Italy’s upper-house Committee for Legislation has scheduled a sitting for Tuesday, 25 November 2025, to examine the conversion bill for Decree-Law 146/2025, the Meloni government’s flagship measure to streamline legal entry of foreign workers and tighten oversight of irregular migration. The decree—approved by the Chamber of Deputies last week—must be converted into law by 2 December to remain in force.
The text lengthens from 7 to 15 days the window in which an employer must confirm a nulla osta (work authorisation) after it is issued and gives companies a further 15 days after a foreign national’s arrival to sign the mandatory contratto di soggiorno. Prefectures will be obliged to accept fully digital filings submitted by accredited lawyers and consultants, and the Labour Inspectorate will pre-screen applications to weed out black-listed employers before the annual “click-day” quota race begins.
![Senate Committee Sets November 25 Review of Urgent Immigration Decree]()
Senators are expected to focus on two controversial points: a pilot scheme that lets seasonal-sector employers submit applications 12 months in advance, and stiff penalties of up to €50,000 plus a three-year ban for firms caught using fraudulent job offers. Business lobbies in agriculture and construction support the tougher sanctions, arguing that bogus intermediaries drove up black-market prices for quota slots, but they also warn the longer lead-times could lock companies into head-count commitments during volatile economic conditions.
If the committee clears the bill on Tuesday afternoon, the text will move to the full chamber for a confidence vote as early as Thursday. Multinational HR teams with Italian operations are watching the timetable closely; without timely conversion, all nulla osta issued since 3 October would lapse, forcing employers to restart filings and jeopardising January start-dates for key assignees.
Practical tip: companies that have already obtained nulla osta under the new decree should prepare to issue formal job confirmations immediately after Senate passage to avoid last-minute bottlenecks at consulates over the Christmas period.
The text lengthens from 7 to 15 days the window in which an employer must confirm a nulla osta (work authorisation) after it is issued and gives companies a further 15 days after a foreign national’s arrival to sign the mandatory contratto di soggiorno. Prefectures will be obliged to accept fully digital filings submitted by accredited lawyers and consultants, and the Labour Inspectorate will pre-screen applications to weed out black-listed employers before the annual “click-day” quota race begins.
Senators are expected to focus on two controversial points: a pilot scheme that lets seasonal-sector employers submit applications 12 months in advance, and stiff penalties of up to €50,000 plus a three-year ban for firms caught using fraudulent job offers. Business lobbies in agriculture and construction support the tougher sanctions, arguing that bogus intermediaries drove up black-market prices for quota slots, but they also warn the longer lead-times could lock companies into head-count commitments during volatile economic conditions.
If the committee clears the bill on Tuesday afternoon, the text will move to the full chamber for a confidence vote as early as Thursday. Multinational HR teams with Italian operations are watching the timetable closely; without timely conversion, all nulla osta issued since 3 October would lapse, forcing employers to restart filings and jeopardising January start-dates for key assignees.
Practical tip: companies that have already obtained nulla osta under the new decree should prepare to issue formal job confirmations immediately after Senate passage to avoid last-minute bottlenecks at consulates over the Christmas period.
