The project is coordinated by the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration, in collaboration with the Migration Policy Institute Europe, and is funded by the Mercator Foundation. Given large-scale irregular migration flows to Europe, the central question is what legal alternatives do and could exist for third-country nationals who are not in need of protection and who move for education, training and or work. Through a combination of five country case studies (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden) and analysis of the European Union’s external migration policy, the project explores existing legal migration options, challenges in policy design and implementation, and reflects on the options for the development of effective legal migration spolicies and programmes. FIERI is responsible for the study on the Italian case.