On the evening of 17 November Italy’s Chamber of Deputies began discussion of the bill that will convert Decree-Law 146/2025—the so-called “Decreto Flussi” for 2026-2028—into permanent legislation. The decree, issued on 3 October, authorises a record 497,550 work-permit quotas over the next three years and streamlines hiring pathways for seasonal agriculture, long-term care and manufacturing. Law-makers are racing to pass the text before the end-of-year recess so that the Interior Ministry can open the all-important online “click-day” application windows in January.
During Monday’s plenary session MPs from the governing coalition argued that higher legal-migration ceilings are essential to fill labour shortages in logistics, construction and hospitality. Opposition parties broadly back larger quotas but pressed for stronger workplace-inspection safeguards to prevent exploitation and for faster residence-permit issuance once workers arrive. Several amendments tabled for today’s (18 November) sitting would earmark up to 10 % of quotas for graduates of Italian technical colleges abroad and for refugees resettled under EU solidarity schemes.
![Italian Parliament opens debate on emergency ‘Decreto Flussi’ migration-quota law]()
For employers the decree offers two headline benefits. First, quota reservation is linked to a new digital pre-clearance platform that will let companies upload job offers, candidate documents and housing contracts in a single portal using a certified PEC e-mail. Second, the decree cuts processing time for non-seasonal permits from 60 to 30 days, provided that the employer signs a labour-integration pact covering language training and health registration within 90 days of the worker’s arrival.
Immigration lawyers nonetheless warn that much depends on secondary implementing circulars from the Interior and Labour Ministries. Until those instructions are published, companies should prepare the usual documentation bundle—tax compliance certificates, balance-sheet extracts and workplace-safety declarations—so they can move quickly once the final quota calendar is announced. Provinces such as Milan, Bologna and Treviso, where demand historically outstrips supply within minutes of the portal opening, are expected to be especially competitive.
During Monday’s plenary session MPs from the governing coalition argued that higher legal-migration ceilings are essential to fill labour shortages in logistics, construction and hospitality. Opposition parties broadly back larger quotas but pressed for stronger workplace-inspection safeguards to prevent exploitation and for faster residence-permit issuance once workers arrive. Several amendments tabled for today’s (18 November) sitting would earmark up to 10 % of quotas for graduates of Italian technical colleges abroad and for refugees resettled under EU solidarity schemes.
For employers the decree offers two headline benefits. First, quota reservation is linked to a new digital pre-clearance platform that will let companies upload job offers, candidate documents and housing contracts in a single portal using a certified PEC e-mail. Second, the decree cuts processing time for non-seasonal permits from 60 to 30 days, provided that the employer signs a labour-integration pact covering language training and health registration within 90 days of the worker’s arrival.
Immigration lawyers nonetheless warn that much depends on secondary implementing circulars from the Interior and Labour Ministries. Until those instructions are published, companies should prepare the usual documentation bundle—tax compliance certificates, balance-sheet extracts and workplace-safety declarations—so they can move quickly once the final quota calendar is announced. Provinces such as Milan, Bologna and Treviso, where demand historically outstrips supply within minutes of the portal opening, are expected to be especially competitive.
