The Council of Ministers has approved a decree law regarding the regular entry of foreign workers and citizens, as well as the management of migration. The new provisions aim to strengthen the fight against unlawful recruitment and employment of foreign labor (The Presidency of the Council of Ministers, press release 4th September 2025, No. 140).
The provisions include expanding the duration of residency permits from 6 to 12 months, similarly for social protection reasons. Additionally, the expiration term for the approval of the entry clearance for employment will commence the moment a request is assigned to a quota of entry, instead of from the date of application submission.
The currently required verification of the truthfulness of the declarations made by employers in the pre-filling of applications for clearances for work subordinate for the 2025 will also be extended to declarations made for certain kinds of entries.
In the case of procedures for hiring foreign workers, including seasonal workers, the maximum limit for applications for clearance is set to three. These mechanisms are also extended to subordinate seasonal work.
The decree also extends the right to reside and to work to cases of “waiting” for the conversion of a residence permit.
From now on, the ministerial decree regarding the quota of young foreigners who can participate in programs of general and social utility volunteerism will be triennial and not annual.
The entry and stay of caregivers, dealing with fresh disabled people or elderly people, are permanently set outside the quota mechanism. It is envisaged that, in the first 12 months of effective legal occupation in Italy, these workers can carry out only the authorized activity and can change employers only with the authorization of the territorial labor inspectorates.
In terms of family reunification, it is intended to raise the term for the issue of the entry clearance from 90 days to 150 days, complying with the nine-month term imposed by European legislation.
Lastly, the Ministry of the Interior’s possibility of resorting to the Italian Red Cross for the management of the Lampedusa hotspot has been extended for two years, until 31 December 2027.
