Italy has unveiled its most ambitious labour-migration programme to date, earmarking 500,000 work visas over the next three years. Published in the Official Gazette on 31 December and formally presented by the Interior and Labour ministers on 8 January, the triennial Flow Decree replaces the 452,000-slot plan that governed 2023-25.
Under the new decree 267,000 permits are ring-fenced for seasonal jobs in agriculture and tourism, while 230,550 are reserved for non-seasonal employees and the self-employed in construction, logistics, advanced manufacturing and services. Country-specific sub-quotas reward nations that agree to readmit irregular migrants, aligning migration policy with foreign-affairs objectives.
Key compliance changes include a three-application cap for households hiring carers to curb fictitious sponsorships, stricter anti-bot firewalls on the immigration portal, and a rule that processing times start only after an application is matched to an available quota—aimed at reducing backlogs.
![Italy Confirms Record 500,000 Work-Visa Quota for 2026-28]()
For multinationals the triennial horizon provides unprecedented workforce-planning visibility. HR teams can stagger hiring across 2026-28 rather than scrambling during annual click-days.
Companies and individual applicants daunted by the new quotas and evolving portal safeguards can outsource the paperwork to VisaHQ, whose Italy desk (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) tracks real-time quota availability and pre-screens documentation for work, seasonal and self-employment permits. The service streamlines form preparation, schedules appointments and liaises with consulates, reducing the risk of errors that could push an application out of quota.
Employers still need local labour-office clearances and must respect collective-agreement wage tables; violations may lead to dossier suspension or future quota bans.
Companies unable to secure slots can pivot to the EU Blue Card or Italy’s digital-nomad visa, but both require higher salaries. Immigration advisers therefore recommend filing early when the February 16 window for non-seasonal permits opens.
Under the new decree 267,000 permits are ring-fenced for seasonal jobs in agriculture and tourism, while 230,550 are reserved for non-seasonal employees and the self-employed in construction, logistics, advanced manufacturing and services. Country-specific sub-quotas reward nations that agree to readmit irregular migrants, aligning migration policy with foreign-affairs objectives.
Key compliance changes include a three-application cap for households hiring carers to curb fictitious sponsorships, stricter anti-bot firewalls on the immigration portal, and a rule that processing times start only after an application is matched to an available quota—aimed at reducing backlogs.
For multinationals the triennial horizon provides unprecedented workforce-planning visibility. HR teams can stagger hiring across 2026-28 rather than scrambling during annual click-days.
Companies and individual applicants daunted by the new quotas and evolving portal safeguards can outsource the paperwork to VisaHQ, whose Italy desk (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) tracks real-time quota availability and pre-screens documentation for work, seasonal and self-employment permits. The service streamlines form preparation, schedules appointments and liaises with consulates, reducing the risk of errors that could push an application out of quota.
Employers still need local labour-office clearances and must respect collective-agreement wage tables; violations may lead to dossier suspension or future quota bans.
Companies unable to secure slots can pivot to the EU Blue Card or Italy’s digital-nomad visa, but both require higher salaries. Immigration advisers therefore recommend filing early when the February 16 window for non-seasonal permits opens.
