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Ph: Mohammed Keita/IRC

If you wish to come working in Italy temporarily or long-term from a country outside of the European Union, you may come through the procedure of the Decreto Flussi.

In this article you can learn more on:

What it is and who is eligible

The Decreto Flussi ('flows decree' in English) is a measure by which the Italian government annually sets the number (so-called entry quotas) of non-EU nationals who can enter Italy from abroad each year for employment, self-employment and seasonal work. It also sets specific sectors and countries of origin of future employees.

On September 27, 2023, the Italian government adopted a triannual Decreto Flussi for the period 2023-2025.

On December 9, 2024, the Italian government has approved a new law decree DL 145/2024 which amends some of the provisions included in the previous law decree. We have included updates in the different sections of this article below. 

For 2025, the sectors for seasonal workers are agriculture and tourism-hotel, while the sectors for non-seasonal workers are road haulage for third parties and passenger transport by bus, construction, mechanics, shipbuilding, food, fishing, tourism-hotel sector, telecommunications, hairdressers, electricians and plumbers, family and socio-healthcare assistance. 

On an experimental basis, only for 2025, the new decree DL 145/2024 established a maximum of additional 10.000 quotas of foreign workers to employ in the family and social-healthcare sector exclusively to support the very elderly (for example, people over 80 years old) or people with disabilities. This quota is in addition to the 9.500 quota of seasonal workers for the general socio-healthcare assistance.

Main quotas are reserved for citizens of countries with migration cooperation agreements with Italy - already in place or that will come into force within 2025. Current agreements are with: Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republic of Korea, Ivory Coast, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Philippines, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Japan, Jordan, Guatemala, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of North Macedonia, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Ukraine. There are also a few spots for stateless persons or people with refugee status recognized by another country or UNHCR.

Please, check here for details regarding the quotas of Decreto Flussi 2025.

On June 30, 2025, the Council of Ministers approved a first proposal of the new 'Decreto Flussi' for the three-year period 2026-2028, which establishes quotas of foreign workers who can enter Italy for that period. Updates will follow on this article once the new decree will be approved permanently. 

How to apply

You cannot apply for Decreto Flussi by yourself. To apply for Decreto Flussi, you must have an employer, whether Italian or foreign, legally residing in Italy, willing to hire you and to submit the online application to request the nulla osta (authorization document) to enter Italy for employment. 

Your future employer must fill and submit the application for requesting the nulla osta for you under the Decreto Flussi, along with the certificate of housing eligibility (idoneità alloggiativa in Italian) and certificate of asseveration (certificato di asseverazione in Italian), by accessing the online immigration portal of Italy’s Ministry of Interior - Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione (SUI) at https://portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it/AliSportello/ali/home.htm through their SPID (Italy’s digital identity) or CIE (Electronic Identity Card) and complete the relevant form. The employer must send the online application on a specific click day, but they can pre-fill it from some weeks before. 

Note: it is important to send the application and the two documents at the exact time of the click day opening (usually at 9 am), as many people try to apply for Decreto Flussi and applications are examined in chronological order.

Next click day is: October 1, 2025 (from 9.00 a.m.) dedicated only to the tourist-hotel sector. 

Several other documents are required from the employer for the application (for example, employer’s tax return, contract draft, declaration to check the unavailability of workers to be done after the employment center checks there are no workers available to do the job) in addition to the copy of your passport. If all the required documents are not available at the time of compilation, employers can upload specific declarations of commitment to produce the missing documentation, and deliver it during the investigation phase at the Sportello Unico.

What happens after the application?

Then, applications are examined on the basis of the chronological order of submission, through an investigation of the Territorial Labor Inspectorate, and the Immigration Office of the Questura (Provincial Police Headquarters), in charge of verifying the conditions of your eligibility.

After 60 days (or 20 days if you applied for a seasonal work period), the Sportello Unico will release the work nulla osta, and it will send it to the Italian diplomatic representation in your home country which will grant you a visa to enter Italy if you apply for it anytime within the validity period of your nulla osta. The nulla osta is valid for 180 days.

Please note: The automatic clearance procedure and release of the visa does not apply to people from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. If you are from one of these countries, the Questura (Police headquarter) and the Labor Inspectorate must first fact-check and verify your application and documents before approving the release of your visa.

Please also note: Following the entry into force of the new law decree DL 145/2024 on December 9, 2024, it is established that the employer must confirm the nulla osta request within 7 days after receiving the notification from the Sportello Unico via PEC address (certified email address) that the investigation on your application has been completed. If your employer does not send this confirmation by 7 days, the Sportello Unico considers the request as denied and it revokes the nulla osta. You will not be able to obtain a visa for entry into Italy in the same year.

If your application is rejected

If the nulla osta application of your future employer is rejected, you will not be able to obtain a visa for entry into Italy in the same year. However, you can re-apply the following year, if you meet the requirements established in the decree.

If your application is approved

Your employer should inform you have obtained the nulla osta. Within 180 days, you must apply for a visa at the Italian Consular Offices in your home country or where you regularly live. The Sportello Unico should issue your visa within 60 days from your request if you will be a non-seasonal worker, or 20 days if you will be a seasonal worker.

Upon completion of the necessary procedures, you will be issued a type D visa for stays in Italy longer than 90 days, and may provide you with a temporary social security number (‘Codice fiscale’ in Italian).

You must register yourself as seasonal worker on the so-called SIISL platform (Information System for Social and Labor Inclusion, established by the law decree DL n. 48/23) right after signing your seasonal residence contract.

