In short. The seasonal work permit in Italy (Article 24 of the Consolidated Immigration Act) is for non-EU workers hired in farming or in tourism and hotels, on a clearance that the employer requests. It lasts as long as the season, up to nine months in any twelve. A new seasonal job starting within 60 days of the last contract can extend it, and after three months of regular work it can be converted outside the quotas.
This guide follows the worker’s route from clearance to permit, with time limits, costs and the rules on extension, priority and conversion.
Reviewed 26 October 2026. These are general rules from official sources, not personalised advice: check your case with the competent office, such as the questura (the local police headquarters that issues permits), or with a professional.
What is the seasonal work permit in Italy?
It lets a non-EU citizen work in Italy for a farming or tourism-and-hotel season. Its legal basis is Article 24 of the Consolidated Immigration Act (Legislative Decree 286/1998, the “TUI”), rewritten by Legislative Decree 203/2016, which implemented Directive 2014/36/EU, and amended by Decree-Law 145/2024 and Decree-Law 146/2025.
Keep three steps apart. The nulla osta (work clearance) is issued by the Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione, the one-stop immigration desk run by the Prefecture. The visa, requested from the consulate, lets you enter Italy. The residence permit is issued by the questura. For every permit type, see Types of Italian residence permit.
Who can get it, and who applies?
You need a seasonal job offer in Italy while living abroad. The clearance request names you and is filed by the employer, or by a trade association for its members: you cannot file it yourself (employers: see hiring foreign workers in Italy). Article 24 does not apply, among others, to people already resident in another EU country or to family members of EU citizens.
Clearances fall within the quotas of the Decreto Flussi, the decree that sets how many non-EU workers may enter. For 2027, interministerial circular 7185 of 1 October 2026 provides for 89,000 seasonal entries. The main dates are:
- pre-filling on the ALI Portal, the online platform for work-entry applications: 23 October to 7 December 2026;
- click days, from 9:00: 12 January 2027 for agriculture and 9 February 2027 for tourism;
- applications can be sent until 31 December 2027, within the quotas.
See also our guides to the 2027 dates and click days and the 2027 application.
How does the procedure work, from clearance to permit?
- Clearance. The Sportello Unico issues it within 20 days of the request being assigned to a quota (Article 24(2)). If no obstacle arises, tacit approval applies, except under circular 8047 for Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Morocco, which need the questura’s favourable opinion and a National Labour Inspectorate check. The employer must confirm within 15 days of being told that the visa checks are complete, or the clearance is revoked (Article 22(5-quinquies)).
- Visa. You apply to the consulate within six months of the clearance (interministerial decree 850/2011): type C for stays of up to 90 days, type D for longer ones. Required documents may vary between consulates.
- Entry and contract. With clearance and visa you may start work at once (Article 22(6-bis)). Within 15 days of entering Italy (it was 8 before Law 179/2025, which converted Decree-Law 146/2025) you and the employer sign the contract of stay (contratto di soggiorno) with a digital signature (you may sign by hand instead), and the employer sends it to the Sportello Unico (Articles 22(6) and 24(11)). If it is late, the clearance may be revoked, unless force majeure or a cause not attributable to you applies.
- Permit. By law the request goes to the questore (the provincial chief of police) within eight working days of entry (Article 5(2)), with fingerprints and a photograph. Once the contract is sent, the Sportello Unico takes the formalities forward, and INPS (the social security institute) registers you automatically on SIISL, the information system for social and work inclusion.
The Immigration Portal (page dated 22 July 2024) still describes Forms 1 and 2 filled in at the Sportello Unico and the yellow-banded postal kit (kit postale). The sources do not explain how the eight working days and the 15 days fit together: follow the Sportello Unico’s instructions.
Which documents are needed, and what does it cost?
For the permit the Immigration Portal lists signed Forms 1 and 2, a full passport copy and four passport-size photographs on a white background; a renewal also needs the signed contract of stay and the return receipt of the registered letter sent to the Sportello Unico. A 2023 Ministry of Labour notice says the provisional tax code is generated on the ALI Portal and the employer informs you: see the Italian tax code for foreigners.
