Italy expands legal migration with 500,000 work visas over three years

Italy plans to issue nearly half a million new work visas to non-EU nationals between 2026 and 2028, the government announced on June 30, as part of a broader strategy to tackle ongoing labour shortages and bolster legal migration.

According to a cabinet statement, the government will authorise 164,850 work permits for non-EU citizens in 2026, with a cumulative total of 497,550 new entries expected by the end of 2028, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

This marks the second major visa expansion initiative under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has led a right-wing coalition since late 2022. Her government previously approved over 450,000 permits for the 2023–2025 period.

While Meloni has maintained a hardline approach toward illegal immigration—pushing for faster repatriations and limiting the operations of NGOs conducting sea rescues—she has simultaneously supported legal avenues for foreign labour to fill crucial workforce gaps.

“The quotas were determined taking into account the needs expressed by the social partners and the actual applications for work permits submitted in previous years, with the aim of a programme that responds to the needs of businesses and is also realistic,” the statement said.

Italy’s rapidly ageing population and declining birthrate have added urgency to efforts to expand the legal workforce. In 2024 alone, the country registered approximately 281,000 more deaths than births, and the population shrank by 37,000, falling to 58.93 million. The demographic decline has persisted for over a decade.

The government's new visa plan has received support from key industry stakeholders. Coldiretti, Italy’s main agricultural lobby, praised the move as a critical step to ensure the availability of workers for the country’s food production and to sustain operations in the agricultural sector.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi echoed this view in an interview with La Stampa on June 29, saying: “The government will continue with determination to allow legal migration channels, benefiting important sectors of our economy.”

A recent study by the Osservatorio Conti Pubblici, a public finance think tank, warned that in order to offset depopulation and maintain its current level of inhabitants, Italy would need to admit at least 10 million immigrants by 2050.

By Tamilla Hasanova