Italy has decided to delay the timelines for foreign nationals to submit applications for one of the 151,000 work permits listed for this year.
The first applications for work permits can be submitted from March 18 and the last ones from March 25, with groups of foreigners applying for work permits divided into three different categories.
As Fragomen explains, non-seasonal workers from countries that have bilateral or migration agreements with Italy can submit their application for a work permit starting March 18, 2024.
Other non-seasonal workers whose countries of origin do not have any type of agreement with Italy can submit their applications starting March 21, 2024.
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.
Lastly, 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.
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.
Quotas are usually filled in the same day that the application gets opened, if not within a couple of hours. For this reason, all those interested must make sure to apply as soon as the application window is open.
Prior to Italy deciding when to allow foreign workers to submit their applications, Italian employers were able to make requests.
On “click day”, during which Italian employers were able to make requests for foreign workers in the agriculture, tourism, and hotel industries, the number of requests exceeded the permitted maximum on the first day. Italian employers made over 82,550 requests for foreign workers.
Italy’s organisation for agricultural businesses, Coldiretti, said that the highest number of foreign workers in the country is from Morocco, Albania, Senegal, and Pakistan, among others.
In addition to Italy dealing with a lack of manpower in the sectors mentioned above, the country is also in need of highly qualified workers. Currently, doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists are most in demand.
