Italy has formally converted Decree-Law 146/2025 into Law 179/2025, published in the Official Gazette on 1 December and highlighted by leading immigration firm Mazzeschi on 4 December. The conversion locks in a package of ‘urgent provisions’ that will shape corporate mobility and household hiring for the next three years.
Background and key points – Decree-Law 146 was issued on 3 October in response to mounting labour shortages in elder-care, agriculture and logistics. Parliament’s final text preserves the core architecture but introduces several business-friendly amendments. Most headline-grabbing is the extension—through 2028—of the 10,000-person annual quota that permits non-EU nationals to enter outside the ordinary Decreto Flussi caps to provide live-in care for residents over 80 or for persons with disabilities. Employers may now recruit carers year-round without waiting for the annual quota decree, provided that wages meet the national domestic-work minimum and a housing declaration is filed.
![Italy Converts Decree-Law 146/2025 into Law, Extending Special Quotas for Foreign Care-givers and Streamlining Work-Permit Timelines]()
For mainstream hiring, the law imposes a hard 30-day deadline on one-stop immigration desks (SUI) to issue a nulla osta (work authorisation) once a nominative application is filed. If the deadline is missed, the permit is deemed tacitly approved, giving companies greater planning certainty. The text also lengthens—from six to twelve months—the validity of residence permits issued to victims of labour exploitation or trafficking, aligning Italy with EU-wide protective standards.
A further innovation allows foreign trainees who complete education or vocational programmes organised in their home countries under Italian sponsorship to apply for an entry visa up to 12 months (instead of 6) after graduation. Universities and multinationals that run overseas academies say the longer window will help them lock in talent without losing candidates to other EU markets.
Practical implications – Global mobility managers should adjust head-count forecasts: caregiver roles no longer compete for ordinary quota slots, freeing room for other profiles when the 2026-2028 Decreto Flussi quotas are published. HR teams should also revisit internal service-level agreements—30 days is now the statutory maximum for nulla osta processing, so delays will need to be escalated quickly. Finally, businesses supporting corporate-social-responsibility or anti-exploitation programmes will welcome the longer humanitarian permit, which eases renewal pressure and facilitates enrolment in up-skilling courses.
Background and key points – Decree-Law 146 was issued on 3 October in response to mounting labour shortages in elder-care, agriculture and logistics. Parliament’s final text preserves the core architecture but introduces several business-friendly amendments. Most headline-grabbing is the extension—through 2028—of the 10,000-person annual quota that permits non-EU nationals to enter outside the ordinary Decreto Flussi caps to provide live-in care for residents over 80 or for persons with disabilities. Employers may now recruit carers year-round without waiting for the annual quota decree, provided that wages meet the national domestic-work minimum and a housing declaration is filed.
For mainstream hiring, the law imposes a hard 30-day deadline on one-stop immigration desks (SUI) to issue a nulla osta (work authorisation) once a nominative application is filed. If the deadline is missed, the permit is deemed tacitly approved, giving companies greater planning certainty. The text also lengthens—from six to twelve months—the validity of residence permits issued to victims of labour exploitation or trafficking, aligning Italy with EU-wide protective standards.
A further innovation allows foreign trainees who complete education or vocational programmes organised in their home countries under Italian sponsorship to apply for an entry visa up to 12 months (instead of 6) after graduation. Universities and multinationals that run overseas academies say the longer window will help them lock in talent without losing candidates to other EU markets.
Practical implications – Global mobility managers should adjust head-count forecasts: caregiver roles no longer compete for ordinary quota slots, freeing room for other profiles when the 2026-2028 Decreto Flussi quotas are published. HR teams should also revisit internal service-level agreements—30 days is now the statutory maximum for nulla osta processing, so delays will need to be escalated quickly. Finally, businesses supporting corporate-social-responsibility or anti-exploitation programmes will welcome the longer humanitarian permit, which eases renewal pressure and facilitates enrolment in up-skilling courses.
