Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi announced in Rome on 25 February 2026 that Italy will reserve 10,500 places for qualified Pakistani workers under this year’s immigration quota (decreto flussi). The figure, agreed during talks with Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, will be carved out of the non-seasonal share of the 2026 decree and allocated to manufacturing, construction, logistics and the care-giving sectors where Italian employers report persistent shortages.
The bilateral meeting also produced an understanding to exempt holders of Pakistani diplomatic passports from entry visas, a step the two sides say will facilitate official travel and deepen security cooperation. Italy praised Islamabad’s recent crackdown on human-smuggling rings and drug trafficking, noting that interceptions of irregular boats routed through Libya with Pakistanis on board fell by 18 per cent in 2025.
For Italian companies—the leather clusters of Tuscany, the ship-repair yards of Liguria and the agri-food hubs of Emilia-Romagna among them—the dedicated quota offers a legal channel to tap a labour market rich in engineers, welders and health-care aides. Employer associations have already asked the Labour Ministry to publish detailed occupational lists so that recruitment agencies can start matching candidates before the portal opens in April.
![Rome approves quota of 10,500 work visas for skilled Pakistani nationals]()
Prospective applicants who want to ensure their paperwork is in perfect order can turn to VisaHQ, an online visa-processing platform that walks users through every stage—from compiling supporting documents to scheduling their embassy appointment. Its Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) provides real-time checklists, processing times and customer support, helping both Pakistani workers and Italian employers avoid costly delays once the new quota becomes active.
Pakistani candidates will follow the standard process: job offer pre-approval by the prefecture, visa stamping at the Italian embassy in Islamabad and signing of a residence contract within eight days of arrival. Unions are urging authorities to tighten oversight of intermediaries after past cases in which workers paid excessive brokerage fees only to discover that promised jobs did not exist.
The move highlights the Meloni government’s two-track migration strategy—strict deterrence against irregular arrivals by sea coupled with expanded legal pathways for skills the economy needs. Observers will watch whether other origin countries lobby for similar earmarked quotas in the 2026 decree.
The bilateral meeting also produced an understanding to exempt holders of Pakistani diplomatic passports from entry visas, a step the two sides say will facilitate official travel and deepen security cooperation. Italy praised Islamabad’s recent crackdown on human-smuggling rings and drug trafficking, noting that interceptions of irregular boats routed through Libya with Pakistanis on board fell by 18 per cent in 2025.
For Italian companies—the leather clusters of Tuscany, the ship-repair yards of Liguria and the agri-food hubs of Emilia-Romagna among them—the dedicated quota offers a legal channel to tap a labour market rich in engineers, welders and health-care aides. Employer associations have already asked the Labour Ministry to publish detailed occupational lists so that recruitment agencies can start matching candidates before the portal opens in April.
Prospective applicants who want to ensure their paperwork is in perfect order can turn to VisaHQ, an online visa-processing platform that walks users through every stage—from compiling supporting documents to scheduling their embassy appointment. Its Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) provides real-time checklists, processing times and customer support, helping both Pakistani workers and Italian employers avoid costly delays once the new quota becomes active.
Pakistani candidates will follow the standard process: job offer pre-approval by the prefecture, visa stamping at the Italian embassy in Islamabad and signing of a residence contract within eight days of arrival. Unions are urging authorities to tighten oversight of intermediaries after past cases in which workers paid excessive brokerage fees only to discover that promised jobs did not exist.
The move highlights the Meloni government’s two-track migration strategy—strict deterrence against irregular arrivals by sea coupled with expanded legal pathways for skills the economy needs. Observers will watch whether other origin countries lobby for similar earmarked quotas in the 2026 decree.
