MANILA, Philippines—Italy suffers from a shortage of nurses and may soon start getting foreign nurses, including Filipinos, former Philippine Ambassador to Italy Philippe Lhuillier said.

In a roundtable discussion with reporters Wednesday, the country’s ambassador to Italy from 1999 to January 2010, said: “They really need nurses. There are hospitals, at least five of them near our embassy, that have closed shop because of the shortage in nurses.”

“Italians love Filipinos because they are clean, and they work well,” he added.

Lhuillier said Italy has eased its policy on hiring foreign workers. Previously, it required foreign nurses to attend 4,500 hours in Italian colleges and be fluent in speaking the native language.

But Italy has since changed the policy. Filipino nurses, Lhuillier said, are now allowed to work in Italy if they pass the language exam administered by Italy’s Ministry of Health.

To learn the language, Filipinos can enroll in various classes teaching basic Italian language that usually last up to three months. The Philippine embassy in Italy offers free language classes.

“Because of the shortage, there are Filipinos (whose employers are doctors) who double as nursing aide for their employers,” Lhuillier added.

Based on Philippine government records, 200,000 Filipinos live and work in Italy. Of this figure, 90 percent are legal since the government awards amnesty to illegal immigrants every year.

The amnesty seeks to regularize a certain percentage of workers for a particular sector. At least 14,000 Filipinos were granted amnesty in 2009 alone.

Filipino workers in Italy are mostly women household service workers; Filipino men are usually family drivers and gardeners.