Italy has taken a decisive step toward streamlining the way non-EU nationals live and work in the country. At its 156th meeting on 20 January 2026, the Council of Ministers endorsed – in first reading – a legislative decree that transposes EU Directive 2024/1233 and creates a single, combined application for residence and work authorisation (“permesso unico”).
If Parliament confirms the text in the coming weeks, employers will be able to submit one digital file instead of juggling separate nulla osta, residence-permit and labour-office submissions. The Interior, Labour and European Affairs ministries emphasise that the whole procedure will have to close within 90 days (today it can take six months or more), with authorities sharing data on a common platform and notifying both the sponsor and the worker in real time. The decree also obliges employers to pass on every official communication to the foreign employee, boosting transparency and allowing the assignee to follow the case directly from abroad.
Mobility managers will welcome two other innovations. First, a worker who already holds a Single Permit will be able to change employer or sector during the permit’s validity by simply notifying the immigration desk, cutting red tape when an assignee is promoted or transferred. Second, periods of involuntary unemployment of up to three months will no longer trigger automatic revocation, giving foreign talent time to seek a new position and reducing the risk of overstays.
![Italy approves draft decree to introduce a 90-day ‘Single Permit’ for work-residence applications]()
Meanwhile, service providers stand ready to guide employers through the transition. VisaHQ, for example, offers an Italy-focused portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) that can pre-screen documents, schedule consular appointments and monitor application status, giving HR teams and assignees a single dashboard perfectly aligned with the forthcoming “permesso unico” workflow.
For companies that rely on non-EU specialists, the 90-day statutory deadline provides a predictable hiring timeline that can be built into global-mobility playbooks and posted-worker planning. Immigration advisers expect an initial surge in applications once the decree enters into force – likely in mid-2026 – and urge HR teams to audit document check-lists now, paying particular attention to biometric passport validity, proof of accommodation and minimum-salary thresholds, which remain aligned with the annual Flussi quota decree.
Practically, consulates will issue a single national visa that doubles as a work authorisation, and local police headquarters (questure) will deliver a combined electronic permit on arrival. While the new system will not eliminate Italy’s quota caps, it promises to make the path to Italian assignments faster and more user-friendly, bringing the country closer to the “once-only” principle championed by the EU’s digital-government agenda.
If Parliament confirms the text in the coming weeks, employers will be able to submit one digital file instead of juggling separate nulla osta, residence-permit and labour-office submissions. The Interior, Labour and European Affairs ministries emphasise that the whole procedure will have to close within 90 days (today it can take six months or more), with authorities sharing data on a common platform and notifying both the sponsor and the worker in real time. The decree also obliges employers to pass on every official communication to the foreign employee, boosting transparency and allowing the assignee to follow the case directly from abroad.
Mobility managers will welcome two other innovations. First, a worker who already holds a Single Permit will be able to change employer or sector during the permit’s validity by simply notifying the immigration desk, cutting red tape when an assignee is promoted or transferred. Second, periods of involuntary unemployment of up to three months will no longer trigger automatic revocation, giving foreign talent time to seek a new position and reducing the risk of overstays.
Meanwhile, service providers stand ready to guide employers through the transition. VisaHQ, for example, offers an Italy-focused portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) that can pre-screen documents, schedule consular appointments and monitor application status, giving HR teams and assignees a single dashboard perfectly aligned with the forthcoming “permesso unico” workflow.
For companies that rely on non-EU specialists, the 90-day statutory deadline provides a predictable hiring timeline that can be built into global-mobility playbooks and posted-worker planning. Immigration advisers expect an initial surge in applications once the decree enters into force – likely in mid-2026 – and urge HR teams to audit document check-lists now, paying particular attention to biometric passport validity, proof of accommodation and minimum-salary thresholds, which remain aligned with the annual Flussi quota decree.
Practically, consulates will issue a single national visa that doubles as a work authorisation, and local police headquarters (questure) will deliver a combined electronic permit on arrival. While the new system will not eliminate Italy’s quota caps, it promises to make the path to Italian assignments faster and more user-friendly, bringing the country closer to the “once-only” principle championed by the EU’s digital-government agenda.
