Italys government said it will issue nearly 500,000 work visas for non-EU nationals from 2026 to 2028 under efforts to expand legal immigration channels in response to labour shortages.
Italys government said on Monday that a total of 497,550 work visas would be issued over the 2026-2028 period, starting with around 165,000 in 2026.
This was up from the 450,000 visa quota set by the government for the 2023-2025 period.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the leader of Italys Brothers of Italy party, has sought to reduce the number of undocumented migrants entering Italy.
But her government has also increased pathways for legal migration for non-EU workers in a bid to tackle labour shortages in an ageing country with a sluggish birth rate.
Over half (around 267,000) of the total number of visas set to be made available over the next three years would be destined for seasonal workers in the agricultural and tourism sectors, the government said.
Italy's main agricultural lobby, Coldiretti, welcomed the new visa plan as an "important step forward to ensure the availability of workers in the fields [and] food production".
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But a top official of Italys largest trade union, CGIL, said the new quota did not address migration dynamics and labour needs.
Maria Grazia Gabrielli stressed that the number of visa applications has been far lower than the available quotas in recent years.
Between 2023 and 2024, only 7.5 to 7.8 percent of the visas made available by Italys Ministry of Labour were converted into residency permits, she said in a statement.
Gabrielli criticised the government's policy of prioritising applicants from countries that discourage their nationals from illegally migrating to Italy.
A 2023 decree established special immigration quotas for nations helping Italy fight human traffickers and conduct media campaigns warning of the dangers of crossing the Mediterranean.
Gabrielli said the system "takes no account whatsoever of migration dynamics and the need for a response that does not focus on punitive logic and rewards".
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Italy's immigration policies have long been fraught with weak spots and vulnerabilities, with criminal networks known to exploit the system to bring migrants into the country illegally.
Gabrielli said a structural reform was needed to help employers recruit foreign labour and protect workers from traffickers.
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