On 4 December 2025 the Italian Senate gave final approval to the conversion of Decree-Law 146/2025 on migration flows, turning a temporary measure into permanent legislation. The text introduces a raft of employer-friendly reforms:
• Foreign nationals can now work legally while waiting for a residence-permit conversion, eliminating costly idle periods.
• Up to 10,000 caregivers—including babysitters for children aged 0-6—may enter each year outside the normal quota system until 2028, easing acute shortages in the domestic-work sector.
• For the 2026-2028 period the government can pre-screen quota applications and cap private employers to three online requests unless they use authorised intermediaries, a move aimed at curbing “click-day” speculation.
The law also extends to 12 months (from six) the time that foreign trainees have to apply for a visa after completing accredited training abroad, and harmonises one-year residence permits for victims of labour exploitation, giving them access to Italy’s new Inclusion Allowance.
![Senate finalises Decree-Law 146/2025: out-of-quota visas for carers and on-the-job rights during permit conversion]()
Companies will welcome the 30-day deadline for labour authorities to deliver the nulla osta in trainee and Blue-Card cases, while inspectors gain the power to conduct advance audits on pre-filled applications—an incentive for employers to keep documentation airtight.
For HR teams the biggest operational change is the ability to place workers on payroll as soon as the conversion request is filed, even before the physical permit is issued. This aligns Italy with practices in France and Germany and could shave months off assignment lead-times.
Immigration advisers caution that family-reunification permits will now take up to 150 days (instead of 90), so employers should stagger arrival dates for dependants. The law also makes the Lampedusa hotspot a permanent Red Cross facility, signalling ongoing pressure on Italy’s southern border infrastructure.
• Foreign nationals can now work legally while waiting for a residence-permit conversion, eliminating costly idle periods.
• Up to 10,000 caregivers—including babysitters for children aged 0-6—may enter each year outside the normal quota system until 2028, easing acute shortages in the domestic-work sector.
• For the 2026-2028 period the government can pre-screen quota applications and cap private employers to three online requests unless they use authorised intermediaries, a move aimed at curbing “click-day” speculation.
The law also extends to 12 months (from six) the time that foreign trainees have to apply for a visa after completing accredited training abroad, and harmonises one-year residence permits for victims of labour exploitation, giving them access to Italy’s new Inclusion Allowance.
Companies will welcome the 30-day deadline for labour authorities to deliver the nulla osta in trainee and Blue-Card cases, while inspectors gain the power to conduct advance audits on pre-filled applications—an incentive for employers to keep documentation airtight.
For HR teams the biggest operational change is the ability to place workers on payroll as soon as the conversion request is filed, even before the physical permit is issued. This aligns Italy with practices in France and Germany and could shave months off assignment lead-times.
Immigration advisers caution that family-reunification permits will now take up to 150 days (instead of 90), so employers should stagger arrival dates for dependants. The law also makes the Lampedusa hotspot a permanent Red Cross facility, signalling ongoing pressure on Italy’s southern border infrastructure.
