How to Find a Job in Italy as a Foreigner in 2026

To find a job in Italy, EU citizens can simply apply, move and register with the town hall. Britons, Americans, Indians and other non-EU nationals almost always need an Italian employer to request a work permit (the nulla osta) first, either inside the annual Decreto Flussi quotas or outside them through the EU Blue Card. Aim at the North, use LinkedIn, agencies and your network, and expect pay set by collective agreements.

Italy has high employment but rising unemployment, a sharp North-South divide and a job market where personal contacts still open more doors than job boards. This guide starts with the right to work by passport, because for most English-speaking readers that is the real filter.

What does the Italian job market look like in 2026?

Unemployment was 6.2% in August 2026, but it is under 4% in the North and over 10% in the South¹². Youth unemployment (15 to 24) stood at 20.3% in the same month, and the employment rate at 63.0%¹. In the second quarter of 2026 the North recorded 3.7% unemployment against 10.4% in the South². Foreign citizens faced 8.3%, against 5.6% for Italians².

Where are the jobs?

Lombardy, the region around Milan, planned 114,480 hires in September 2026 alone, about twice as many as Lazio around Rome with 58,790⁴. Veneto, Emilia-Romagna (Bologna) and Piedmont (Turin) follow. For international and English-speaking roles, Milan is the default.

Employers planned 565,100 hires in September 2026 and judged 44.1% of them hard to fill⁴. They earmarked 23.0% of planned hires for foreign workers, but only 22% of all hires were permanent or apprenticeship contracts⁴. Volume is in restaurants, retail and cleaning; skilled demand is strongest for health technicians, teachers and engineers⁴.

How do Italians find work?

Through people. In the second quarter of 2026, 70.5% of jobseekers searched through family, friends and acquaintances, 69.9% sent CVs, and 24.3% used private agencies². Networking is not an extra in Italy, it is the main channel.

Can you work in Italy with your passport?

EU citizens need no permit. Non-EU citizens, Britons included, need a nulla osta requested by the employer, then a type D visa, then a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno).

EU citizens, the registration steps

You can stay up to 3 months with an ID card or passport⁵. After that, register your residence at the town hall registry (anagrafe) and show that you work, or that you have resources and health insurance⁵. Then get your tax code (codice fiscale) from the Agenzia delle Entrate, which you can also request before arrival at an Italian consulate⁹. Only a code issued by the Agenzia is valid⁹.

How do the nulla osta and the Decreto Flussi work?

For a standard job, the employer files for the nulla osta at the prefecture's immigration desk. With it, you get a type D visa at the consulate, then sign your residence contract in Italy and apply for the permesso through the post office kit¹⁰. The permesso must be requested within 8 working days of entry¹¹.

Most non-EU hiring falls under quotas. The Decreto Flussi sets 164,850 places for 2026: 76,200 for non-seasonal employees, 88,000 for seasonal work and 650 for self-employment¹². Employers apply on fixed "click days", and places go fast.

The 2026 click days are over¹². For 2027, employers can pre-fill applications from 23 October to 7 December 2026¹³, and the click days start on 12 January 2027 for seasonal farm work and 16 February 2027 for non-seasonal jobs¹⁴.

Routes outside the quotas

• EU Blue Card. For a highly qualified job paying at least the sector's collective agreement and never less than the average gross annual salary measured by ISTAT¹⁵. A permanent contract gives a 2-year permit¹⁵. The prefecture's ordinary deadline for the nulla osta is 90 days¹⁰.
• Digital nomad and remote worker visa. In force since 5 April 2024, for highly qualified people working for clients or an employer outside Italy, with no nulla osta¹⁶. Income must be at least 3 times the threshold for exemption from health co-payments, and processing takes up to 90 days for employees and 120 days for freelancers¹¹.
• Working holiday. Italy has agreements with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. You can usually work up to 6 months a year and up to 3 months for the same employer⁶. There is none with the US or the UK.

Italian ancestry after the 2025 reform

Many Americans, Australians and Canadians hope to work in Italy as citizens by descent. Since the 2025 reform, people born abroad with another nationality keep Italian citizenship only in narrow cases, for example if they applied by 27 March 2025 or if a parent or grandparent held only Italian citizenship⁷. The Constitutional Court upheld the reform on 12 March 2026⁷. In July 2026 it referred a separate challenge to the EU Court of Justice, and the law keeps applying in the meantime⁸. Check with your consulate before counting on it.

Which job sites still work in Italy?

LinkedIn, Indeed and Subito cover most ads, agencies handle a large share of hiring, and InfoJobs Italia has closed. Older guides still recommend InfoJobs.it; the site now shows only a closure notice.

