Immigration

Migrants, the calendar of click days for 2026 under the new Flussi decree

It starts on 12 January with seasonal workers for agriculture. A total of 497,550 entries authorised over the next three years. Pre-filling of applications in the autumn

by Manuela Perrone

3' min read

3' min read

Flussi Decree, new round. Yesterday the Council of Ministers approved the Prime Ministerial Decree authorising the entry into Italy of another 497,550 foreign workers in the next three years (164,850 for 2026, 165,850 for 2027 and 166,850 for 2028, divided between 230,550 non-seasonal and self-employed employees and 267,000 seasonal workers), still growing compared to the 450,000 that had been planned for 2023-2025, later integrated up to over 468,000. The click day system is not affected and the pre-filling of applications in the autumn is confirmed, but the territorial allocation of quotas will make its debut, entrusted to the Ministry of Labour within ten days of the deadline for submitting applications. The allocation will take place by provincial area.

Non-seasonal and self-employed workers: room for 76,850 a year

In detail, 76,850 non-seasonal subordinate workers and self-employed workers are envisaged each year (650 the self-employed), expanding the sectors to include commerce, logistics, textiles, metalworkers and health care: the click day will start at 9 a.m. on 16 February. Also included in this quota are family assistants - 13,600 in 2026, 14,000 in 2027 and 14,200 in 2028 - and 'qualified' workers, i.e. entrepreneurs and managers, freelancers, artists and startuppers, admitted in the number of 500 per year. The relevant click day will start on 18 February.

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Disabled and elderly caregivers, out-of-quota admissions will return

With regard to carers for the disabled and the elderly, the executive is inclined to reintroduce in the future the out-of-quota admissions experimented thanks to Decree Law 145/2024, eliminating the 10,000 ceiling, even though as of 18 June the relative applications for work permits were 13% of the ceiling.

Seasonals, click day on 12 January for agricultural and 9 February for tourist

The quotas for seasonal workers will be 88,000 for 2026, 89,000 for 2027 and 90,000 for 2028, of which 141,000 (47,000 per year) will be reserved for applications submitted by agricultural employers' organisations and 42,000 (13,000 for 2026, 14,000 for 2027 and 15,000 for 2028) for those submitted by employers in the tourism sector. For agricultural employers the click day will be 12 January, for tourism employers 9 February.

Input fees increased by 6% over the three-year period 2026-2028

"The government intends to confirm also for the coming three-year period the strategy set out since it took office: a decisive fight against irregular immigration and opening up to legal immigration, especially for work reasons," reads the illustrative report. Hence the decision to increase entry quotas from 69,700 in 2021 to more than double in 2026. Compared to the three-year period 2023-2025, the increase in 2026-2028 is 6% (+29,100 workers).

Why the click day will not be passed immediately

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The same report reiterates the preference for out-of-quota entries, first and foremost by enhancing the training of workers in the countries of origin, and clarifies the difficulty of saying goodbye to the current system. "Some commentators,' we read, 'are perhaps too hasty in proposing the abandonment of the click day and its replacement with other mechanisms that are either unsupportable in terms of principles or of complex application in the Italian situation. Instead, it is considered feasible to implement a gradual pathway that concerns first of all the most sought-after professional profiles and adopts solutions of an experimental nature' (see Il Sole 24 Ore of 13 June). The ultimate goal, for the government, is 'a programme that acknowledges the needs of companies, but is also realistic'.

Decline in irregular applications, but the time issue remains

This is why the needs communicated by the social partners do not become the norm: planning is based on many analyses, from the 'reception capacity' of local communities to data from the previous three years. From the last round of click days, for example, emerges the 'drastic reduction' of applications for seasonal work permits submitted in 2025: just 72,238, compared to 283,000 in 2023 against 82,550 available quotas and 337,000 in 2024 (89,050 places). A drop that the government links to the anti-cheating and abuse measures introduced with Decree Law 145. The knot remains of the low number of actual arrivals of workers, due to long delays and bureaucratic stumbling blocks. According to 'Ero straniero' (I was a foreigner), in 2024 only 7.8% of entry quotas were transformed into residence permits and regular employment. The new Dpcm simplifies the procedures for the stipulation of contracts and establishes that nihil obstat that is not followed by the issuance of a visa, after six months from 31 December of the reference year, lapses and is archived ex officio.

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