Entry Flows Italy: three-year planning for 2023-2025

The decree draft on the planning of entry flows of foreign workers into Italy for the three-year period 2023-2025, pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 2, of D-L 2023 No. 20 converted with amendments by Law No. 50 of May 5, 2023, was sent to Parliament.

Approval process of the new decree on entry flows in Italy

Last July 12th, the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces was asked to express its opinion on the draft of decree on the planning of entry flows of foreign workers into Italy for the three-year period 2023-2025, previously approved in preliminary examination by the government on July 6, 2023.

• The opinion expressed was favorable, but with the following recommendations:
• To provide for an increase in the overall quotas of foreign workers;
• That there be prior agreement on the announced draft implementing circular defining, in particular, the procedures and documentation for carrying out the verification, at the competent Employment Center, of the unavailability of workers already in the national territory;
• That the professional skills needed by different Italian territories be taken into account.

Finally, the document contained several comments submitted by the Autonomous Province of Trento.

Following the positive opinion of the Conference of Regions and PPAAs, the decree draft was sent to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, which are required to express an opinion within 30 days.

Criteria for determining entry flows in Italy

Pursuant to Article 1, Paragraph 3 of Decree-Law No. 20 of 2023, the determination of entry flows of foreigners to be admitted to the Italian territory in the three-year period 2023-2025, for subordinate, seasonal and self-employment work, both within and outside the quotas, is made on the basis of certain common criteria, including:

1. Progressive narrowing of the gap between the size of entry flows and the labor market needs detected by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, based on a schedule consistent with the capacity of local communities to receive foreign workers;
2. Extension of the economic sectors considered in the planning of entry flows;
3. Enhancement of training tools of the countries of origin of foreign workers;
4. Encouragement of the ways of cooperation with the countries of origin and transit of migration flows to Italy;
5. Incentivizing the entry of workers with high professional qualifications.

There are then some specific criteria, defined in Article 3 of the draft DPCM, including:

1. The provision of preferential quotas reserved for workers from countries that, also in collaboration with the Italian state, promote media campaigns for their citizens concerning the risks arising from irregular migration trafficking;
2. Allocation of the requested agricultural workers with priority over new applicants, within the limits of the quotas allocated to the agricultural sector by the further decrees on flows, to employers who have not been allocated the requested quotas;
3. Reactivation of a specific quota for workers in the family and social-health care sectors (such as, for example, domestic helpers and caregivers).

As a reminder, Italian regulations also provide access to extra-quotas work permits for certain categories of workers. For more details, have a look here at the different types of Italian Work Visas.

Overall quotas

The decree draft authorizes 452,000 entries over three years for seasonal and nonseasonal employment and self-employment of foreign nationals residing abroad.

These overall quotas are distributed over the three-year period as follows:

1. 136,000 units for the year 2023;
2. 151,000 units for the year 2024;
3. 165,000 units for the year 2025.

Quotas for subordinate and self-employment

Within the overall quotas, foreign nationals residing abroad are admitted for non-seasonal employment in the sectors of road haulage for hire and reward, construction, tourism and hospitality, mechanics, telecommunications, food, shipbuilding, bus passenger transport, fishing, hairdressers, electricians and plumbers, and self-employment according to the following maximum limits:

1. 53,450 units for the year 2023, including 52,770 for employment and 680 for self-employment;
2. 61,950 units for the year 2024, of which 61,250 for employment and 700 for self-employment;
3. 71,450 units for the year 2025, of which 70,720 are for employment and 730 for self-employment.

Within the above quotas, some units are preferentially allocated to certain categories of citizens.

These include:

• to citizens from states that promote media campaigns against irregular migration trafficking;
• to citizens from countries that apply cooperation agreements with Italy (the list is available at the following link, which contains the full text of the draft decree);
• to workers of Italian origin residing in Venezuela.

The draft decree defines the possibility of converting certain types of permits into residence permits for employment or self-employment.

Finally, with regard to entry for self-employment, for each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, the entry into Italy within the above quotas is allowed to No. 500 foreign citizens residing abroad, belonging to the following categories:

1. entrepreneurs who intend to implement an investment plan of interest to the Italian economy, involving the use of own resources of no less than €500,000, as well as the creation of at least three new jobs;
2. freelancers who intend to practice regulated or supervised professions, or unregulated but nationally represented professions;
3. holders of corporate offices of administration and control expressly provided for in Interministerial Decree No. 850 of May 11, 2011;
4. artists of clear reputation or high and well-known professional qualification, hired by public or private entities, having the requirements expressly provided for in Interministerial Decree No. 850 of May 11, 2011;
5. foreign nationals who intend to establish “innovative start-up” enterprises under Law No. 221 of December 17, 2012, in presenta of the requirements provided by the same law and who hold an employment relationship of a self-employed nature with the enterprise.

Quotas for seasonal work

Within the overall quotas, citizens of from countries applying cooperation agreements with Italy shall be admitted to Italy for seasonal employment in the agricultural and hotel tourism sectors, within the following quotas:

1. 82,550 units for the year 2023;
2. 89,050 units for the year 2024;
3. 93,550 units for the year 2025.

Deadlines for application submission

The deadlines for submitting applications for work permits approvals are divided as follows:

1. For employed non-seasonal workers who are citizens of Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republic of Korea, Côte d’Ivoire, 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: from 9:00 a.m. on the 60th day following the date of publication of this decree in the Official Gazette until the respective quotas are met or, in any case, by December 31, 2023;
2. For nonseasonal employed workers who are citizens of other countries with which cooperation agreements on migration come into force during the three-year period: from 9:00 a.m. of the sixty-second day following the date of publication of this decree in the Official Gazette until the respective quotas are met or, in any case, by December 31, 2023;
3. For entries for seasonal work: from 9:00 a.m. on the 60th day following the date of publication of this decree in the Official Gazette until the respective quotas are met or, in any case, by December 31, 2023.

As for the following years, the deadlines for submitting applications for work authorization for entry within the quotas will start, for each of the years 2024 and 2025, from 9 a.m. on February 5, 7 and 12, according to the breakdown by areas and until the respective quotas are met or, in any case, by December 31 of each year.

Finally, the decree draft informs that further implementing provisions regarding the application of the same will be defined, with a view to simplification, through a special joint circular of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, and the Ministry of Tourism, having consulted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which will be communicated on the websites of the above-mentioned ministries.

This circular should also provide guidance on the documentation required for the employer to demonstrate that it has completed the verification at the relevant Job Center.