E/CN.4/2005/85/Add.3 page 10 29. The procedure for hiring temporary workers is the same, but less time is allowed for the formalities. If, once their residence permits expire, they return to their home countries, they will be given priority in the future. When a worker can prove that he was hired for seasonal work for a minimum of two consecutive years, he may be granted a long-term permit (permesso pluriennale), for a period not exceeding that of the previous permit. 30. The Special Rapporteur was informed that Italian legislation ensures that foreign workers legally resident in Italy and their families receive the same treatment as Italian workers and have full equality of rights with them. In cases of residence for contractual employment, job loss does not mean that the worker’s residence permit is cancelled. He can register as unemployed and will be given preference in recruitment over other non-EU workers although, according to some sources, these job centres are of questionable efficiency. The registration will be valid for the remaining duration of the residence permit, and, with the exception of seasonal work permits, may not be less than six months. Foreign workers keep their social security rights after returning to their home countries. 31. A non-EU national who wishes to become self-employed in Italy must obtain the appropriate visa, subject to entry quotas, with the exception of some categories of highly skilled workers. It is possible to convert an existing residence permit into a residence permit for self-employment. 32. The Ministry of Labour informed the Special Rapporteur that people taking its Italian language and professional training courses in host countries are given priority in the entry quotas.8 These priority qualifications appear to have replaced the sponsor - who could be an Italian or a legally-established foreign national or an authorized body - who guaranteed a foreign national entering Italy to seek work for a period of one year; if the foreigner did not find work he was required to leave the country. The Ministry was also working on programmes to prevent illegal emigration. Once the regulations for the implementation of the migration act were approved, information campaigns on the risks of clandestine migration would be introduced. 33. Italian law provides for sanctions against anyone who employs immigrants without a residence permit or whose permits have expired or been withdrawn or cancelled. In such cases, the employer may face a prison sentence of between three months and one year and a fine of €5,000 for each foreign worker employed. The workers are also punished, and may even be deported. 34. The latest special regularization of illegal migrant workers was completed in December 2003. According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, a total of 641,638 persons benefited from this exercise, having proved that they had been working in Italy for more than three months. The documentation provided shows that the numbers of legal foreign residents rose from 1,363,454 in 2001 to 2,193,099 in 2003, with Romanians and Ukrainians benefiting most from the latest regularization. Representatives of trade unions, consular authorities and migrant workers considered that the regulation of the situation had depended entirely on employers’ goodwill. While regularization was in process, the workers involved had to put up with a lengthy waiting period when they could not leave Italy.