Italy’s traditional year-end ‘Milleproroghe’ decree – literally the ‘thousand extensions’ law – landed in the Official Gazette on New Year’s Day and, as usual, it contains several provisions that matter to companies moving talent into the country. Article 6 pushes the deadline for using CIMEA, Italy’s academic-qualification recognition centre, out to 31 December 2028 and allocates €1.46 million a year to keep the service running. That gives HR teams and assignees more breathing room to secure the equivalence certificates needed for professional practice and EU Blue-Card applications.
The decree also prolongs hiring windows for technical inspectors in the education ministry and extends special recruitment channels for teachers of religion through the 2026/27 academic year – measures that indirectly ease staffing bottlenecks in international schools and bilingual programmes.
For companies that need to secure entry visas, work permits, or EU Blue Cards for their assignees, online facilitator VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. Its Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) provides step-by-step guidance, document checklists, and real-time status tracking, helping HR teams line up the right immigration stamps while they arrange CIMEA equivalency and take advantage of the new payroll incentives.
![‘Milleproroghe 2026’ Decree Extends Deadlines for Recognition of Foreign Degrees and Work Incentives]()
Beyond education, the decree freezes the biennial inflation adjustment of traffic fines until December 2026, postpones the enforcement date of several consolidated tax codes to 2027 and authorises another year of payroll tax holidays (‘bonus giovani’ and ‘bonus donne’) for employers who offer permanent contracts to under-35s and long-term unemployed women. These incentives can shave up to €650 per employee per month off social-security costs, making it cheaper for multinationals to convert fixed-term assignees into local hires.
For global mobility planners, two take-aways stand out. First, expatriates who still need their non-EU degrees validated have an extra three years before tighter rules kick in. Second, corporate HR can leverage the extended hiring subsidies when planning localisation or new-hire strategies for 2026–27.
The decree now heads to Parliament for conversion into law within 60 days; amendments are likely but wholesale changes are rare. Mobility stakeholders should monitor the legislative process and adjust onboarding timelines if any of the extended deadlines are shortened during debate.
The decree also prolongs hiring windows for technical inspectors in the education ministry and extends special recruitment channels for teachers of religion through the 2026/27 academic year – measures that indirectly ease staffing bottlenecks in international schools and bilingual programmes.
For companies that need to secure entry visas, work permits, or EU Blue Cards for their assignees, online facilitator VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. Its Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) provides step-by-step guidance, document checklists, and real-time status tracking, helping HR teams line up the right immigration stamps while they arrange CIMEA equivalency and take advantage of the new payroll incentives.
Beyond education, the decree freezes the biennial inflation adjustment of traffic fines until December 2026, postpones the enforcement date of several consolidated tax codes to 2027 and authorises another year of payroll tax holidays (‘bonus giovani’ and ‘bonus donne’) for employers who offer permanent contracts to under-35s and long-term unemployed women. These incentives can shave up to €650 per employee per month off social-security costs, making it cheaper for multinationals to convert fixed-term assignees into local hires.
For global mobility planners, two take-aways stand out. First, expatriates who still need their non-EU degrees validated have an extra three years before tighter rules kick in. Second, corporate HR can leverage the extended hiring subsidies when planning localisation or new-hire strategies for 2026–27.
The decree now heads to Parliament for conversion into law within 60 days; amendments are likely but wholesale changes are rare. Mobility stakeholders should monitor the legislative process and adjust onboarding timelines if any of the extended deadlines are shortened during debate.
