INPS, the National Institute of Social Security in Italy, announced that in response to two court decisions, it is updating its list of acceptable documents required for applying for certain child benefits. This legal move now means that residence permits for job-seeking are considered valid for accessing the unified and universal allowance for dependent children (AUU), as well as the nursery bonus.
INPS’s reaction was specifically in response to three rulings – two from the Court of Trento (No. 121/2023 and No. 9/2025) and one from the Court of Turin (No. 2359/2025), plus a decision from the Court of Monza (22 October 2025). The judgement order numbered 121/2023 criticized INPS’s message No. 2951/2022 stating that certain permits, including the job-seeking permit, were not valid for applying for these child benefits.
While INPS has appealed against these decisions in competent legal forums, it must at present implement them given their immediate executive effect. However, INPS reserves the right to evaluate, both interpretative and applicative, regarding the outcomes of the ongoing appeal and legality cases.
In response to these recent court decisions, and barring potential paybacks of the funds in case of a favourable judgement to INPS in the pending decisions, the job-seeking residence permit is currently regarded as one of the valid permissions recognized for these welfare benefits.
This means that new and existing applicants for the AUU and nursery bonus holding this specific type of permit should have their claims approved. Applicants should be informed that payments are provided conditionally, subject to potential legal or regulatory changes. Plus, those requests already submitted but yet to be processed by INPS branches should also be granted under the new regulations.
Lastly, local INPS branches should accept any potential re-examination applications for requests previously denied due to the possession of the job-seeking residence permit, provided all other legal requirements are met.
