ABSTRACT
Most migrants entered Italy without a residence permit and were legalized afterwards. The three legalization campaigns over ten years were the largest in Europe. However, even when migrants became entitled to regular employment, a large proportion of them went on taking unregistered jobs, thereby running the risk of failing to renew their permits. Measures aimed at making migrant workers emerge from their illegal status as well as from the underground economy had only partial and temporary success because of the large domestic underground economy, which is able to attract those migrants who are prone to accept illegal stay and irregular working conditions. The article shows in particular the outcomes of the last legalization in 1996, analyzing the administrative data and also focusing on fieldwork in the metropolitan area of Milan.
