Destination · European Union

Working in Italy,
permit by permit.

Italy is in the European Union. If you qualified inside the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, free movement replaces this half of the answer entirely and no work permit is involved. Everything below is for a qualification obtained outside that area.

Permits sourced
3
Professions answered
1
Official sources
18
Last checked
2026-08-03

Recognition

Whether Italy has to
approve your qualification.

Only some professions are regulated, and the difference is not a detail: a regulated one needs a decision from a named authority before you may hold the job at all. These are the professions we can answer for Italy today, and no others.

Licence decision required

General care nurse

Regulated · non-EU qualifications are assessed case by case

Who decides: Ministry of Health (Ministero della Salute), which recognises the qualification; then the provincial OPI (Ordine delle Professioni Infermieristiche), which registers you

All destinations for this profession →

Work authorisation

Every permit we can source
for Italy.

Every permit we source →

EU Blue Card (Carta blu UE)

The Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione at the prefecture, on an application filed by the employer; then the Italian consulate for the visa and the Questura for the permit

Checklist
Qualification
One of four alternatives: a higher-education qualification of at least three years, or a post-secondary professional qualification of at least three years or at level 6 of the national qualifications framework; the requirements of D.Lgs. 206/2007, for a profession regulated in Italy; five years of professional experience at a level comparable to a tertiary qualification; or, for the specific occupational groups the article names, three years of relevant experience in the seven before the application. A contract or binding offer of at least six months is required on every one of them.
Nulla osta
Within thirty days of the employer's application
Contratto di soggiorno
Within fifteen days of entering Italy
Long-stay visa (type D)
€116 in the consular fee table, collected in local currency where the consulate charges it
Permit contribution
€40 for a permit of more than three months up to one year, €50 for more than one year up to two
Filing the permit at the post office
€16 revenue stamp, €30 to the post office and €30.46 for producing the card, on top of the contribution
The procedure, step by step →

8 steps · 3 possible outcomes · 8 official sources

Salaried work within the annual quotas (decreto flussi)

The Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione at the prefecture, on an application the employer files on the click day; then the Italian consulate and the Questura

Checklist
Qualification
No qualification level is set. What is tested is the employer and the job: a prior check with the Centro per l'impiego that no worker already in Italy is available, an employer with taxable income or turnover of at least €30,000 a year, and an application filed within the quota for its sector.
Centro per l'impiego check
Eight calendar days without an available worker
Click day, 2026
From 9:00 on 16 February 2026, until quota places run out or 31 December 2026
Long-stay visa (type D)
€116 in the consular fee table, collected in local currency where the consulate charges it
Permit contribution
€40 for a permit of more than three months up to one year, €50 for more than one year up to two
Filing the permit at the post office
€16 revenue stamp, €30 to the post office and €30.46 for producing the card, on top of the contribution
The procedure, step by step →

6 steps · 3 possible outcomes · 9 official sources

Out-of-quota entry for nurses (article 27, letter r-bis)

The Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione at the prefecture, on an application filed by the hiring health facility

Checklist
Qualification
A nursing qualification recognised by the Italian Ministry of Health, and a job with a public or private health facility.
When to apply
At any time of the year: the route is outside the quotas
The procedure, step by step →

3 steps · 2 possible outcomes · 4 official sources

Written out in full

Guides for Italy.

Each of these takes one profession into Italy and runs both branches end to end, including the paperwork your country of qualification adds.

Verified route

Nursing Recognition and Work Visa for Nurses in Italy

Italy nursing license for Indian nurses

Read this one →

Evidence

Every claim on this page, and where it came from.

18 official pages, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest of them is 2026-08-03, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Your case, not the general case

What Italy asks of you specifically.

Which permit fits and what your country of qualification adds to it both depend on where you qualified. The planner only offers combinations it can answer.

Check my path →All destinations