Italy increases work permit quota for foreigners to over 82,700 for 2023
Newswire
Rome: The Italian authorities this week announced that the country has decided to raise the work permit quota for foreign unskilled workers and startup visa applicants from third countries to 82,705 spots for 2023.
According to the government, the move will permit about 7,000 more third-country nationals to apply for work permits this year compared to 2022. The same highlighted that by increasing the work permit quota Italy wants to tackle labour shortages across the country, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The government explained that the work permits will be open to applicants in specific markets and at the same time stressed that the work permit quota does not apply to foreigners with highly skilled work permits.
Fragomen explains that of the total number of spots under the work permit quota for this year, 44,000 of them are reserved for seasonal work. Moreover, 31,205 spots are reserved for the employment of some specific nationalities in professions such as tourism, telecommunications, and construction, among others.
In addition to the above-mentioned, another 7,000 spots are reserved for foreigners holding a residence permit in Italy or another EU country who wish to change their status.
Lastly, 500 spots are reserved for self-employed people, including here start-up owners, entrepreneurs, chairmen, prominent artists, CEOs, auditors, and members of boards of directors in Italian companies who have held their current position for at least three years.
“The quotas fixed for entries for non-seasonal and self-employment reasons are 38,705 units, of which the vast majority (30,105 units) reserved for entries for non-seasonal subordinate work in the road haulage, construction and tourism-hotel sectors, as well as, new this year, from the mechanics, telecommunications, food and shipbuilding industries,” the statement of the Italian government reads.
Applications for work permits under the 2023 quota can be submitted from March 27, 2022. It has been pointed out that the applications will be processed within 30 days after submission and the document will be sent automatically to the Italian diplomatic missions that are responsible for issuing the visa.
Previously, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that more than 53 per cent of agricultural firms in Italy’s Tuscany employ migrant workers.
A report conducted by the association Coldiretti named “Immigrants and Agriculture in the Tuscany Region”, showed there are around 24,000 migrant workers employed in the agricultural sector in Tuscany. According to the reports, the number of migrant workers is high as the country is dealing with shortages, suggesting that the number might increase even more in the next years.
