Cuneo emerges as rare bright spot in sluggish work-permit system, finalising 83 % of quota applications

Not all Italian provinces are paralysed by the work-permit logjam. According to the fourth annual ‘Io Ero Straniero’ report released on 23 April, the Prefecture of Cuneo processed 1,312 nulla osta (pre-authorisations) out of 1,583 applications filed up to December 2025, an 83 % completion rate that ranks among the best in the country. Verona, Ragusa and Lecce also score above 60 %, while Milan and Rome languish below 10 %. Officials in Cuneo credit a task-force set up after the 2024 click-day, cross-training between immigration and labour inspectors, and an online appointment system that cuts no-show rates. The report nevertheless labels the national picture “a lottery”, with outcomes hinging more on postcode than on applicant merit. Business associations say the divergence forces companies to relocate operations—or at least payroll administrations—to provinces with nimbler offices.



Companies and individual applicants navigating this patchwork can offload much of the paperwork to VisaHQ, which coordinates nulla osta follow-ups, gathers supporting documents, and schedules consular appointments through its Italy desk. The firm’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) lets HR teams track every step in real time and receive alerts when provincial quotas open, reducing the risk of missing the next click-day window.

The Cuneo example offers a template: digital case-tracking, fixed weekly quota for contract-of-stay signings, and cooperation with consulates to fast-track visa issuance. If replicated, it could salvage the credibility of the decreto flussi just as government ministries debate the next three-year plan. For HR managers, the lesson is to map provincial performance before selecting hiring locations and to build local-authority engagement into project timelines. Migration-policy analysts caution, however, that Cuneo’s success is built on exceptional staffing levels financed by EU funds that expire in 2027. Without a national hiring plan, today’s model office could face tomorrow’s backlog—demonstrating that isolated success stories are no substitute for systemic reform.