Italy
Work visa for Italy: documents, fees and steps
Work · 218 nationalities · any residence · ordinary passport
Verified on 13 October 2026
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Documents requested
Nulla osta for subordinate employment, issued by the Single Desk for Immigration (SUI) at the employer's request and transmitted electronically to the consulateConditions and details
The nulla osta is requested by the employer, not by the worker. The Single Desk for Immigration issues it no later than 60 days after the allocation of the application to the quotas, and sends it electronically to the employer and to the Italian diplomatic representation of the worker's country of origin for the issuance of the visa. The visa form asks for the number of the nulla osta and the Single Desk that issued it. A simplified procedure, open to employers' organisations bound by an agreement protocol with the Ministry of Labour, replaces the nulla osta application with a communication of a proposal for a residence contract.Form "Domanda di visto Nazionale (D)", free of charge, completed and signed, with a photograph in the designated boxConditions and details
The national visa application form (type D) is published on the "Il visto per l'Italia" portal; it is free of charge and includes a box for the photograph. It asks for the type, number, dates of issuance and validity of the travel document and the authority that issued it. For an employee, it also asks for the employer (name, address, telephone), the number of the nulla osta and the Single Desk that issued it, as well as the duration of stay in days (365 days at most). The application is signed by the applicant.Passport or equivalent travel document recognised as valid for crossing borders, to be presented on entry together with the visa when requiredConditions and details
According to the State Police, a foreigner who crosses the external borders of the Schengen area enters Italy if he presents himself at a border crossing point, holds a passport or equivalent travel document recognised as valid for crossing borders and, in the cases provided for, a valid entry visa. If he does not meet these conditions, he is refused at the border, even with a regular visa.
Official fees
- National visa (type D) — amount in euros indicated by the Italian embassy in Rabat, without a separate line for the work visa 116 €
- Contribution for the residence permit of more than 3 months and up to one year (to be paid after arrival, by the foreigner over 18 years of age) 40 €
- Contribution for the residence permit of more than one year and up to two years (to be paid after arrival, by the foreigner over 18 years of age) 50 €
Steps
- The employer, Italian or foreign regularly resident in Italy, applies for the nulla osta to the Single Desk for Immigration, only after the publication of the decree on entry flows in the Official Journal.
- 2027 quotas: pre-filling of nulla osta applications on the ALI Services Portal of the Ministry of the Interior from 23 October to 7 December 2026; digital identity SPID or CIE required to access the portal.
- On the quota opening day, the employer submits the application: 16 February 2027 at 9 a.m. for non-seasonal employed work (form B2020), 18 February 2027 for family assistance; submission possible until 31 December 2027 within the quota limit.
- The Single Desk issues the nulla osta (60 days at most after allocation to the quotas) and sends it electronically to the employer and to the Italian diplomatic representation of the worker's country of origin.
- The worker submits his entry visa application to the consulate of Italy of the country where he resides or of which he is a national.
- After the consulate's checks, the employer confirms its nulla osta application within 15 days; without confirmation, the application is deemed refused and the nulla osta already issued is revoked. The consulate then issues the visa.
- After entry into Italy, the employer and the worker sign the residence contract within 15 days; the employer transmits it electronically to the Single Desk for the residence permit application.
Where to apply
- ALI Services Portal of the Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration (Ministry of the Interior): nulla osta application for work reasons, submitted by the employer
- Consulate or embassy of Italy of the country of residence or origin of the worker: application for and issuance of the entry visa
- "Il visto per l'Italia" portal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: four-question questionnaire (nationality, residence, duration, reason) and forms
- Ministry of Labour and Social Policies: page "Ingresso e soggiorno per lavoro in Italia", circulars implementing the flows decree
Good to know
The nulla osta application is made by the employerConditions and details
For a worker residing abroad, it is the employer, Italian or foreign regularly resident in Italy, who submits the nulla osta application to the Single Desk for Immigration, within the entry quotas set by a decree of the Presidency of the Council. The procedures are published in circulars, before the submission dates. The worker cannot apply for this visa alone.Entry quotas for 2027Conditions and details
For 2027, 76 200 entries are authorised for non-seasonal employed work, 89 000 for seasonal employed work and 650 for self-employed work. Nulla osta applications are pre-filled from 23 October to 7 December 2026 on the ALI Services Portal; submission takes place on the opening days (click days) of 12 January, 9 February, 16 February and 18 February 2027, depending on the type of worker.Distribution of non-seasonal employed work quotasConditions and details
The annual quotas for non-seasonal employed work (76 200 in 2027) are distributed by categories: 26 000 for citizens of countries with which a migration cooperation agreement enters into force, 25 000 for citizens of 38 listed countries (Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Korea, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, 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, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan), 14 000 for family assistance, 300 for refugees and stateless persons, and 10 900 of unreserved quotas. Kenya is added to the countries of origin from 2027.What the employer must have done before its applicationConditions and details
