Autumn is quota-planning season for Italian employers: on 6 October the trade-logistics journal TrasportoEuropa published details of Circular 7185, signed on 1 October by the Ministries of Labour and Interior, which sets the operational calendar for year two of Italy’s three-year immigration plan (2026-2028). The circular confirms that companies may start pre-compiling quota applications at 09:00 CET on 23 October via the Ali portal; click-days will follow on 12 January (agriculture), 9 February (tourism) and 16 February 2027 (family care), with 18 February reserved for non-seasonal hires such as truck drivers. For 2027 the government has authorised 165,850 entries: 89,000 seasonal, 650 self-employed and 76,200 non-seasonal employees. Within the latter, logistics firms have been watching whether the long-running bottleneck around the Certificate of Professional Competence (Carta di Qualificazione del Conducente – CQC) would be eased. The circular reiterates that foreign drivers can enter without holding a CQC but may drive only after securing the certificate in Italy; contracts must therefore allow time for training and conversion of licences. An important novelty is the inclusion of Kenya among the countries eligible under new migration-co-operation agreements signed in July. While the memorandum opens the door to Kenyan drivers, the Transport Ministry has yet to add Kenya to the mutual-licence-conversion list, meaning that candidates still face a two-step process: entry under the quota, then licence conversion before they can drive heavy goods vehicles. The circular also shortens two critical administrative deadlines to 15 days: employers must confirm a quota request within 15 days of embassy visa clearance and must transmit the soggiorno contract within 15 days of the worker’s entry. Failure triggers automatic revocation of the nulla osta. Digital-mobility teams should update hiring roadmaps accordingly and prepare housing documentation in advance. With only 10,900 ‘free’ non-reserved places left after earmarked quotas, competition for truck drivers and care workers will be intense; HR departments are advised to finalise candidate lists well before the December data-freeze.
Source: TrasportoEuropa