What do I do when I arrive in Italy?

Following the entry into force of the new law decree DL 145/2024 on December 9, 2024, it is established that within 8 working days from entering Italy, you and your employer must digitally sign the residence contract ('contratto di soggiorno' in Italian) by digital signature or other type of official electronic signature or by hand on paper.

Then, the employer must quickly send the residence contract via certified email address (PEC address) to the Sportello Unico Immigrazione (Single Desk for Immigration) to process the application of your residence permit. The Sportello Unico Immigrazione will:

  • Verify your visa issued by the Italian Embassy/Consulate and your personal data
  • Give you a permanent codice fiscale
  • Make sure that you and your employer sign the contratto di soggiorno, with relevant information about your work contract
  • Give you the residence permit application form (postal kit) that you need to fill out and send to Questura, and it will also forward all your data to the relevant Questura.

When sending the email via PEC address to the Sportello Unico, your employer must include the following documents:

  • Your passport, and 2 copies of the page with your personal data + 2 copies of the visa page
  • Your employer’s ID or passport and 2 copies of it (if your employer is not an EU citizen, bring also your employer’s long-term permit)
  • Your temporary codice fiscale (if you already have one)
  • Proof of accommodation (for example, dichiarazione di ospitalità, cessione di fabbricato, rental contract)
  • Original certificate of idoneità alloggiativa (housing eligibility) and 1 copy of it 
  • UniLav form (mandatory declaration from your employer that you will start a working relation) signed and sent to INPS (the Italian National Institute for Social Security) by your employer at least 24 hours before your first working day
  • Certificato di asseverazione, if your employer is not supported by a labor union (a document issued by a professional or a specialized company or a labor union, certifying that you hold the requirements necessary for the job) along with the copy of the ID document of the professional who signed the certificate
  • 2 €16.00 revenue stamps.

Note: once you enter Italy after obtaining your nulla osta, you can start working right away, even before signing the contratto di soggiorno (residence contract) at the Sportello Unico. However, you will need a codice fiscale (tax code).

What happens after the appointment at Sportello Unico?

After going to the Sportello Unico, you have to go to a post office (‘Poste Italiane’ in Italian) where you will send the residence permit application form with the postal kit (‘kit postale’ in Italian) to the Questura. The post office issues a receipt containing two personal identification codes (user ID and password) that can be used to check the status of the application by logging onto the website www.portaleimmigrazione.it.

Afterwards, the Questura will send you an email at the address you indicated in the application form or a text message to the mobile number you indicated in the application form, informing you of when you must go to the Questura to submit your photos and be fingerprinted. The Questura will then send another email or text message to ask you to pick up your residence permit for work.

Learn more about: WORK PERMITS

What happens if my employer is no longer available once I arrive in Italy?

Based on a decision of the Ministry of Interior, if the employer becomes unavailable after your arrival in Italy or if the employer no longer intends to hire you, but you already entered Italy in the meantime, the Sportello Unico may authorize you to apply for a permesso per attesa occupazione (residence permit for job seekers), which allows you to look for a job and regularly stay in Italy for one year. With this permit you can register at the Job Center even just with the receipt of the permit application.

Alternatively, if you have found another employer willing to hire you, the new employer and you can go to the Sportello Unico to sign a new contratto di soggiorno.

If you have any issues, contact us and we will help you find a helpdesk that could help you!

Learn more about: PERMIT FOR JOB SEEKERS

Can I renew the residence permit for seasonal work?

Under the current rules, the Sportello Unico issues the residence permit for seasonal work for the duration corresponding to the length of the seasonal work requested. The maximum duration of the residence permit for seasonal work is 9 months.

On December 9, 2024, the Italian government has approved a new law decree DL 145/2024 which establishes that if your employer wants to extend it or another employer wants to offer you a similar job, the residence permit for seasonal work may be renewed until the new seasonal work period expires. In this case, you are not forced to return to your country of origin to get a new visa.

You must register yourself as seasonal worker on the so-called SIISL platform (Information System for Social and Labor Inclusion, established by the law decree DL n. 48/23) right after signing the seasonal residence contract (which must be submitted by the employer via PEC address to the Sportello Unico). At first, your situation on the platform will appear as 'archived' because you already signed a seasonal work contract, but it will become visible/active again upon the expiration of that previous contract to facilitate your search for new employment. The new employment will also have to be mandatorily submitted through the SIISL platform.

The new offer of seasonal work and the consequent extension and renewal of the nulla osta and residence permit must happen within 60 days starting from the ending date of your previous seasonal work contract. If you do not renew it or convert it into another permit for other reasons, you must leave Italy when the residence permit expires.

Can I convert the residence permit for seasonal work?

If you hold a residence permit for seasonal work you can convert it into a residence permit for subordinate work. If you do not convert it into another permit for other reasons (conversion is now possible outside the quota limits), you must leave Italy when the residence permit expires.

On December 9, 2024, the Italian government has approved a new law decree DL 145/2024 which establishes that residence permits for seasonal work can now be converted at any time of the year and without numerical limits ( the so-called 'quotas').

Based on this, the new rules eliminate the quota limit for the conversion of residence permits issued for seasonal work (art 24 of Legislative Decree 286/1998 TUI), as well as for EU long-term resident permits issued by another EU member state (art 9-bis TUI).

What rights do I have as a holder of a work permit?

With this permesso, you have the right to:

You cannot stay in a reception center with this type of permesso.

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