The Immigration Portal’s cost table (22 July 2024) shows a €16 revenue stamp, €30.46 for the electronic permit, a contribution of €40 for durations over three months and up to one year (€50 over one year and up to two) and €30 for Poste Italiane. For permits of up to three months it shows no contribution. The visa carries a consular fee. Amounts can change.
How long does it last, and what happens after the season?
The authorisation lasts as long as the work requested, from 20 days to nine months, and may combine several short jobs with different employers (Immigration Portal). The legal ceiling is nine months in any twelve (Articles 24(7) and 5(3-bis)). For stays of up to 90 days, the European Commission reports a dedicated visa; the Italian pages do not explain the permit in that case.
At expiry you must leave Italy, unless you hold a non-seasonal permit. After the season there are three routes:
| Point | New seasonal job | Priority and multi-year | Conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Art. 24(8) | Art. 24(9) and (11); Art. 5(3-ter) | Art. 24(10) |
| Conditions | Offer starting within 60 days of the last contract ending, arranged through SIISL | Admitted as a seasonal worker in the last five years, permit complied with, left Italy at expiry | At least 3 months of regular work and an offer of at least 20 hours a week |
| Quotas and visa | No need to go home for a new visa | Reserved places: 5,000 (2026), 6,000 (2027), 7,000 (2028) | Outside the quotas, all year |
| Duration | Until the new contract ends, within 9 months in 12 | Up to 3 annual periods, validity shown for each year | That of the new permit for subordinate work |
How do you extend or renew the permit?
With a new seasonal job, for the same employer or another, the clearance is extended and the permit renewed until the new contract ends, within the nine months and without a new visa. Since Decree-Law 145/2024 the new job must start within 60 days of the previous contract ending and be arranged through the SIISL platform (Article 24(8)); otherwise you must leave Italy.
Article 5(4), amended by Legislative Decree 83/2026 (which applies from 22 May 2026), asks for renewal at least 90 days before expiry, with the proviso fatti salvi i diversi termini (“without prejudice to different time limits”); older pages say 60 days. The sources do not clarify how this applies to short permits: ask the Sportello Unico. Late renewals are assessed case by case (see expired residence permit), and with the receipt you can generally work on certain conditions (working with the receipt).
Can you return with priority, and what is the multi-year permit?
Priority goes to workers admitted as seasonal workers at least once in the last five years who complied with the permit and left Italy when it expired. They may come back for seasonal work, with the same employer or another, ahead of people who have never entered lawfully for work (Article 24(9)). For them the employer may request, for recurring jobs, a multi-year clearance of up to three annual periods, within the places reserved by the Prime Ministerial Decree of 2 October 2025. The multi-year permit is requested at the questura and is revoked if you do not present yourself at the external border as the visa provides (Articles 24(11) and 5(3-ter)).
How do you convert it into a non-seasonal work permit?
Since Decree-Law 145/2024, conversion is outside the quotas and can be requested at any time of the year (Article 24(10); circular 9032/2024). You need at least three months of regular seasonal work and an offer of a fixed-term or open-ended job of at least 20 hours a week. Integrazione Migranti gives, for agriculture, as an alternative to the three months, at least 13 days a month, 39 in all (circular 5969/2023), and says conversion into self-employment is excluded.
The application goes through the ALI Portal with SPID or CIE (Italy’s digital identity credentials), under “Conversioni fuori quota e progetti speciali”, form VB, and is filed by the permit holder or an accredited body such as a patronato (a social-assistance organisation). Per Integrazione Migranti, while you wait Article 5(9-bis) applies: the new job may start once the Unilav form (the employer’s compulsory hiring notice) has been sent; the law also requires the application receipt. On an already expired permit Integrazione Migranti says the law sets no strict deadline and cites court rulings, so it is safer to apply beforehand. See permits that allow work and can be converted.
What rights and limits do you have?
- Work. The permit covers seasonal activities; the Immigration Portal states that self-employment is allowed only with non-seasonal permits.
