With Circular No. 10 of May 5, 2025, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy provided clarification regarding the possibility for foreign workers holding residence permits issued for seasonal work to carry out non-seasonal work, pending the decision by the Immigration Office on the conversion application.
Conversion procedure
Legislative Decree 286/1998 (TUI) provides, in Article 24, paragraph 10, that seasonal workers who have regularly worked in Italy for at least three months and who receive an offer of subordinate work for a fixed or indefinite period may apply to convert their permit into a residence permit for non-seasonal subordinate work.
This conversion procedure takes place outside the quotas of the flows decree, as provided by Law 187/2024. Therefore, the relevant application can be submitted at any time of the year and without numerical limitations.
However, the job offer must have certain characteristics. In fact, it must guarantee working hours of at least 20 hours per week. In addition, in the case of domestic work, the monthly salary must not be less than the minimum provided for social allowance.
Performance of work activity
Once the application for conversion is submitted, the authorities involved proceed to evaluate it, with timelines that are often indefinite and differ from province to province. The timing is determined by various factors such as the workload of the relevant Police Headquarters and other authorities involved, the need for investigation of the specific case or to request additional documentation.
Pending the decision by the Immigration Office on the application, can the worker carry out the non-seasonal activity object of the conversion?
In this regard, it is believed that Article 5, paragraph 9-bis of the TUI may apply. This article allows an applicant for a work permit to temporarily carry out work activities while awaiting the issuance or renewal of the residence permit, provided that:
- They have submitted the request for conversion before the expiration of the current residence permit or within sixty days of its expiration;
- The relevant office has issued a receipt showing that the application has been submitted (postal receipt).
Therefore, the current legislation aims to prevent the worker from not having the opportunity to work during the period necessary for the definition of the procedural process of issuing or renewing a residence permit.
Although the text of the rule explicitly refers only to the permit for employment, already with the joint note No. 4079 of May 7, 2018, the Ministry of Labor and the National Labor Inspectorate had extended its applicability also to residence permits for family reasons, since these permits enable work.
In a similar form, by virtue of an interpretation of the above-mentioned rules in light of the principles of equality and the right to work established by the Italian Constitution, as well as the application of the principle of reasonableness, it is believed that the rule can also be applied to cases of conversion of residence permits from seasonal to non-seasonal work.
Conclusions
In conclusion, therefore, the application for conversion of the residence permit, like that for renewal, represents an administrative procedure that does not preclude the lawfulness of the stay and the right to work, even for as long as it takes the authorities to complete the investigation. The foreigner will then be able to count on the full legitimacy of the stay and begin to carry out the new work activity of a non-seasonal nature, while waiting for the convocation at the SUI, after sending the Unilav form electronically (in the case of subordinate work) or reporting the employment relationship to INPS (in the case of domestic work).
