The Italian Embassy in Islamabad announced on 14 February that it has replaced its controversial ‘click-day’ booking model with a permanent online waiting list for work-visa appointments, effective immediately. The reform targets Pakistani nationals who already hold a Nulla Osta under Italy’s 2026 Decreto Flussi but have been unable to secure consular slots, fuelling a black market where agents allegedly sold appointments for up to €1,500.
Under the new scheme, applicants register once on a dedicated portal and are placed in a time-stamped queue. The embassy will invite candidates strictly in chronological order, starting with seasonal-agriculture, hospitality and highly-skilled permits. Family-reunion and study visas will continue through the regular Prenota Online system for now.
![Italy Opens New Chronological Waiting-List System to End Visa-Appointment ‘Scalping’ in Pakistan]()
Embassy officials told Europe Observer that the pilot will run for three months; if successful, the model could be rolled out to Dhaka, New Delhi and Manila where similar abuses have been reported. For Italian employers facing acute labour shortages in tourism and farming, the change promises greater predictability: workers who join the list this week are expected to receive appointment dates within four to six weeks, compared with the current nine-month backlog.
Corporate mobility teams recruiting in Pakistan should immediately inform candidates to self-register, ensure passports are valid at least three months beyond the intended stay and upload correct Nulla Osta numbers – duplicate or agent-created profiles will be purged. Legal advisers warn that failure to attend a scheduled slot will drop the applicant to the bottom of the queue, so travel funding and documentation must be ready upfront.
If the Islamabad trial succeeds, Italy may integrate the waiting-list API into its global Prenot@Mi platform in 2027, potentially ending the annual appointment lottery that has plagued Decreto Flussi hires for a decade.
Under the new scheme, applicants register once on a dedicated portal and are placed in a time-stamped queue. The embassy will invite candidates strictly in chronological order, starting with seasonal-agriculture, hospitality and highly-skilled permits. Family-reunion and study visas will continue through the regular Prenota Online system for now.
Embassy officials told Europe Observer that the pilot will run for three months; if successful, the model could be rolled out to Dhaka, New Delhi and Manila where similar abuses have been reported. For Italian employers facing acute labour shortages in tourism and farming, the change promises greater predictability: workers who join the list this week are expected to receive appointment dates within four to six weeks, compared with the current nine-month backlog.
Corporate mobility teams recruiting in Pakistan should immediately inform candidates to self-register, ensure passports are valid at least three months beyond the intended stay and upload correct Nulla Osta numbers – duplicate or agent-created profiles will be purged. Legal advisers warn that failure to attend a scheduled slot will drop the applicant to the bottom of the queue, so travel funding and documentation must be ready upfront.
If the Islamabad trial succeeds, Italy may integrate the waiting-list API into its global Prenot@Mi platform in 2027, potentially ending the annual appointment lottery that has plagued Decreto Flussi hires for a decade.
Source: Europe Observer
