Nigerian man unable to claim Italian lottery win gains residency permit

A Nigerian man who won €500,000 in an Italian lottery – but was barred from collecting his windfall because he was undocumented – said the hardship of his more than decade-long immigration journey had been eased after he was finally granted a residency permit.

“I’ve been praying for this moment ever since I arrived in Italy,” said Imagbe Ehizomwengie, 36. “It’s a huge relief. You might think it’s incredible, but receiving the permit means more to me than winning the money. I want to work and contribute to society.”

Ehizomwengie bought the €5 Gratta e Vinci – Italy’s official instant scratchcard lottery – last October with money scraped together from selling handkerchiefs and begging outside a supermarket in Turin.

He cried tears of joy and relief when he discovered he had hit the jackpot, only for the win to be overshadowed by his bureaucratic quagmire.

Speaking to the Guardian, Ehizomwengie said he had arrived in Italy in 2016 after a treacherous journey across the Mediterranean from Libya, where he had been held captive for two years and was only released after a ransom was paid.

His request for a “special protection” permit – which until being restricted by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government in 2023 granted residency to asylum seekers who did not qualify as refugees but faced serious risks to their life if sent home – was rejected.

Unable to work, Ehizomwengie got by as a street seller, occasionally chancing his luck with scratchcards in the hope of reversing his fortunes.

“When I lived in Nigeria, I was always praying for opportunities, but they never came,” he said. “But you also need to take risks in life, and I kept believing that one day I might even become a millionaire.”

He added: “I stopped buying the scratchcards for years but on the day I won … I truly believe God was watching over me.”

But then began his quest to claim his winnings. Without a residency permit, Ehizomwengie could not open a bank account to receive the money. In turn, without the money he could not demonstrate the financial independence needed to support his renewed appeal for a residency permit.

Scrambling for a solution, after being taken advantage of by a Nigerian friend to whom he had entrusted the money, the friend agreed to transfer about half of the post-tax winnings to Ehizomwengie’s cousin’s account. The funds were then used to buy Mama Africa, a shop selling food produce from Africa in the seaside town of Falconara in the Marche region of Italy.

In the meantime, Ehizomwengie’s lawyer, Andrea Palazzeschi, pursued his case through a court in Ancona, which this week ordered that a residence permit be issued, taking into consideration Ehizomwengie’s competent Italian, his work at Mama Africa and, pertinently, his new financial independence.