The joint note relating to the immigration decree has been published, containing operational guidelines for the entry of foreign workers for the three-year period 2026-2028.
From 9:00 a.m. on October 23, 2025, until December 7, 2025, it will be possible to pre-fill applications for authorization based on the established quotas.
Procedures and requirements
The Joint Note No. 8047/2025 issued on October 16, 2025 clarifies the operating procedures for the applicaion of the decree of October 2nd (flows decree) and the decree-law No. 146 of October 3rd (urgent provisions on immigration).
Who can apply for a work permit?
First, the note clarifies that applications for work permits (seasonal and non-seasonal) can be submitted for business (identified with ATECO code) falling within the productive sectors provided for by the decree. This is with exception of the family care sector.
It is possible to check the correspondence between the sectors allowed by the decree and the relevant ATECO codes by consulting the specific table made available by the authorities. In fact, the relevant production sector and ATECO code must be indicated in the nullaosta application in the section dedicated to the proposed employment contract.
For all sectors, the application may also be submitted by temporary employment agencies, as provided for in Circular No. 4518/2023 and in our dedicated article.
Priority for seasonal workers already employed in Italy
According to Article 24, paragraph 9, of the T.U.I., seasonal workers who have already been admitted working in Italy at least once in the previous five years have priority for returning to Italy for seasonal work, compared to those who have never entered Italy legally for work reasons.
This return is understood to be to the same or another employer. However, these workers must have complied with the conditions indicated in their residence permit and returned to their country of origin upon its expiry.
In these cases, the application form in the section ‘request for authorization for seasonal employment’ will require information relating to the previous employment relationship; in particular, it will be mandatory to provide data relating to the previous mandatory notification, the previous residence permit, or the insurance policy if the previous permit had not yet been issued during the foreigner’s stay in Italy.
When is the prior verification of unavailability at the CPI necessary?
For all entries for non-seasonal subordinate work, including those for family assistance, the employer must carry out a prior verification at the Employment Center (CPI). The verification is intended to ascertain the unavailability of a worker present in the national territory.
Therefore, entries for seasonal work are excluded from the prior verification, pursuant to Article 30-quinquies of Presidential Decree 394/1999.
How to carry out the prior verification at the CPI?
The verification must be carried out by sending the appropriate form prepared by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies to the competent CPI, which must also be attached to the application for authorization.
The check is considered to have been carried out with a negative result if the competent CPI does not communicate the availability of workers within eight days of the request being sent. The eight days are calendar days, therefore including Sundays, public holidays, and rest days.
What happens if the CPI identifies suitable workers already present in Italy?
If a worker is identified and therefore invited for an interview, the employer must promptly notify the CPI of the outcome of the selection process, together with any information useful for the purposes of the application.
In particular, the employer undertakes to notify the CPI of the failure of the worker sent by the CPI to attend the interview without justified reason, twenty working days after the date of the request for personnel. The employer also undertakes to notify the CPI of the unsuitability of the candidate, ascertained following the interview, distinguishing cases where the unsuitability is due to the worker’s refusal of the contract proposal.
The above circumstances must be stated in a self-certification that the employer must attach to the application for authorization.
When must the “Asseverazione” be attached?
The “Asseverazione” – i.e., the document with which qualified professionals or organizations certify compliance with the contractual requirements – is necessary for all sectors pursuant to Article 24-bis of the TUI. It is also necessary for the family assistance sector.
However, it is not required if applications are submitted on behalf of their members by organizations that have signed a special agreement with the authorities.
What is the minimum income required for employers?
For all sectors of work, except for family care, the taxable income (in the case of individuals or sole proprietorships) or turnover (in the case of entities and companies) cannot be less than €30,000.00 per year.
Income from agricultural businesses: specific provisions
In the case of agricultural businesses, economic capacity may be assessed by considering additional indicators other than turnover, such as those obtained from VAT returns, considering turnover net of purchases, or from IRAP returns and EU contributions documented by the paying agencies.
For agricultural entrepreneurs with agricultural income, on the other hand, the taxable income or turnover may be taken as the amount of turnover, as inferred from the VAT return net of purchases (excluding purchases of depreciable and non-depreciable capital goods, increased by EU contributions documented by the paying agencies and by VAT-exempt transactions relating to the agricultural sector).
For agricultural entrepreneurs who do not have agricultural income, the taxable income or turnover resulting from the last tax return, or the previous financial statements may be used. If the above-mentioned agricultural entrepreneurs also carry out other related activities, commercial activities, or self-employment, the sum of the turnover of all the information in the VAT return must be considered.
