Appeal and special protection: what to do after a refusal

Updated on 1 October 2026

If the Territorial Commission (Commissione territoriale) has rejected your protection application, you can appeal to the Court (the specialised immigration section) through a lawyer. The deadline is as a rule 30 days from notification, but in some cases it is much shorter. In the appeal you can also ask the judge for special protection (protezione speciale). The most important thing is not to lose time: an appeal filed late is inadmissible.

In brief

• Against a refusal you file an appeal to the Court, with a lawyer.
• Ordinary deadline: 30 days from notification (60 if you are in a third country). In some cases the days are far fewer, even 7.
• As a rule the appeal suspends the refusal, but there are exceptions.
• In the appeal you can ask for special protection (art. 19 Consolidated Immigration Act).
• For applications filed before 12 June 2026 the previous rules still apply.

What does a refusal by the Territorial Commission mean?

After your interview, the Territorial Commission decides whether to recognise you as a refugee, grant you subsidiary protection or grant you special protection. If it rejects all of them, you receive a refusal decision.

A refusal is not the end of the road. The law allows you to ask a judge to review the whole case. But the time to do so is tight, and the count of days starts from notification, that is, from the day the decision was handed to you.

Within how many days must I appeal?

Article 35-bis of Legislative Decree 25/2008 says the appeal is filed, “on pain of inadmissibility”:

• within 30 days of notification of the decision;
• within 60 days if the person appealing is in a third country.

The text in force also provides a 7-day deadline in some cases set out in the new EU Regulation 2024/1348. Even before the new rules, shorter deadlines existed for some procedures (for example accelerated procedures).

For this reason the practical rule is only one: as soon as you receive the refusal, go to a lawyer immediately. Do not wait to “understand better” or to collect more documents: those can be prepared afterwards.

What changed from 12 June 2026?

On 12 June 2026 decree-law no. 100/2026 came into force, applying the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum in Italy. The decree was converted into law in August 2026. It also changed the rules on appeals.

According to the Chamber of Deputies’ summary, for proceedings arising from protection applications filed before 12 June 2026 “the previous rules continue to apply”. So:

1. if you applied for asylum before 12 June 2026, the previous rules generally apply to your case;
2. if you applied after, the new rules apply, with deadlines that may be shorter.

This is a new area and the courts are still applying it. A lawyer must check the date of your application and the type of procedure before calculating the deadline.

Can I stay in Italy during the appeal?

Art. 35-bis, paragraph 3, says the appeal suspends the effect of the contested decision, except in the cases provided by the EU Regulation. In practice:

• in ordinary cases, if the appeal is filed in time, the refusal has no effect until the judge decides;
• in some cases (for example certain accelerated procedures) the suspension is not automatic and the lawyer must ask the judge for it.

If the appeal is suspensive, you can usually get a residence permit while waiting for the decision. In Milan this permit is booked through the Questura’s Prenota Facile system: see our guide on Prenota Facile.

What is special protection and when can you get it?

Special protection is regulated by article 19 of the Consolidated Immigration Act (Testo Unico Immigrazione). It protects people who cannot be sent back to a country where they risk persecution, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment, or other serious violations set out by the law.

One important thing to know: with decree-law 20/2023 (the so-called Cutro decree) the law was narrowed. Today’s text no longer expressly mentions respect for private and family life in Italy (work, family, years spent here), which used to be a frequent ground for special protection.

This does not mean that ties in Italy no longer count at all: their weight is now much debated before the judges and must be assessed case by case with the lawyer. That is exactly why it is worth bringing concrete evidence: work contract, payslips, Italian courses, residence, family in Italy.

What should I bring to the lawyer?

To prepare a good appeal you need:

1. the refusal decision with the date of notification;
2. the transcript of the interview at the Commission;
3. the residence permit or receipt you have;
4. personal documents and evidence of your story (certificates, photos, articles, medical documents);
5. evidence of your life in Italy: work, study, home, family.

The more consistent and documented your story is, the easier it is for the lawyer to present it well to the judge.

After the appeal, how long do I wait?

Timing depends on the Court and on the procedure. The law sets deadlines for the decision, but in practice they can be exceeded. While you wait it is important not to lose your current permit: it must be renewed when required, and you must report every change of address, otherwise notifications will not reach you.

For all the stages, from the asylum application to the interview, see our page on international protection.

Have you received a refusal?

The studio’s in-house lawyers handle appeals against refusals by the Territorial Commissions. We cannot promise that the judge will rule in your favour, but we can read your decision right away, calculate the correct deadline and tell you honestly what your chances are.

Do not wait until the deadline is almost over. Book a 30-minute consultation for €60 at our office in Milan or online on WhatsApp, or write to Sofia, the studio’s assistant, right away on WhatsApp from the booking box on this page. You can find the full service on the appeals page.