Immigration news site VisasUpdate has obtained a draft of the 2026-2028 ‘Decreto Flussi’, Italy’s quota decree that regulates the entry of non-EU workers. The numbers are unprecedented: 500,000 slots over three years – roughly double the volume authorised in the 2023-2025 period. Quotas are split almost evenly across the three years (164,850 in 2026, 165,850 in 2027, 166,850 in 2028). A key structural change is the abolition of the so-called ‘click-day’. Instead of a frantic first-come, first-served race when the portal opened, employers will be able to pre-file applications as soon as the decree is published and benefit from rolling assessment windows. The Interior Ministry is promising a new e-tracking tool and extra staff in 40 one-stop immigration desks to cut processing times that in 2024 averaged 210 days. The decree introduces “preferential quotas” for nationals of partner countries that run joint information campaigns discouraging irregular migration – a political concession that also offers HR departments a route to faster approvals if they recruit in those jurisdictions. Other changes include multi-year permits for returning seasonal workers and a rise in dedicated places for live-in carers, highly-skilled tech roles and heavy-goods drivers – sectors facing acute labour shortages. For multinationals the message is clear: Italy is opening the door wider to foreign talent, but companies should prepare early, align recruitment pipelines with the new timetable, and consider shifting sourcing to partner-country labour pools to take advantage of priority slots. Immigration counsel also recommend updating assignment cost projections as new digital-signature requirements and PEC (certified e-mail) filings replace several in-person steps.
Source: VisasUpdate
