The decreto flussi

The decreto flussi is an Italian government law that sets how many non- European citizens can enter Italy for work.

Specifically, the decreto flussi establishes the number of non-European citizens who can enter Italy for lavoro stagionale (seasonal work), lavoro subordinato non stagionale (non-seasonal employed work) or lavoro autonomo (self-employed work).

In addition to the number of non-EU citizens who can enter Italy for work, the decreto flussi also sets the number of people who can convert their permesso di soggiorno (for example permesso di soggiorno per studio) in permesso di soggiorno per lavoro subordinato o autonomo.

Decreto Flussi 2023-2025

The Decreto Flussi 2023-2025 (approved by the government in October 2023) states that a total of 151.00 entries can come to Italy for work reasons in the year 2024.

The industries considered for lavoro subordinato (non-seasonal subordinate work) in this period will be: freight transport for third parties; construction; tourism and hotel sector; mechanical and telecommunications sector; food and shipbuilding sector; passenger transport; fishing; electricians; plumbing and independent work.

Priority will be given to citizens from countries that have agreements with Italy regarding the prevention of irregular immigration. Specifically, 2500 slots are planned for the year 2024, of which 2380 are for lavoro subordinato and 120 for lavoro autonomo.

Lavoro subordinato

Applications can be made for lavoratori subordinati:

• 25,000 slots in 2024  from Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Korea (Republic of Korea), Ivory Coast, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Philippines, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Japan, Jordan, Guatemala, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, North Macedonia Republic, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Ukraine;
• 20,000 for citizens from other countries with whom there are migration cooperation agreements.
• 100 people from Venezuela who have Italian origins in at least part of their family (90 for lavoro subordinato and 10 for lavoro autonomo).
• 200 people recognized as stateless or refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or by the competent authorities in the first asylum or transit countries (180 for lavoro subordinato and 20 for lavoro autonomo).
• 9,500 non stagionali workers in the family assistance and health care sector.

Lavoro autonomo

(therefore for jobs that have a longer duration than lavoro stagionale)

500 foreign citizens residing abroad are expected to enter in 2024 if they are entrepreneurs, freelancers, famous artists, or startup creators.

Lavoro stagionale- Seasonal Work 

(i.e., for work that only happens during a certain period of the year):

• 89,500 people are allowed to enter Italy in 2024 for lavoro stagionale  in the agricultural and tourist-hotel sectors. Specifically, allowed to enter Italy for lavoratori subordinati.
• 1200  workers stagionali from countries with which there will be migration cooperation in the years 2023-2025.
• 3000 workers from countries that, also in collaboration with Italy, promote anti-irregular migration campaigns for their citizens.
• 50 people recognized as stateless or refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or by the competent authorities in the first asylum or transit countries.
• 2,000 foreign workers who have entered Italy to perform lavoro subordinato at least once in the previous five years, and for whom the employer submits a multi-year clearance request for seasonal subordinate work.
• 41,000 people, for the agricultural sector, whose clearance requests to enter Italy for lavoro stagionale are submitted by professional employer organizations of the National Confederation of Direct Cultivators, the Italian Farmers Confederation, the General Confederation of Italian Agriculture, the Confederation of Agricultural Producers, and the Alliance of Italian Cooperatives (National League of Cooperatives and Mutuals, Confederation of Italian Cooperatives, and General Association of Italian Cooperatives).
• 31,000 in the tourism sector.

Conversion into work residence permits

The following can be converted into residence permits for lavoro subordinato or lavoro autonomo:

• 4,000 slots in 2024 from lavoro stagionale residence permits to lavoro subordinato.
• 100 slots in 2024 from long-term EU residence permits issued to third-country nationals by another EU Member State to lavoro subordinato.
• 50 slots in 2024 from long-term EU residence permits issued to third-country nationals by another EU Member State for independent work.

Entries Outside the Quotas

The entries allowed by law outside of these quotas are regulated for the triennium 2023-2025.

• Entries for lavoro subordinato, even lavoro stagionale, of citizens of countries with which Italy has signed agreements or agreements on repatriation.
• Strengthening of educational and professional training activities and civic-linguistic organised in the countries of origin and subsequent increase in entries of foreign workers, stateless refugees, recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or by the competent authorities in the countries of first asylum or transit, who have completed such activities.
• Enhancement of study and training paths for foreign citizens in Italy, also through the conversion into residence permits for work reasons, outside the quotas, of permits issued for study and training reasons.

How to Apply

The dates for the next click days for the year 2024 will be precisely:

• 18 March 2024  from 9:00 AM for lavoro subordinato from countries that have cooperation agreements with Italy.
• 21 March 2024  from 9:00 AM for other workers in lavoro non stagionale. 
• 25 March 2024  from 9:00 AM for workers in lavoro stagionale.

The application must be made online on the portal https://portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it/AliSportello/ali/home.htm. To be able to fill in the application, you must have SPID credentials.

For lavoro stagionale et non stagionale work, it is the employers who must apply, while for lavoro autonomo and conversions, it is the person with the permesso who must apply.

Among the information to be included in the application are:

• details on the worker’s accommodation in Italy (i.e. where the worker will live)
• and the documents necessary for carrying out the work, such as the contract (for lavoro subordinato e stagionale) or the licenza for the activity for the lavoro autonomo). The licenza is the authorisation that allows the self-employed person to start his business.

The application will be received and examined by the Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione. 

After the application

If your application for nulla osta is approved by the Sportello Unico, you can apply for a visto (visa) for Italy at the Italian embassy or consulate in your country of origin.

Once you have obtained the visto, you can enter Italy and apply for a residence permit to stay regularly and carry out your work.

IMPORTANT: The nulla osta is valid for 6 months. This means that you must enter Italy and apply for a residence permit within 6 months from the date of issue of the nulla osta.

If your application for the nulla osta is denied, you will not be able to receive a visa to enter Italy. It is not possible to apply twice in the same year, but it is possible to try again the following year if you meet the requirements of the new decreto flussi.

Remember that people who want to apply for international protection do not have to follow this procedure, but they must apply for international protection.

If you need more information and you are in Italy, you can go to the offices of the Comune that deal with immigration or to a patronato.

To find the immigration office of the Comune, you can do this search on the internet: “Ufficio immigrazione Comune di + the name of your city” (for example, Ufficio immigrazione Comune di Firenze).

To find your local patronato, you can do this search on the internet: “patronato + name of your city (for example patronato Firenze).