutual aid between fellow nationals works and browse all communities. The directory of diaspora associations mainly lists associations in Belgium for now.
To compare with neighbouring countries, see organisations helping migrants in Europe and the Americas, then in Spain or in France for a residence permit.
Sources
- Naga: services
- Naga: about us
- Centro Astalli: home
- Centro Astalli: information point for refugees
- Emergency: Programma Italia
- Caritas Italiana: directory of diocesan Caritas
- Italian Red Cross: migration
- Community of Sant'Egidio: migrants
- Community of Sant'Egidio: language and culture schools
- ARCI: with migrants
- ASGI: anti-discrimination service
- Polizia di Stato: issuing the residence permit
- Ministry of the Interior: Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione
- Ministry of the Interior: international protection
Frequently asked questions
Where can migrants find free legal help in Italy?
In Milan, Naga runs an immigration desk and a legal desk, and all its activities are free. In Rome, Centro Astalli has a legal desk for residence permits, asylum, appeals and family reunification. Everywhere, your diocese's Caritas can guide you. Check the drop-in days on their website before you go.
Can undocumented people get free health care in Italy?
Organisations provide free care: Emergency in its clinics (Marghera, Castel Volturno, Naples, Sassari, projects in Milan and Calabria), Naga in Milan for foreigners with or without legal status, Centro Astalli in Rome. They also explain how to access public care in your situation. In an emergency, call 112.
Who helps asylum seekers in Italy?
Centro Astalli (legal desk, Samifo centre for care and medico-legal certificates), the Naga Har centre in Milan, the Italian Red Cross at the ports and in its more than 40 reception centres, and ARCI with its Circoli Rifugio network. The decision lies with the Territorial Commissions of the Ministry of the Interior.
Where can I take free Italian classes?
The Community of Sant'Egidio's schools of Italian language and culture offer free classes in the afternoon and evening, in Rome, Milan, Genoa, Naples, Florence and other cities. Centro Astalli also teaches up to B1 level.
What is the difference between the Questura and the Sportello Unico?
The Questura (police) issues the permesso di soggiorno to foreigners living in its province. The Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione, in each prefecture, handles work authorisations under the quota decree, family reunification and the conversion of a study or seasonal permit into a work permit. They are public offices, not associations.