With the stroke of midnight on 1 November 2025 the Ministry of the Interior quietly re-opened the ALI online portal for pre-filing applications under the 2026 Decreto Flussi programme. The window allows Italian employers to complete and store draft requests for foreign hires before the official click-day, expected in early January, when applications will be timestamped and queued chronologically.
This year’s quota—announced by the Meloni government in July—authorises 164,850 non-EU workers in 2026 and a total of 497,550 over 2026-2028. As in previous years, more than half the places are reserved for seasonal staff in agriculture and tourism, while manufacturing, construction, road haulage and care work receive the bulk of the remaining spots. For companies struggling with Italy’s chronic skills shortage and ageing workforce, securing a nulla-osta (work authorisation) has become a strategic necessity as well as a logistical nightmare.
![Italy opens 2026 ‘Decreto Flussi’ portal, launching annual race for work-visa quotas]()
The pre-compilation phase is meant to reduce last-minute data-entry errors, but consultants caution that the portal is open only from 08:00 to 20:00 CET and still crashes under heavy traffic. Employers must have a certified PEC e-mail address and a SPID digital identity to log in; many smaller firms outsource the entire process to immigration lawyers, adding cost and complexity.
For global mobility managers the calendar is tight: draft applications must be validated, translated and uploaded together with employment contracts, housing commitments and proof of adequate payroll within four weeks. Any material change—such as a different passport number—requires a fresh submission, losing chronological priority.
Practically, companies should (1) run skills-mapping early to identify genuine labour gaps, (2) prepare bilingual contract templates and (3) brief headquarters on realistic onboarding dates. Successful candidates can expect entry visas from March onward, but only after their nulla-osta is cleared by both the labour inspectorate and the local police prefecture.
This year’s quota—announced by the Meloni government in July—authorises 164,850 non-EU workers in 2026 and a total of 497,550 over 2026-2028. As in previous years, more than half the places are reserved for seasonal staff in agriculture and tourism, while manufacturing, construction, road haulage and care work receive the bulk of the remaining spots. For companies struggling with Italy’s chronic skills shortage and ageing workforce, securing a nulla-osta (work authorisation) has become a strategic necessity as well as a logistical nightmare.
The pre-compilation phase is meant to reduce last-minute data-entry errors, but consultants caution that the portal is open only from 08:00 to 20:00 CET and still crashes under heavy traffic. Employers must have a certified PEC e-mail address and a SPID digital identity to log in; many smaller firms outsource the entire process to immigration lawyers, adding cost and complexity.
For global mobility managers the calendar is tight: draft applications must be validated, translated and uploaded together with employment contracts, housing commitments and proof of adequate payroll within four weeks. Any material change—such as a different passport number—requires a fresh submission, losing chronological priority.
Practically, companies should (1) run skills-mapping early to identify genuine labour gaps, (2) prepare bilingual contract templates and (3) brief headquarters on realistic onboarding dates. Successful candidates can expect entry visas from March onward, but only after their nulla-osta is cleared by both the labour inspectorate and the local police prefecture.
