Italy’s traditional year-end catch-all decree—the “Milleproroghe”—was published on 1 January 2026 and contains several nuggets for global mobility professionals. Article 6 extends the deadline for using CIMEA, the agency that formalises equivalence of non-EU academic qualifications, to 31 December 2028, allocating €1.46 million annually to keep the service running.
The move gives EU Blue-Card applicants and regulated-profession assignees three extra years to complete diploma recognition, easing a bottleneck that last year left 9,000 applications pending. The decree also prolongs payroll-tax holidays for employers converting young or long-term-unemployed staff to permanent contracts and extends special recruitment channels for religion teachers in international schools.
![‘Milleproroghe 2026’ Pushes Foreign-Degree Recognition Deadline to 2028]()
For HR teams, the twin effect is lower labour costs and a smoother pathway for non-EU engineers, architects and teachers. Companies should audit pending CIMEA cases and reassess localisation timelines in light of extended tax incentives (€650 per employee per month).
Legislative path: The decree must be converted into law within 60 days. Wholesale changes are rare, but mobility managers should track parliamentary debate for fine-tuning of eligibility rules.
The move gives EU Blue-Card applicants and regulated-profession assignees three extra years to complete diploma recognition, easing a bottleneck that last year left 9,000 applications pending. The decree also prolongs payroll-tax holidays for employers converting young or long-term-unemployed staff to permanent contracts and extends special recruitment channels for religion teachers in international schools.
For HR teams, the twin effect is lower labour costs and a smoother pathway for non-EU engineers, architects and teachers. Companies should audit pending CIMEA cases and reassess localisation timelines in light of extended tax incentives (€650 per employee per month).
Legislative path: The decree must be converted into law within 60 days. Wholesale changes are rare, but mobility managers should track parliamentary debate for fine-tuning of eligibility rules.
Source: VisaHQ Global Mobility News
