In an effort to clear an unprecedented backlog of permessi di soggiorno, the Immigration Office of the Prato Police Headquarters remained open non-stop from 08:30 to 18:30 on Saturday 8 November, allowing foreign residents to collect long-awaited cards without an appointment. Up to 1,500 applicants were processed, thanks to extra staff brought in from neighbouring divisions and a queuing system that triaged elderly and family-reunification cases first.
Prato – whose garment district employs one of Europe’s largest Chinese diaspora communities – has seen residence-permit requests surge 27 percent in the past year as post-pandemic hiring rebounds. The backlog created compliance headaches for employers that could not finalise on-boarding of new hires or extend assignments without physical proof of legal stay. By dedicating an entire Saturday to walk-ins, the Questura trialled a model that police chiefs say could be replicated in other high-pressure provinces such as Milan, Brescia and Caserta.
![Prato Questura’s one-day ‘open house’ speeds delivery of 1,500 back-logged residence permits]()
Foreign workers praised the initiative but asked for more digital options. “I signed my contract in July; today I finally received the card that lets me travel for work,” said Zhang Wei, a quality-control technician whose company exports knitwear to Germany. Local trade-body Confindustria Toscana Nord said faster document delivery is crucial to meeting Christmas-season production targets.
For global-mobility leaders the message is clear: when Italian authorities offer extraordinary collection days, HR teams should alert affected assignees immediately and book interpreters if needed. Failure to pick up a ready permit within six months triggers automatic cancellation under Italy’s immigration code, forcing applicants back to square one. The Prato experiment could also influence upcoming national reforms – the interior ministry is evaluating an online booking platform for permit collection, similar to the PRENOTAFACILE system already piloted in Pistoia.
Prato – whose garment district employs one of Europe’s largest Chinese diaspora communities – has seen residence-permit requests surge 27 percent in the past year as post-pandemic hiring rebounds. The backlog created compliance headaches for employers that could not finalise on-boarding of new hires or extend assignments without physical proof of legal stay. By dedicating an entire Saturday to walk-ins, the Questura trialled a model that police chiefs say could be replicated in other high-pressure provinces such as Milan, Brescia and Caserta.
Foreign workers praised the initiative but asked for more digital options. “I signed my contract in July; today I finally received the card that lets me travel for work,” said Zhang Wei, a quality-control technician whose company exports knitwear to Germany. Local trade-body Confindustria Toscana Nord said faster document delivery is crucial to meeting Christmas-season production targets.
For global-mobility leaders the message is clear: when Italian authorities offer extraordinary collection days, HR teams should alert affected assignees immediately and book interpreters if needed. Failure to pick up a ready permit within six months triggers automatic cancellation under Italy’s immigration code, forcing applicants back to square one. The Prato experiment could also influence upcoming national reforms – the interior ministry is evaluating an online booking platform for permit collection, similar to the PRENOTAFACILE system already piloted in Pistoia.
