Italy should have a new immigration law before summer, relaxing restrictions adopted by the previous centre-right government, Welfare Minister Paolo Ferrero said on Thursday.
Speaking after a meeting with local authorities and immigrant associations, he explained that his department, together with the interior ministry, had nearly finished drafting the bill.
"The measure should start its passage through parliament in January and be finalized by spring," he said.
The law would relax restrictions introduced by the government of former premier Silvio Berlusconi in 2002.
"There are many reasons for changing this old law," said Ferrero. "One of them is the long time it takes to issue residency permits [...] The waiting period can be endless".
The 2002 law has also been criticized for the fact that only foreigners with an Italian work contract are allowed a residency permit.
Residency permits last just two years and if immigrants lose their job before the expiry date they are required to leave the country.
Ferrero said that one of the most important ideas under consideration was doubling the residency permit's two-year duration.
"Part of the idea is to reduce the amount of work involved, which is pointless if the person applying for the permit is legal and has all the necessary prerequisites.
"Increasing the length of the permit will reduce the number of requests that need to be dealt with".
The centre left promised a broad overhaul of the country's immigration legislation as part of its electoral platform and has begun looking at a series of related issues since coming to power in April.
Other legislative changes under discussion include the introduction of a single asylum law and a points-based entry system to encourage managed migration.
Proposals are also being drawn up to grant certain immigrants the vote and make it easier for them to gain Italian citizenship.
Meanwhile another major change, involving the way residency permits are issued, is in the process of being implemented.
This transfers authority to grant residency permits from the hands of the police to the control of local municipal authorities.
Following the success of a pilot scheme in five provinces, the project is being extended to a further 16 as of next week.
The change will allow foreigners to apply for their residency permits at local post offices rather than through police stations, with the aim of speeding up the issuing process.
While most of the changes have been welcomed by immigrants associations and human rights groups, they have drawn sharp criticism from the centre-right opposition, which views the proposals as a step backwards.
The federal president of the Northern League, a key proponent of the current law, accused the government of trying "to turn the world topsy-turvy".
"The existing law was an effective solution: the number of migrant landings halved and the number of deportations doubled," said Northern League heavyweight Angelo Alessandri.
"[Under the new government] the number of landings has doubled, real deportations are vanishing, everything is being decriminalized and the prisons are being emptied.
"They are giving immigrants everything they want, even the vote," he added.
Italy's largest and most left-leaning trade union, CGIL, also criticised some of the planned changes.
It particularly singled out the new permit application scheme, which it described as "even more woolly" than the current system.
It also raised concerns about the additional cost of the new system, under which immigrants pay 72 euros for the application.
