Italy’s flagship labour-migration programme, the Decreto Flussi, is failing to deliver on its promise of orderly workforce inflows, according to the fourth ‘Io Ero Straniero’ report released on 20 April 2026. Using Interior and Labour-Ministry data, the NGOs behind the study found that of the 146,850 entries authorised in the 2024 click-day, just 24,858 residence permits (16.9 %) have actually been issued. In many prefectures the success rate is in single digits.
![Decreto Flussi report: only 17 % of quota workers secured legal jobs in 2024-25]()
VisaHQ’s dedicated Italy desk can streamline much of this complexity by pre-checking applications, scheduling consular appointments and tracking nulla osta and visa issuance on behalf of companies and individual workers. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) provides real-time guidance on required documents, processing times and alternative permit categories, helping applicants avoid costly errors and missed windows.
Bottlenecks appear at every stage. Less than half of the planned quotas translated into ‘nulla osta’ clearances, and of those only 48.5 % turned into visas. Once workers arrived, thousands discovered that sponsoring employers no longer existed, refused to attend prefecture appointments, or failed income-verification tests, leaving migrants in limbo and at risk of irregular status. The report blames chronic understaffing in Italian consulates and prefectures, fragmented IT systems and restrictive security checks on applicants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Morocco. Worker advocates estimate that at least 11,600 newcomers admitted since 2024 are now drifting into irregularity, with heavy personal debt from recruitment fees. For employers the takeaway is stark: relying on the Decreto Flussi to fill seasonal and low-skilled roles is increasingly unreliable. Multinationals in agriculture, hospitality and logistics are turning to intra-EU hires, longer-term ICT transfers or automation to cover gaps. Policy-makers are urged to introduce multi-year quotas, portable job offers and sanctions for ‘ghost’ employers to prevent administrative lottery and talent loss. Until structural reforms arrive, mobility managers should budget extra time—often 12-18 months—for quota applications and consider contingency channels such as EU Blue Cards or posted-worker notifications where skill profiles allow.
VisaHQ’s dedicated Italy desk can streamline much of this complexity by pre-checking applications, scheduling consular appointments and tracking nulla osta and visa issuance on behalf of companies and individual workers. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) provides real-time guidance on required documents, processing times and alternative permit categories, helping applicants avoid costly errors and missed windows.
Bottlenecks appear at every stage. Less than half of the planned quotas translated into ‘nulla osta’ clearances, and of those only 48.5 % turned into visas. Once workers arrived, thousands discovered that sponsoring employers no longer existed, refused to attend prefecture appointments, or failed income-verification tests, leaving migrants in limbo and at risk of irregular status. The report blames chronic understaffing in Italian consulates and prefectures, fragmented IT systems and restrictive security checks on applicants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Morocco. Worker advocates estimate that at least 11,600 newcomers admitted since 2024 are now drifting into irregularity, with heavy personal debt from recruitment fees. For employers the takeaway is stark: relying on the Decreto Flussi to fill seasonal and low-skilled roles is increasingly unreliable. Multinationals in agriculture, hospitality and logistics are turning to intra-EU hires, longer-term ICT transfers or automation to cover gaps. Policy-makers are urged to introduce multi-year quotas, portable job offers and sanctions for ‘ghost’ employers to prevent administrative lottery and talent loss. Until structural reforms arrive, mobility managers should budget extra time—often 12-18 months—for quota applications and consider contingency channels such as EU Blue Cards or posted-worker notifications where skill profiles allow.
