Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Mayor Sala and Councilor Rabaiotti announce the publication dedicated to all the services available to those who choose to live in Milan

Milan, November 16 2019 — “Welcome to Milan” was presented today, the first guide that aims to help newcomers to the city to learn about and use the services available. Mayor Giuseppe Sala and Councilor for Social and Housing Policies Gabriele Rabaiotti, in collaboration with Bloomberg Associates, illustrated the guide to Pirelli HangarBicocca this morning.
 
“This is truly the best way to welcome those arriving in our city – explained Mayor Giuseppe Sala -. The guide we present today is a practical, functional and useful text that helps you orient yourself among the different services that Milan offers. It was designed mainly to support those who decide to move here from abroad: by responding in a clear and simple way to the needs that arise in everyday life - from permits to health services, from school to transport - it actually facilitates their entry. in the new social context and makes them an active part of our community".
 
“Welcome to Milan” is a complete tool for those who have been in the city for a short time or have just arrived from other regions, from EU or non-EU countries for work, study and to reunite with their family members. Requesting the necessary permits, registering as a resident, understanding how the school, health and transport systems work: these are some of the topics addressed. The text is divided into the following sections:   
 
1.    Steps not to forget upon arrival
2.    Welcome to Italy (information about the city and the government)
3.    Permissions and Authorizations
4.    Education
5.    Work
6.    Italian language (the courses available and how to access them)
7.    Medical and health care
8.    Social services
9.    Transport
10.     Housing and bank account regulations
11.     Recreational and cultural activities
12.     Important information (holiday calendar and useful contacts) 
 
The guide, accessible online, is available in Italian, English, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. The French version will also be released in the coming weeks.
 
This initiative reflects the Administration's desire to support all those who arrive in the city. In particular, foreigners represent 19% of Milan's residents, a percentage approximately ten points higher than the national average which stands at around 9%. It is also expected that by 2036 foreigners will represent 21,2% of the Milanese population. To date, however, 19.500 foreign students attend Milanese universities, approximately 10% of the total university students.
 
“Milan is growing again - said the councilor for social and housing policies Gabriele Rabaiotti - and we think that supporting this development does not only mean encouraging tourism, but above all committing to making this city welcoming also for those who choose Milan to live , work, study and thus contribute to its improvement. The Administration's objective is therefore to ensure, also through initiatives such as that of the 'Welcome to Milan' guide, that those who arrive in this city have in their hands the tools to integrate into the social fabric, because we are convinced that a society that is always more cohesive, both Milanese by birth and those by adoption will be able to benefit".  
 
In the coming months, the launch of the "My Journey" app is also planned, developed by the Municipality of Milan in collaboration with the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies of the Polytechnic of Milan and with the Prefecture of Milan, and the opening in via Don Carlo San Martino of the WeMI RaggiungiMI hub dedicated to family reunification, to help migrants who have been reunited with their family to navigate the application process and connect with the city's services.
 
AggiungiMI will concentrate within it the functions present in the other WeMi points, the physical spaces dedicated to the home services system of the Municipality of Milan, and in addition will make available specific skills necessary for those who start a reunification process: social workers, educators, a psychologist, an orientation service for Italian courses active in the city, legal consultants, a mentorship system by those who have started and successfully completed a path of this type. All professional figures who will support the family not only in the legal process of approving the application, but also in the process of insertion into the new context. The hub will also host the "Cerco Offro Scuola" service of the Education and Instruction Directorate, a school orientation desk for foreigners aged 14 to 21. 
 
The Municipality and Bloomberg Associates collaborated in the drafting of "Welcome to Milan", an international consultancy service founded by Michael R. Bloomberg as a philanthropic initiative to help the administrations of the world's large cities improve the quality of life of their citizens. During the development of the guide, a user-oriented approach was applied: those who recently arrived participated in various focus groups, thus contributing to the drafting of the text.
 
“We give credit to Mayor Sala and his team for taking the necessary steps to create this tool,” said Linda Gibbs, Head of Social Services at Bloomberg Associates. In today's globalized world, it is more important than ever for cities to take a proactive approach to supporting citizens as they integrate into new communities, and we hope that Milan's work will inspire other cities to do the same." .
 

For further information or to access the "Welcome to Milan" guide, visit the site comune.milano.it or the dedicated page on wemi.milano.it

In the Annex: The cover of the guide "Welcome to Milan"
Download the guide "Welcome to Milan"