Italy Opens 2027 Work Quota Pre-Filing for 165,850 Workers on 23 October

Italy opens the pre-filing window for its 2027 work quota at 09:00 on 23 October 2026. Employers have until 20:00 on 7 December 2026 to prepare work permit requests on the Interior Ministry's ALI portal. The 2027 quota covers 165,850 non-EU workers, and the real race starts on four click days in January and February 2027.

The timetable comes from joint circular no. 7185 of 1 October 2026, signed by the Ministries of the Interior, Labour, Agriculture and Tourism. The circular applies the three-year planning decree of 2 October 2025 (the DPCM for 2026 to 2028) to the 2027 intake. If you hope to work in Italy next year, or you run a business there and need staff, the next seven weeks decide whether your file is ready when the portal opens for submissions.

How the 2027 quota splits

The circular confirms the 2027 numbers set in the planning decree:

• 76,200 places for non-seasonal employment, with 14,000 of those reserved for domestic and family care work
• 89,000 places for seasonal work in agriculture and tourism
• 650 places for self-employment

Across the whole decree, Italy plans 497,550 entries over three years: 164,850 in 2026, 165,850 in 2027 and 166,850 in 2028.

The decree also carves out smaller reserved slices inside those totals. For 2027 these include:

• 25,000 non-seasonal places for nationals of countries with existing migration cooperation with Italy
• 26,000 non-seasonal places for nationals of countries whose cooperation agreements enter into force during the 2026 to 2028 period
• 12,750 seasonal places for nationals of those newer agreement countries
• 6,000 seasonal places for workers who entered Italy for seasonal work at least once in the previous five years and whose employer requests a multi-year seasonal permit
• 47,000 priority seasonal places in agriculture for requests filed through the main national farmers' organisations and agricultural cooperative groups
• 14,000 priority seasonal places in tourism for requests filed through the most representative national employer organisations
• 320 places for stateless people and refugees recognised by UNHCR or by authorities in first asylum or transit countries (300 employed and 20 self-employed)

Which nationalities qualify

The non-seasonal and seasonal quotas apply to nationals of countries named in the decree. The existing cooperation list includes Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Korea, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, the 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 and Uzbekistan.

The 2027 circular adds one new name. Kenya joins the list of source countries from 2027, following a memorandum of understanding on migration and mobility signed with Italy on 2 July 2026.

If your country is not on the list, the standard quota routes are closed to you. Check the source country rule before you pay anyone for a job offer.

Key dates for the 2027 cycle

Pre-filing: 23 October to 7 December 2026

Employers prepare the request forms on the Portale Servizi ALI. The portal stays open around the clock during this period, holidays included. Employers sign in with the authentication methods the portal accepts. The circular confirms four forms:

• C-Stag agricolo for seasonal farm work
• C-Stag turistico for seasonal tourism work
• B2020 for non-seasonal employment in the sectors listed in the decree
• A-bis for non-seasonal domestic and family care work

The National Labour Inspectorate keeps the power to inspect pre-filled forms early, before click day, under article 22 of the Consolidated Immigration Act (Legislative Decree 286 of 1998).

Catch-up window: 9 to 13 December 2026

The portal reopens from 09:00 on 9 December to 20:00 on 13 December 2026. Some fields on each form load in the background over six days after an employer first opens the form. This window lets late filers view those fields, make corrections and save the form so the status moves from "to complete" to "to send". No new applications are accepted in this window. Only forms started before 7 December move forward.

Click days in 2027

Submissions open at 09:00 on each date:

• 12 January 2027 for seasonal agricultural work (C-Stag agricolo)
• 9 February 2027 for seasonal tourism work (C-Stag turistico)
• 16 February 2027 for non-seasonal work (B2020)
• 18 February 2027 for domestic and family care work (A-bis)

Employers have until 31 December 2027 to submit, as long as places remain in the relevant quota. In practice, popular quotas fill fast, so a form ready on click morning stands a far better chance than one finished weeks later.

New deadlines for employers and workers

The circular flags rule changes from Decree-Law 146 of 3 October 2025 (converted by Law 179 of 1 December 2025) and Legislative Decree 83 of 16 April 2026. Three points matter for the 2027 intake.

• 15 days to confirm. Once the consulate finishes checks on the visa application, the employer has 15 days from notice of the result to confirm the work permit request with the Single Immigration Desk (Sportello Unico). Without confirmation, the request counts as refused, and a permit already issued is revoked.
• A duty to keep you informed. The employer must promptly tell the worker about every communication received during the permit process.
• 15 days to sign the residence contract. After you enter Italy, you and your employer now have 15 days, up from 8, to sign the contratto di soggiorno (the residence contract for work). The employer sends the contract online to the Single Immigration Desk within the same period, which starts the residence permit request.

Employers carry these duties directly. They also have the option to act through authorised labour consultants or through the most representative national employer organisations under a mandate.

On housing, the circular points employers to Interior Ministry circular no. 9859 of 15 December 2025. This guidance covers accommodation standards where a worker stays in a hotel or similar facility, or in a permanent dormitory on a construction site. The list of eligible business activity codes (ATECO codes) stays the same as before.

What workers should do before 7 December

You do not apply for a quota place yourself. An Italian employer files the request, and you apply for the work visa at the Italian consulate only after the permit (nulla osta) is issued. Use the next seven weeks to make the employer's job easy.

• Confirm your nationality qualifies. Check your country against the list above. Kenyan nationals qualify for the first time in 2027.
• Get a written job offer with real terms. Ask for the job title, sector, salary, hours, contract length and housing arrangement in writing.
• Send your passport details early. Your employer needs accurate identity data before pre-filing closes. A spelling mismatch between the form and your passport delays the visa stage.
• Agree on the form. Seasonal farm, seasonal tourism, non-seasonal and family care requests each use a different form and a different click day.
• Plan for the 15-day windows. Keep your phone and email active so you see consulate notices and employer updates quickly.

What employers should do now

• Start pre-filing in the first weeks. Some fields take up to six days to load, so a form opened on 6 December leaves no margin.
• Check portal access. Test your login on the ALI portal before the busy period.
• Prepare housing evidence. Match accommodation details with the December 2025 guidance, especially for hotel or site dormitory housing.
• Decide on a channel. For seasonal farm and tourism hiring, filing through a recognised employer organisation draws on the priority reserves of 47,000 and 14,000 places.
• Diary the 2027 deadlines. Set reminders for the 15-day confirmation after visa checks and the 15-day contract signing after arrival.

Watch for quota scams

Every quota cycle brings offers from agents who promise a guaranteed place for a fee. No agent controls the quota. Places go to employer requests submitted on click day on the official ALI portal, in order and while numbers last. A genuine offer comes from an identifiable Italian employer, and the nulla osta is issued by the Single Immigration Desk of the local prefecture. If someone asks you to pay for a "reserved click day slot" or a ready-made nulla osta, treat the offer as fraud.

Before you send money or documents, verify the employer's registration with the Italian chamber of commerce and ask for the request reference once the form is saved. Keep copies of every message.

Where to check official updates

The joint circular of 1 October 2026 and the 2026 to 2028 planning decree are published on the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies website. Employers file through the Portale Servizi ALI run by the Ministry of the Interior. Prefecture websites repost the circular and local guidance for each province.

If you plan a move to Italy for work in 2027, your employer's pre-filed form is the first gate. Make sure the form exists, carries correct data and sits in "to send" status by 13 December 2026.