Specific cases: family assistance and drivers
In the specific case of family assistance, remuneration must be that provided for in the sectoral collective bargaining agreement (domestic work) and, in any case, must not be less than the minimum provided for social allowance (€7002.97 per year for 2025). About the employer’s financial capacity, reference is made to the provisions of INL circulars no. 3/2022 and 2066/2023:
the taxable income of an employer with a household consisting solely of themselves cannot be less than €20,000.00 per year, a limit that rises to €27,000.00 if the employer’s registered family consists of several cohabiting family members. The income of the spouse and relatives up to the second degree of kinship, even if not cohabiting, as well as any certified exempt income (such as disability benefits) may contribute to the employer’s income requirement.
Family assistance: exemption from certification and income requirements
Only in the case of an employer suffering from illnesses or disabilities that limit their self-sufficiency and who applies for clearance for a worker assigned to their care, are income requirements and certification not required.
In these cases, the limitation of self-sufficiency does not necessarily correspond to the recognition of civil disability but can simply be certified by the general practitioner or a public facility. When submitting the application for authorization, this medical certificate must be provided instead of the sworn statement. In any case, domestic employers are also required to check in advance with the CPI (Public Employment Center) to verify unavailability.
Family assistance: who must submit the nullaosta application?
In cases of home healthcare, the application for authorization may be submitted by the employer requesting assistance for themselves, or by a representative belonging to the household of the person receiving assistance.
It may also be submitted by a representative of family-structured cohabitations (religious communities, military cohabitations, family homes, rehabilitation and/or disability assistance communities, other communities).
Finally, the circular points out that, unlike the previous decree, for the three-year period 2026-2028, the quota for family assistance is reserved only for domestic employment relationships. For recruitment in the healthcare, social assistance, and private healthcare services sectors, the other quotas for subordinate employment must be used, and applications for authorization must be submitted using form B2020.
Drivers: employer requirements
To apply for a permit for the entry of workers to be employed as drivers, the applicant company must be registered in the National Electronic Register (R.E.N.). In addition, for the transport of goods on behalf of third parties (ATECO code H.49.4), it must be registered in the Register of Road Hauliers on behalf of third parties in the province to which it belongs and hold a valid Community license in the case of international transport.
Drivers: it is mandatory to hold an equivalent and convertible driving license
Drivers in the transport, logistics, and warehousing sectors must hold driving licenses that are equivalent to the category required and convertible in Italy based on existing bilateral agreements between Italy and the country that issued the license.
Workers who apply for authorization for ‘Road freight transport and removal services’ (ATECO code H.49.4) and ‘Other land passenger transport’ (ATECO code H.49.3) must hold the specific licenses indicated in the note.
After one year of residence in Italy, these workers must convert their driving license. In these cases, the duration of the employment contract will therefore be fixed term for a maximum of one year.
Drivers: possession of a Driver Qualification Card (CQC)
To be able to work as a driver in Italy, transport companies must also demonstrate that they have completed the training requirements for the issue of a Driver Qualification Card (CQC).
However, when applying for a permit, it is not necessary to provide proof of possession of a CQC, but only of the required category of driving license.
Workers with driving licenses issued by non-EU countries may acquire or renew their CQC qualification in Italy by presenting the receipt for their residence permit application.
In cases where the worker has an EU driving license and already possesses a valid CQC qualification, the duration of the employment relationship may be indefinite.
Application submission
First, the note reminds that applications from employers who have not signed a residence contract in the previous three years are considered inadmissible, except for reasons not attributable to them.
Applications from employers against whom a decree has been issued ordering trial for specific crimes or against whom a non-final conviction has been issued for such crimes, are also inadmissible.
Maximum number of applications per employer
Employers may submit up to a maximum of three applications for authorization to hire employees for each of the years 2026-2028 as private users. This limit does not apply to employers’ organizations and licensed professionals.
Digital domicile
To apply, it will be necessary to have a certified email address (PEC) registered in the appropriate databases. This PEC address will serve as the applicant’s digital domicile, to which all communications from the Single Immigration Desk (SUI) will be sent.
Pre-filling of applications
Application forms on the Ministry of the Interior portal can be pre-filled using SPID or CIE.
Pre-filling of application forms is permitted from 9:00 a.m. on October 23, 2025, until 8:00 p.m. on December 7, 2025. To speed up the processing of applications, it is possible to attach the necessary supporting documentation. The documentation must comply with certain format requirements and, in some cases, must be digitally signed.
