Italy has delayed the work permit application dates for foreign workers

• Italy has delayed the work permit application dates for foreign workers.


• Non-seasonal workers will be able to apply starting March 18 and 21, whereas seasonal workers will be able to apply starting March 25.

Italy has decided to delay the timelines for foreign nationals to submit applications for one of the 151,000 work permits listed for 2024.

For 2024, the applications can be submitted:

• from March 18 for non-seasonal employees who are citizens of countries that have cooperation agreements with Italy


• from March 21  for other non-seasonal employees


• from March 25 for seasonal workers.

Even though these two groups of foreign non-seasonal workers will get to apply for a work permit on different dates, the Italian authorities have clarified that they have allocated 89,050 quota spots for them. Seasonal workers who will be staying for work purposes in Italy for only certain periods of time will be able to submit their applications starting March 25, 2024, being the last to apply for this phase of application.

Non-seasonal workers will be allocated 61,250 quota spots for work permits, and an additional 700 spots will be allocated for self-employed foreign workers.

It may be recalled that last year, Italy had published 'Planning of legal entry flows of foreign workers into Italy for the three-year period 2023-2025’ in the Gazzetta Ufficiale. This decree establishes the new quotas for foreign workers who want to enter Italy to work. For the first time this year, programming is being experimented on a three-year basis. The new Prime Minister's Decree defines the criteria for determining flows, within and outside the quotas, sets the quotas for the three years (already fixing the dates for sending applications in 2024 and 2025) and gives provisions on procedures. As Fragomen notes, work permits under the quota are granted to foreign workers on a first-come, first-served basis. This means that those who file an application first are able to secure a permit, provided that they meet all the requirements.