For non-seasonal employed work, the employer first checks with the competent employment centre that no worker present in Italy is available: the check is deemed negative if the centre does not reply within eight days. Except for family assistance, the taxable income (natural person) or the turnover (company) cannot be less than 30 000 euros per year. A registered PEC address (INI-PEC or INAD) is required, and access to the portal is via SPID or CIE.Documents and timeframes for the residence permitConditions and details
To obtain the residence permit, one must present the application form, the passport (or an equivalent travel document) valid with the entry visa, a photocopy, 4 identical and recent identity photographs, the documents specific to the type of permit and payment of the contribution. The duration of the permit is that of the entry visa, up to three years for permanent subordinate employment. Issuance takes on average 60 days. An integration agreement is in principle required for a permit of at least one year; the State Police reports exclusions, in particular for victims of violence.The worker can start working as soon as he entersConditions and details
The worker who entered Italy after the issuance of the nulla osta and the visa can immediately carry out his activity, while awaiting the signing of the residence contract and the sending of the residence permit application. The employer or the organisation representing him then itself makes the mandatory communication to the competent services.The employer informs the workerConditions and details
Since the reform of Article 22 of the consolidated text on immigration, the employer must promptly inform the foreign worker concerned of any communication received on the progress of the nulla osta procedure. Confirmation of the application and transmission of the residence contract may be made by the employer itself or by an authorised intermediary or a mandated employers' organisation.Means of subsistence and housing: proof by the employer's applicationConditions and details
For entry for the purpose of employed work under Article 22 of the consolidated text on immigration, the availability of means of subsistence and suitable housing is deemed demonstrated by the employer's application.Entries outside quotas and simplified procedureConditions and details
Certain entries for work reasons are applied for throughout the year, without quota limits: highly qualified workers (EU Blue Card), managers, researchers and university professors, nurses, artists and entertainment workers, and other categories of the consolidated text. Employers' organisations bound by an agreement protocol may replace the nulla osta application with a communication of a proposal for a residence contract. These cases are not described here.A type D visa does not constitute a right of entryConditions and details
Even with a visa, the police authority may refuse entry if the admission conditions of the Schengen Borders Code are not met. The national long-stay visa has, for free movement within the Schengen area, the same effect as a residence permit: its holder may move within the other Member States for 90 days out of 180, during the validity of the visa, if the entry conditions are met.
Nationalities covered
This procedure applies to 218 nationalities.
- Afghanistan
- Åland Islands
- Albania
- Algeria
- American Samoa
- Andorra
- Angola
- Anguilla
- Antarctica
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Australia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belize
- Benin
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Bouvet Island
- Brazil
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- British Virgin Islands
- Brunei
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cape Verde
- Caribbean Netherlands
- Cayman Islands
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Christmas Island
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Cuba
- Curaçao
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- Fiji
- French Guiana
- French Polynesia
- French Southern Territories
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Guernsey
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Heard Island and McDonald Islands
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Isle of Man
- Israel
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jersey
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Macao
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Marshall Islands
- Martinique
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mayotte
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Montserrat
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Niue
- Norfolk Island
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Palestine
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Pitcairn Islands
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Réunion
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Barthélemy
- Saint Helena
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Martin
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Sint Maarten
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Svalbard and Jan Mayen
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tokelau
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Türkiye
- Turkmenistan
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Tuvalu
- U.S. Outlying Islands
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Wallis and Futuna
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Official links
- Circolare congiunta n. 8047 del 16 ottobre 2025 — D.P.C.M. 2 ottobre 2025, programmazione dei flussi d'ingresso dei lavoratori non comunitari 2026-2028 (new tab) www.lavoro.gov.it
- Domanda di visto Nazionale (D) — modulo gratuito (new tab) vistoperitalia.esteri.it
- L'ingresso in Italia | Polizia di Stato (new tab) www.poliziadistato.it
- Ingresso e soggiorno per lavoro in Italia | Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali (new tab) www.lavoro.gov.it
- Circolare congiunta n. 7185 del 1 ottobre 2026 — D.P.C.M. 2 ottobre 2025, annualità 2027 : quote di ingresso, precompilazione e termini di presentazione (new tab) www.lavoro.gov.it
- Il rilascio del permesso di soggiorno | Polizia di Stato (new tab) www.poliziadistato.it
- Direttiva 1° marzo 2000 — Definizione dei mezzi di sussistenza per l'ingresso ed il soggiorno degli stranieri nel territorio dello Stato (new tab) vistoperitalia.esteri.it
- Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (new tab) vistoperitalia.esteri.it
- Portale Servizi (new tab) portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it
- Quanto costa un visto e come pagare – Ambasciata d'Italia Rabat (new tab) ambrabat.esteri.it
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