The veracity of the declarations provided by users will be checked at the same time as they access the pre-filled form. If the verification is successful, the employer/legal representative of the company/entity will receive an application activation code via certified email.
By entering this code on the portal, the applicant will be able to access the application form of interest, whose fields will already be partially pre-filled. Some of the information requested (e.g., income data and VAT number) will be entered into the application forms asynchronously: therefore, it will be visible in the form a few days after the first access to the form.
Applications confirmation
Once the pre-compilation phase is complete, the portal will reopen for a few days, from 9:00 a.m. on December 9 to 8:00 p.m. on December 13, 2025, to allow those who have pre-compiled their applications to view the data that appears in asynchronous mode and perform the necessary saving operations to make their applications ready for submission.
Please note that during this period, it will not be possible to fill out new applications, but only to make any changes to those already pre-filled and save them.
Click day
Pre-filled applications, which are therefore in “to be sent” status, can be definitively submitted starting at 9:00 a.m.:
- January 12, 2026, for seasonal employment in the agricultural sector
- February 9, 2026, for seasonal employment in the tourism sector
- February 16, 2026, for non-seasonal employment
- February 18, 2026, for non-seasonal employment in the family care sector.
All applications may be submitted until December 31, 2026, subject to verification of quota availability.
Evaluation phase
Quotas allocation
Within ten days of the respective click days, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies allocates quotas for seasonal and non-seasonal subordinate work, in line with the analysis of labor market needs and according to the indications of the ITL, regions, and autonomous provinces.
At the same time, the quotas are allocated electronically by province. Fifty days after the date of allocation of the quotas, if the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies finds that a significant number of quotas provided for in the D.C.P.M. have not been used, it may redistribute them based on actual labor market needs, without prejudice to the overall maximum limit.
Nullaosta release
Pursuant to Article 22, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Immigration, the Single Immigration Desk issues authorization for entry for non-seasonal employment within a maximum period of sixty days from the date on which the request is allocated to the entry quotas provided for by the Prime Ministerial Decree. Pursuant to Article 24, paragraph 2, of the T.U.I., the entry permit for seasonal employment shall be issued no later than twenty days from the date on which the application is allocated to the entry quotas provided for by the same D.C.P.M.
Once the procedural deadlines have passed without any impediments arising, it will be issued automatically and sent electronically to the employer and to the Italian diplomatic representations in the workers’ countries of origin for the issuance of the entry visa.
Regarding requests for authorisation for workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Morocco, the issue of authorisation is always subject to the favourable opinion of the competent police headquarters, as well as preliminary verification by the National Labour Inspectorate. In this case, therefore, tacit consent for the automatic issuance of the clearance does not apply once the procedural deadlines have expired (20 days for seasonal work and 60 days for non-seasonal employment) in the absence of opinions.
Nullaosta confirmation
Following the standard checks on the entry visa application submitted by the worker and before issuing the visa, the employer is required to confirm the application for a work permit within seven days of receiving notification of the completion of the checks.
This notification will be forwarded by the IT system used by the Immigration Office (SUI) to the employer’s certified email (PEC) and will also be visible in the reserved area of the ALI Portal, where the employer can express their desire for confirmation.
If confirmation is not received within the deadline, the application will be rejected, and the permit will be automatically revoked. If confirmation is received, the consular office in the foreign national’s country of residence or origin will issue the entry visa.
Entry to Italy and hiring
Within eight days of the worker’s entry into Italy, the employer and the foreign worker sign the residence contract by applying a digital signature or other qualified electronic signature. The worker may also sign the contract in handwritten form, and the application of the employer’s digital signature or other qualified electronic signature on the electronic copy of the contract signed in handwritten form by the worker constitutes a declaration pursuant to Article 47 of Presidential Decree No. 445/2000.
This document must be returned electronically within the same eight-day deadline, using the new features provided by the ALI Portal, by the employer to the One-Stop Shop for Immigration responsible for completing the residence permit application.
It should be noted that pursuant to Article 22, paragraph 6-bis, of the Consolidated Law on Income Tax (TUI), workers who have entered Italy after obtaining a permit for subordinate employment (seasonal or otherwise) and an entry visa may immediately engage in work while awaiting the signing of the residence contract and submission of the related residence permit application. In this case, employers’ associations, as well as individual employers, must also independently provide the mandatory notification to the relevant services.
Therefore, for employment in the family care sector, the employer must independently provide the mandatory notification to INPS. However, if the hiring is formalized only after the digital signing of the residence contract, the mandatory communication will be generated automatically by the IT system.