- Conditions. According to Your Europe, pay and working hours must be comparable to those of national workers. If the employer provides housing, the rent cannot exceed one third of the pay or be deducted automatically (Article 24(3)).
- Losing the job. It is not a ground for revocation. You may file the DID (declaration of immediate availability for work), but the one-year minimum that applies to other permits does not apply to seasonal ones (Article 22(11)). See the job-seeking residence permit.
- Family and health. Family reunification requires, among other things, a permit of at least one year, while this one lasts at most nine months: check your case (family reunification). The sources we read do not say whether seasonal workers join the National Health Service: ask your local health authority, the ASL (health card).
What problems can block the clearance or the permit?
- The employer. The clearance may be refused or revoked if the employer has been sanctioned for irregular work, is insolvent or inactive, has breached social-security, tax or labour obligations or has dismissed staff to create the vacancy (Article 24(12)). Using seasonal workers without a valid permit exposes the employer to the penalties of Article 22 (Article 24(15)).
- The permit. It may be refused, not renewed or revoked if obtained by fraud, if entry and stay conditions are no longer met, or if you stay for purposes other than those authorised (Article 24(13)).
- Deadlines. Applications that do not fit within the quota, and clearances without a visa, lapse on 30 June of the year after the reference year (Decree of 2 October 2025, Article 8). For a refused visa there is no prior notice of refusal (Article 4(7-bis)): see Italian visa refusal: how to appeal.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a seasonal work permit last in Italy?
As long as the seasonal work requested: from 20 days to nine months in any twelve. At expiry you must leave Italy, unless you extend with a new seasonal job within 60 days, convert the permit or hold another one.
Can I stay in Italy after the season ends?
As a rule, no: at expiry you must leave Italy. You may stay under a different title, for example by converting to a non-seasonal work permit after at least three months of regular work and with an offer of at least 20 hours a week. It depends on the case.
Who applies for the clearance for seasonal work?
The employer, or its trade association, online on the ALI Portal; in 2027 the click days are 12 January for agriculture and 9 February for tourism. You cannot apply alone: you request the visa once the clearance is issued.
When can I start working?
After entering Italy with the clearance and the visa. Article 22(6-bis) allows work before the contract of stay is signed, which must happen within 15 days of entry. The employer files the compulsory hiring notice. Follow the Sportello Unico’s instructions.
Official sources
- Codice 18 – Lavoro subordinato stagionale – Immigration Portal, Ministry of the Interior (Italian text)
- Procedure for the electronic residence permit or card – Immigration Portal, Ministry of the Interior (Italian text)
- Cost tables – Immigration Portal, Ministry of the Interior (Italian text)
- Legislative Decree 203/2016 (new Article 24 of the Consolidated Immigration Act) – Normattiva (Italian text)
- Decree-Law no. 145 of 11 October 2024 – Gazzetta Ufficiale (Italian text)
- Legislative Decree no. 83 of 16 April 2026 – Gazzetta Ufficiale (Italian text)
- Interministerial circular no. 8047 of 16 October 2025 – Ministry of Labour (Italian text)
- Interministerial circular no. 7185 of 1 October 2026 – Ministry of Labour (Italian text)
The sources were consulted on 26 October 2026, as were the other official pages cited in the text. The Immigration Portal pages date from 2024 and may not reflect recent changes, so always check the latest instructions of the competent office.
How can SH Immigration Specialists help?
We can help you check your entry documents and the deadlines for the contract of stay and the permit, and prepare an extension, renewal or conversion. Legal advice, appeals and representation are handled by the lawyers of SH Immigration Specialists. The outcome depends on the competent authorities. For an assessment, contact us.
This content provides general information and does not constitute legal advice.
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Which other guides may help you?
- Italian residence permit for employment: requirements, duration and costs
- Which Italian residence permits allow work and which can be converted
- Decreto Flussi 2027: pre-filling dates, click days and new rules
- Working with your residence permit receipt in Italy
- Job-seeking residence permit in Italy: duration and requirements
