Italy’s Decreto Flussi 2026 to 2028 plans nearly 500,000 non-EU work visas over three years. This guide covers how the Nulla Osta works, which sectors are hiring, what the EU Blue Card offers, and how to apply step by step.

Italy Is Opening Nearly 500,000 Job Slots for Foreign Workers Between 2026 and 2028. Here Is How to Actually Get One

Italy is not the first country people think of when they imagine working abroad. Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, all of those come up first. But quietly and deliberately, the Italian government has been expanding its door to foreign workers in a way that deserves real attention.

The most recent Decreto Flussi, Italy’s government-issued immigration quota decree, runs from 2026 to 2028 and authorizes nearly 500,000 non-EU work visas across those three years. This three-year structure is new and significant. Previous Decreto Flussi decrees covered one year at a time, which made planning difficult for both workers and employers. A three-year plan means Italian employers can hire international staff with more confidence, and it means foreign workers have better visibility about when and how to apply.

This guide explains exactly how the Italian work system works for non-EU applicants, what the Nulla Osta process involves, which sectors have the most openings, what the EU Blue Card offers for highly skilled professionals, and the step-by-step process from getting a job offer to holding your residence permit in Italy.

What the Decreto Flussi Actually Is

The Decreto Flussi is a decree issued by the Italian Council of Ministers, usually in the first quarter of each year, that sets numerical limits on how many non-EU workers can enter Italy for employment purposes in the coming period. It divides the available slots across three main categories: non-seasonal subordinate employment, which is the standard ongoing work category and covers most professional and skilled roles; seasonal employment, mainly agriculture and tourism; and self-employment.

The 2025 iteration of the decree was published in late February 2025 with an overall allocation of approximately 165,000 visas for that year. For 2026 through 2028, the cumulative plan for nearly 500,000 visas represents a meaningful scaling up of Italy’s ambitions to fill labor gaps that have been building for years.

One important mechanic to understand is how quota slots are filled. Italy has historically used what is called a Click Day system, where applications open at a specific date and time and the available quota slots fill up on a first-come, first-served basis. This has meant that in some years, the available positions are claimed within hours of opening, leaving later applicants with nothing until the following year. The new three-year decree is partly designed to reduce this chaos by planning further ahead, though the Click Day mechanism itself remains in place.

For 2026, Click Day applications for the main non-seasonal categories officially opened in early 2026. The decree also includes a dedicated sub-quota of 10,000 visas specifically for caregivers and domestic workers serving the elderly and people with disabilities, which sits outside the main quota count. In 2026, the government also introduced a faster processing track for qualified nurses and physiotherapists to address shortages in rural healthcare services, allowing Nulla Osta authorization to be issued more quickly in that specific sector.

Which Sectors Italy Is Actually Short Of

1. Healthcare leads the list in terms of urgency. Italy has an aging population and a domestic healthcare workforce that cannot meet current demand, let alone future growth. Nurses, physiotherapists, care assistants, specialist physicians, and elderly care professionals are all in consistent shortage, and as mentioned above, the 2026 decree specifically carved out faster processing for nursing and physiotherapy roles.

2. Technology sits close behind. The entire European tech sector is competing for the same pool of qualified software developers, cybersecurity specialists, and data professionals, and Italy is no exception. Companies in Milan, Rome, and increasingly in Bologna and Turin are actively trying to attract non-EU tech talent.

3. Agriculture and tourism remain significant categories for seasonal workers, with Italian farms and hospitality venues relying heavily on overseas labor every year. These roles generally fall under the seasonal category with different rules and a nine-month maximum stay rather than the long-term permit route.

4. Construction, engineering, manufacturing, and specialized trades also feature consistently in Italy’s shortage areas, particularly for workers who combine formal qualifications with real hands-on experience.

For professionals in healthcare, IT, and engineering, the EU Blue Card is generally the faster and more flexible route, bypassing the quota system entirely.

The Nulla Osta Explained: What It Is and Why It Comes First

If you are applying under the standard subordinate employment route, the entire process starts not with you but with your employer. The Nulla Osta, which translates loosely to no objection, is a work authorization that Italian authorities issue to confirm that a non-EU worker can be legally employed in a specific role. The employer applies for it, not you.

Here is how the sequence works.

Your future Italian employer accesses the government’s immigration portal, known as the ALI portal, using a verified digital identity through the SPID system. The employer completes the application under the relevant Decreto Flussi category, uploading your personal details including passport information, along with the proposed employment contract, proof of accommodation for you in Italy, and their company’s registration and tax details. The employer also needs to provide documentation showing they contacted the local employment centre to confirm no Italian or EU candidate was available for the role, a labour market check requirement for most non-seasonal positions.

Once submitted, the application goes to the local Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione, which is Italy’s regional immigration one-stop office. The 2025 law mandates that the Nulla Osta must be issued within 30 days of receiving the application, a significant improvement over the historically much longer and less predictable timelines Italy was known for.

Once the Nulla Osta is issued, the employer receives notification via their verified email address and has seven days to confirm their intention to hire you. This seven-day confirmation window is a newer feature designed to ensure the quota slot is not wasted by employers who submitted applications but no longer need the worker by the time the authorization comes through.

After employer confirmation, the Nulla Osta is transmitted electronically to the Italian consulate in your country. You then have 180 days to attend your consular appointment and apply for the actual national work visa, known as a Type D visa. Note that recent rules give workers up to 12 months to obtain the entry visa if training or preparation in your home country is part of the process, a provision introduced to prevent bureaucratic delays from invalidating permits before they are used.

