Imagbe wins €500 on a scratch-off ticket but can't cash in because he doesn't have a residence permit.

Imagbe Ehizomwengie, a 36-year-old Nigerian, is one of the many illegal migrants who landed in Italy on a rubber dinghy from Libya. Having fled Nigeria, which was ravaged by civil war, Imagbe was held in a detention center in Libya in 2016 until, with the help of his relatives, he managed to raise the money to pay the ransom and board a rubber dinghy headed for the coast of Sicily.

Upon arriving in Italy, Imagbe attempted to obtain a special protection permit (a document granted to asylum seekers who lacked certain qualifications to be considered refugees and thus accepted with a regular residence permit), but his application was rejected, and from that moment on, he began his life as an illegal immigrant. He couldn't find a regular job, much less open a bank account. He decided to move to Falconara Marittima, in the province of Ancona, where the only job he could do to earn some money was working as a barber. street vendor of handkerchiefs, an activity that alternates with the request for alms at the entrance to supermarkets.

Everything changes in March 2026, when Imagbe manages to buy two tickets for the Scratch And with a single win, he wins a cool €500. However, it's virtual money, as without a residence permit and a bank account, he can't cash in on his winnings. The Nigerian community suggests he entrust part of his winnings, €250, to a Nigerian friend, who, however, disappears with the loot, and so half of the proceeds are squandered in a scam. Imagbe manages to save the other half thanks to a cousin's bank account, but the problem of how to dispose of it remains, even though the close relative has invested almost all of the money in opening a shop called Mama Africa, which sells original products from Africa in Falconara Marittima.

The solution comes thanks to a lawyer, Andrea Palazzeschi, specialized in the defense of immigrants' rights, who filed an urgent case with the Court of Ancona seeking recognition of Imagbe's residence permit based on two key factors. The first is that he speaks good Italian; the second is that he has a job at the Mama Africa store opened by his cousin with his own money.

At that point, the Ancona Court ordered the issuance of a residence permit, and finally, thanks to luck and his tenacity, Imagbe was able to begin his new life. Now he's a fully-fledged migrant, has his own shop and job, and can look to the future with a healthy dose of optimism.

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