What is the Decreto Flussi work visa program in Italy?

The work visa of Italy through the Decreto Flussi program is an efficient way for the country to recruit foreign workers for seasonal and non-seasonal jobs. Thousands of non-EU citizens from different countries join the labor market in Italy every year. To apply for a work visa in Italy, the Decreto Flussi program provides a wide range of options for skilled and non-skilled workers.

To better understand the work visa system of Italy through Decreto Flussi, the following concepts are mandatory to understand:

New regulations for Decreto Flussi

This year the employer will be able to send the application to obtain the authorization only after having verified with the Employment Center that there are no workers already available in Italy to carry out the work for which he wishes to request the authorization. If there are workers available in Italy, the employer will have to hire them and not people who live abroad. Secondly, immense importance will be given to the agriculture and Tourism sector as far as issuance of work visas is concerned.

What is Decreto Flussi?

Italian government through the Ministry of Interior, establishes how many foreign people (from non-EU countries) can work in the country. The rules are contained in a law called the Decreto Flussi (flows decree). This program determines the requirements and the number of non-EU citizens who can enter Italy for seasonal and non-seasonal subordinate and self-employed work. The Decreto Flussi program also indicates the number of people who can convert their residence permit (for example for study) into a residence permit for subordinate or self-employed work.

Decreto Flussi Quota System

The Decreto Flussi program is announced annually, but first time in history, the Italian government adopted the Canadian immigration quota model and announced this program for continuous 3 years from 2023 to 2025. The following quota distribution was set on 3 October 2023 as the law was published in the official gazette:

Year	Total Quota	Seasonal	Non-Seasonal	Self-Employed
2023	136,000	82,550	52,770	680
2024	151,000	89,050	61,250	700
2025	165,000	93,550	70,720	730

Work Visas other than Decreto Flussi Quota

There may be possibilities of other work visas that do not follow the Decreto Flussi quota system. The government of Italy issues them through special agreements with certain countries for social, political or economic needs. These could be as follows:

• strengthening of professional and civic-linguistic education and training activities organized in the countries of origin and consequent increase in the entry 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 these activities;
• quota for subordinate work, even of a seasonal nature, of citizens of countries with which Italy has signed understandings or agreements regarding repatriation;
• valorization of the study and training paths of foreign citizens in Italy, and also through the conversion of permits issued for study and training purposes into residence permits for work purposes, outside of quotas.

Seasonal Visas

Seasonal visas cover a range of occupations in Italy for seasonal work. Normally this visa is issued for 9 months and in some cases is also extendable. According to a report by Info Migrant, “the immigrants account for half of the Food industry as workers. Italy’s agrifood sector exceeded 600 billion euros in revenue and 64 billion euros in exports in 2023”.

Currently, the following occupations or jobs are considered seasonal:

• Agronomist
• Agrotechnician
• Laboratory analyst of the agri-food industry
• Poultry farmer
• Agri-food technician
• Cellarman –
• Direct farmer
• Farm operator (professional agricultural entrepreneur)
• The driver of food processing plants
• The driver of agricultural machinery
• Environmental Consultant
• Oenologist
• Fruit grower – Frantoiano
• Specialized agricultural worker (farm worker)
• Horticulturist
• Pruner

The hotel and Tourism sector is also placed under the seasonal worker subordinate visa stream. The Italian government announces a separate quota always for seasonal occupations.

For seasonal visa applications, interested applicants are not required to present the language proficiency certificates or any qualification. Anyhow, having Italian proficiency can help you a lot in getting a job in Italy. On the other hand, some jobs in the agri-food sector may require you to have special knowledge of machines or driving licenses. For hotel and tourism sectors, hospitality management qualification is considered on priority in Italy.

Non-Seasonal Work Visa

Non-seasonal visa is issued to non-EU workers also through the quota system of the Decreto Flussi. The quota changes every year. The work visa duration depends on the employment contract you get. The following occupations are part of non-seasonal sectors:

• road transport,
• construction,
• and tourism.

Self Employment Visa

Candidates who want to apply for the Self-Employment visa are also awarded a separate quota each year. For example, for the year 2024, there are 700 seats available for visas and for 2025, 730 candidates can apply. Recently, the Italian government has also introduced a digital nomad visa for remote workers. You can read about it more here.

Who can apply for the Decreto Flussi Visa?

Not everyone can apply for this visa. The Italian government always announces who is qualified for the visa. It has sometimes agreements with certain countries and in general, it allows workers only from some countries to especially apply under the Decreto Flussi work visa stream. This could understood by the following allowed countries for the Decreto Flussi scheme from 2023 to 2025:

Albania Algeria Bangladesh Bosnia-Herzegovina Korea (Republic of Korea) Ivory Coast Egypt El Salvador Ethiopia

Gambia Georgia Ghana Japan Jordan Guatemala India Kyrgyzstan  Kosovo

Mauritius Moldova Montenegro Niger Nigeria Pakistan Peru North Macedonia

Senegal Serbia Sri Lanka Sudan Tunisia Ukraine Mali Morocco Philippines

The other programs also include special agreements with some governments to especially allow their citizens to work in Italy such as Italy’s current agreement with India and Tunisia.

How to apply for the Decreto Flussi Work Visas?

Applying for a work visa in Italy under Decreto Flussi depends upon the following factors:

• Choose a category if you apply under seasonal or non-seasonal visa streams;
• Find an employer for a job;
• Get the job offer and work contracts etc.;
• When the government announces Decreto Flussi click days for the application submissions for a work visa, your employer submits your pre-approval of work visa at the Ministry of Interior dedicated portal;
• After completing the due process, the government issues a work visa called “Nulla Osta”;
• You receive it from your employer and apply for a work visa in the Italian embassy or consulates in your country of origin;
• You get the visa stamped on your passport and travel to Italy;
• You get a Work Permit (residence permit card from the postal office or immigration authorities).

How does an Employer get the Work Permit Authorisation?

The employer has to follow the clickday rules issued by the government to get the authorization of the approval of Nulla Osta (work permit). We understand this by mentioning the example of Decreto Flussi 2024 regulations.

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

• 18 March 2024 from 9.00 am for non-seasonal subordinate workers from countries that have cooperation agreements with Italy;
• March 21, 2024, from 9.00 am for other non-seasonal workers
• 25 March 2024 from 9.00 am for seasonal workers

The application can only be made online on the official website of the Interior Ministry. To be able to fill it out the employer needs to have SPID credentials.

For seasonal and non-seasonal subordinate work, it is the employers who have to send the application, while for self-employment and conversions, it is the person holding the permit who has to send it. The information to include in the application includes:

• details on the worker’s accommodation in Italy (i.e. where the worker will live)
• the documents necessary to carry out the work, such as the contract (for the employed and seasonal worker) or the license for the activity that will be carried out (for the self-employed worker). The license is the authorization that allows the self-employed worker to start his business.
• The application will be received and examined by the One Stop Shop for Immigration.

Frequently Asked Questions about Decreto Flussi Work Visa