The consulate appointment is where you as the applicant take over. You submit the Nulla Osta reference, your passport, visa application forms, your employment contract, proof of accommodation in Italy, and any required qualification documentation. Processing at the consulate stage typically takes between 15 and 30 days once your application is complete and your appointment has taken place.

After your visa is issued, you travel to Italy and have eight working days from arrival to go to the local Sportello Unico with your employer, sign the contratto di soggiorno, which is a stay contract that formally records your hire, and collect your Nulla Osta physically. You then apply for a permesso di soggiorno, your residence permit, at the local post office. This residence permit is what formally allows you to live and work legally in Italy for the duration of your contract. The total timeline from Nulla Osta application to holding a residence permit is realistically four to six months for most applicants, sometimes extending to five or six months if any documentation issues arise along the way.

The EU Blue Card: The Faster Route for Skilled Professionals

If your role qualifies as highly skilled and your salary meets the threshold, the EU Blue Card is the route most immigration professionals recommend over the standard Decreto Flussi route. The reason is straightforward: the Blue Card sits outside the quota system entirely. You do not compete for a Click Day slot, and your application is not at risk of being shut out simply because you applied a day after the quota filled.

The EU Blue Card requires a higher education degree or at least five years of documented equivalent professional experience, an employment contract valid for at least 12 months, and a minimum annual salary. For Italy in 2026, the general Blue Card salary threshold sits at around 38,000 to 40,000 euros annually, with exact figures subject to the annual review.

The process for the Blue Card follows the same general employer-led structure as the standard route: your Italian employer applies for a Nulla Osta on your behalf, but this time under the Blue Card category rather than the standard subordinate employment category. Once the Nulla Osta is granted, you apply for the Blue Card visa at the Italian consulate, then obtain your Carta Blu UE residence permit upon arrival. Processing times are comparable, running roughly one to three months for the authorization stage depending on the region and caseload.

The Blue Card also offers meaningful long-term benefits beyond just bypassing the quota. After 18 months in Italy on a Blue Card, you can apply to move to another EU member state under the Blue Card scheme without starting the entire process from zero. And after five years of continuous legal residence in Italy, Blue Card holders can apply for a permanent residence permit, known as the carta di soggiorno, which removes the employment dependency and gives you indefinite rights to live in Italy regardless of your employment status.

For companies transferring existing employees from overseas offices into an Italian branch, the Intra-Company Transfer permit is another quota-free route, covering executives, managers, and specialists for up to three years and trainees for up to one year.

What Happens If Your Nulla Osta Is Rejected

A rejected Nulla Osta is a serious setback because if your application under a specific Decreto Flussi category is denied, you generally cannot try again under that quota category until the following year’s decree opens. The most common reasons for rejection include the labor market check not being properly documented, meaning the employer failed to show convincingly that no Italian or EU candidate was available, salary or contract terms that do not meet Italian labor standards, incomplete or incorrect documentation, or the quota for your sector having already been exhausted. This last reason is why applying as close to Click Day as possible matters enormously, particularly for popular categories.

A warning that Italian authorities and legitimate immigration advisers consistently issue: a significant number of people are defrauded by scammers who claim they can secure Nulla Osta authorization for a fee. No middleman can guarantee a quota slot. The process is employer-driven, government-run, and sequential. Anyone asking for money in exchange for arranging an Italian work permit independently of an actual Italian employer should be avoided entirely.

What You Need in Your Documents Before You Apply

1. Before any of this process can begin, you need a legitimate job offer from an Italian employer willing to sponsor your Nulla Osta. You then need a valid passport with enough remaining validity, recent passport-sized photographs, your academic qualifications with certified translations if they are not in Italian or English, and documentation of your professional experience. For regulated professions including healthcare, engineering, and teaching, you will also need to have your qualifications recognized by the relevant Italian professional authority, which is a separate administrative process that can take time and should be started as early as possible.

2. Proof of accommodation in Italy is also a hard requirement at the Nulla Osta stage. This can be a rental contract, a preliminary rental agreement, or in some cases an accommodation agreement provided by the employer. The employer is required to provide this as part of their application, so this is something to sort out jointly before the application is submitted rather than after.

Your Long-Term Path in Italy

After holding a work-based residence permit for five years, non-EU nationals can apply for a carta di soggiorno, which grants permanent residency independent of employment. Italian citizenship is accessible after ten years of legal residence, though this can be shortened for certain special categories. For EU Blue Card holders who accumulate five years of continuous legal residence in EU member states, with at least two of those in Italy, permanent EU residence can be accessed on a faster track.

Italy also allows family reunification for work permit holders. Once your residence permit is active, you can apply for your spouse and dependent children to join you in Italy, giving them the right to both study and work during their stay.

Where to Apply and Find Employers

Italy’s official immigration one-stop shop portal, where employers submit Nulla Osta applications: sportellounicoperlimmigrazione.interno.gov.it

~ Official Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa information for third-country nationals: esteri.it

~ Italy Law Firms guide to the Decreto Flussi 2026 to 2028 with detailed quota and Click Day information: italylawfirms.com/en/italian-decreto-flussi-2026-work-visa-quotas-clickdays

~ For job searching targeting Italian employers open to international hiring, LinkedIn Italy, InfoJobs.it, and Indeed Italy are the main platforms. For healthcare specifically, many Italian regional health services post international recruitment notices through their own institutional websites.

Final Word

Italy’s combination of a three-year immigration plan, a simplified digital application process, and dedicated fast-track healthcare routes represents a more serious commitment to international recruitment than the country has shown in years. The system still requires a real job offer, a cooperative employer, and patience with a process that takes months rather than days. But for workers in healthcare, technology, engineering, and skilled trades, Italy in 2026 is genuinely open in a way that has not always been true, and the numbers behind that opening are large enough to be worth serious attention.