New on TikTok: Long-Term Residence Permit and Prolonged Absence: When Integration Is Not Enough Welcome to a new episode of the podcast Immigration Law. I am attorney Fabio Loscerbo. Today we examine a significant decision issued by the Regional Administrative Court for Lombardy, Brescia section, published on April 8, 2026, concerning case number ruolo generale 529 of 2022 . The case concerns the revocation of an EU long-term residence permit. The applicant, a foreign national who had been living in Italy for many years, had his permit revoked due to an absence from the territory of the European Union lasting more than twelve consecutive months. And this is the central point of the decision. The administrative court reaffirms a principle that is often underestimated in practice: the long-term residence permit is not a static status. It is based on a real, continuous, and prevailing connection with the host country. In this case, the documentary evidence clearly showed that, after leaving Italy in December 2019, the applicant did not return until February 2021. This means an absence exceeding the twelve-month limit set by Article 9 of the Italian Immigration Act. The applicant attempted to rely on his level of integration: long-term residence, stable family life, and no negative factors. However, the Court takes a clear position: these elements are not relevant for the application of the rule. The legislator’s logic is different. It is not only about integration in an abstract sense, but about actual presence and continuity of ties with the territory. Once the twelve-month threshold is exceeded, the law presumes that this connection has been broken. This is also a crucial point from a broader systemic perspective. The right to long-term residence cannot be separated from actual presence in the country. For integration to have legal relevance, it must be current, not merely historical. The decision therefore confirms a strict but coherent principle: the long-term residence permit does not survive prolonged absence, even in the presence of a previously well-established integration. This is an issue with significant practical implications and requires careful management of time spent abroad. We will talk again in the next episode.

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