Staffing agencies (agenzie per il lavoro) matter more in Italy than in the UK or the US. They must be authorised by the Ministry of Labour and appear in its national register, which you can search online¹⁷. The largest are Randstad, Adecco, Gi Group, ManpowerGroup and Openjobmetis. Register with two or three of them.

Can you work in Italy with English only?

Sometimes, in tech, international companies in Milan, tourism and English teaching, but most jobs expect Italian. The largest hiring volumes are in hospitality, retail and care⁴, all customer-facing. There is no legal language level for private jobs, yet a working level of Italian changes the number of doors open to you more than anything else on your CV.

How do you write an Italian CV?

Two pages, a clear structure, and a data-processing consent line at the bottom. A photo, date of birth and nationality are common on Italian CVs but no law requires them. Europass is expected for public competitions and EU-funded posts, while many private employers find it generic.

The consent line ("Autorizzo il trattamento dei miei dati personali ai sensi del Reg. UE 2016/679 e del D.Lgs. 196/2003") is a habit rather than a legal requirement, but many recruiters still expect it and it costs nothing. Write the CV in Italian when the ad is in Italian.

Our ATS CV guide helps you match the ad's keywords, and the cover letter guide works for Italian spontaneous applications. Since networking dominates, a well-written spontaneous application often gets further than an online form. Check your CV against a real ad with the Epimoni resume analysis.

What will you earn in Italy?

Italy has no statutory minimum wage. Pay floors come from the national collective agreement (CCNL) of each sector, and salaries are quoted as gross annual pay (RAL).

The Blue Card uses the ISTAT average gross annual salary as its floor, so check the latest figure with the prefecture's immigration desk before you compare offers¹⁵. Wages rose 2.7% year on year in the second quarter of 2026³. Every employee gets an extra month's pay in December (tredicesima), and some sectors such as retail and tourism pay another in summer (quattordicesima), so divide the RAL by the right number of payments when you compare offers.

Milan is the most expensive city for rent, followed by Florence and Rome, while Turin and the South are cheaper. Use our salary estimation tool and the advice on negotiating your first salary before you sign.

Under-30s may be offered an apprenticeship contract (apprendistato professionalizzante), open from 18 to 29 years old¹⁹.

Your first 30 days in Italy

1. Before you leave (non-EU): collect your type D visa based on the nulla osta, or your nomad visa.
2. Before you leave (everyone): request your codice fiscale at the consulate, or book an Agenzia delle Entrate appointment⁹.
3. Within 8 working days (non-EU): send the permesso di soggiorno kit from the post office and keep the receipt¹¹.
4. Week 1: sign a registered lease, which you need for your residence.
5. Week 1 to 2: open a bank account for your salary.
6. Week 2: register your residence at the town hall anagrafe⁵.
7. Week 2 to 3: register with the national health service at your local ASL and choose a GP.
8. Week 2 to 4: get SPID or CIE digital identity for online services.
9. In parallel: register on SIISL, sign up with agencies, set LinkedIn and Indeed alerts.
10. When you sign: check the CCNL, your level and the number of monthly payments.

Comparing countries? See our guides to finding a job in Spain and finding a job in France, or return to the work abroad hub.

Frequently asked questions

Is it easy to get a job in Italy as a foreigner?

Not easy, but realistic in the North. Unemployment among foreign citizens was 8.3% in the second quarter of 2026, against 5.6% for Italians². EU citizens compete freely; non-EU candidates need an employer ready to request a nulla osta.

Can I work in Italy if I only speak English?

In some roles. Tech, multinationals in Milan, tourism and English teaching hire English speakers. Most hiring is in customer-facing jobs where Italian is expected, so learning it pays off quickly.

How does the Decreto Flussi click day work?

The employer, not the worker, submits an online application on a fixed day, and quota places are allocated in order. For 2027, pre-filling runs from 23 October to 7 December 2026 and the first click day is 12 January 2027¹³.

Can I go to Italy on a tourist visa and look for a job?

You can look and attend interviews, but you cannot work. A non-EU worker's visa is issued only after the employer obtains the nulla osta, so you would normally return home to collect it.

Is there a minimum wage in Italy?

No. Italy has no statutory minimum wage. Minimum pay is set by the collective agreement (CCNL) of each sector, which also decides whether you receive a fourteenth month.

Do I need a codice fiscale to work in Italy?

Yes. You need it for your contract, payslip, bank account and health registration. Request it from the Agenzia delle Entrate in Italy or at an Italian consulate before you leave⁹.

Do Italian CVs need a photo and a GDPR clause?

Neither is legally required, but both are common. Many recruiters still expect the data-processing consent line at the bottom, so include it.