International protection refers to the set of safeguards that a state grants to individuals who are forced to leave their country because they face a risk of persecution or serious harm and cannot be protected there. This concept is often confused with “political asylum,” but the two terms are not the same. In this guide, we explain what international protection is, what forms it takes under Italian and European law, who can apply for it, and how it differs from constitutional asylum.
What Is International Protection
International protection is a legal category of European origin that encompasses two equivalent forms of protection: refugee status and subsidiary protection. It is based on the 1951 Geneva Convention and, at the European level, on a regulatory framework recently updated by the European Union Pact on Migration and Asylum, which entered into force on June 12, 2026. Under the Pact, the granting of protected status is governed by Regulation (EU) 2024/1347, and the common procedure by Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, both of which are directly applicable in all Member States: this marks a shift from a system based on directives—which allowed for broad national discretion—to uniform and immediately binding regulations.
Refugee Status
Refugee status is granted to individuals who have a well-founded fear of persecution on grounds of ethnicity, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, and who, for this reason, cannot or do not wish to avail themselves of the protection of their own country. It is the form of protection defined by the 1951 Geneva Convention and confers a wide range of rights, from the right to work to family reunification.
Subsidiary Protection
This applies to individuals who do not meet the definition of a refugee but would face serious harm if returned to their country of origin: the death penalty, torture, or inhuman and degrading treatment; or a serious and individual threat to life arising from indiscriminate violence in situations of armed conflict. The rights granted are essentially equivalent to those of refugee status, with some procedural differences.
The Difference Between Political Asylum and International Protection
In everyday language, people often speak of “political asylum,” but in a technical sense, the right to asylum provided for in Article 10 of the Italian Constitution and international protection are not the same thing. Constitutional asylum is a broad right granted to those who, in their own country, cannot exercise the democratic freedoms guaranteed by the Italian Constitution. In practice, however, there is no separate procedure for obtaining it: according to established case law, the constitutional right to asylum is implemented precisely through the forms of international protection and complementary protection provided for by law. In other words, those seeking “political asylum” in Italy are, in fact, filing an application for international protection.
Other Forms of Complementary Protection
Alongside international protection, the Italian legal system provides for forms of complementary protection which, while not technically falling under international protection, safeguard individuals in situations of risk: special protection, protection for medical treatment, protection for minors, and protection for victims of domestic violence or labor exploitation.
Who Decides: The Territorial Commissions
Applications for international protection are reviewed by the territorial commissions for the recognition of international protection, which summon the applicant for a personal hearing. It is at this point that the applicant recounts their story and the reasons for their request: a delicate stage in which the quality of linguistic communication can have a decisive impact on the outcome.
The Role of Language Services
At every stage of the procedure—from the submission of the application to the hearing, through to the translation of documents from the country of origin—the presence of interpreters and qualified linguistic and cultural mediators is essential to ensure that the right to protection can be effectively exercised. For more than 20 years, ITM has supported institutions, prefectures, police headquarters, and reception centers with language services certified to UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 and UNI EN ISO 17100:2017 standards, backed by a network of over 10,000 native-speaking professionals across Europe.
