Italy work visas from the UAE: 2027 click days, Blue Card and other routes

Updated 26 September 2026 · Reviewed by the Cosmos Immigration content team

Italy's 2027 click days are already fixed by law: 12 January, 9 February, 16 February and 18 February 2027, each opening at 09:00 Italian time, which is 12:00 in the UAE. On those days only an employer in Italy can file. There is no form for the worker to fill in.

If you live in the UAE and do not yet have an Italian employer, the click day is not your starting point. Further down we cover the two routes that sit outside the quotas, the EU Blue Card and the intra-company transfer, and how visas are lodged from Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

When pre-compilation opens

Nothing is typed on the click day itself. Employers prepare and save their requests during a pre-compilation window beforehand, and the click day is when the saved forms are sent. The decree leaves the dates of that window to a joint circular of the ministries involved.

For the 2026 cycle, pre-compilation ran from 23 October to 7 December 2025. As of 26 September 2026, no circular setting the 2027 window has been published. Going by last year it is likely to fall between October and December 2026, but treat that as an expectation until the circular appears. We will update this page when it does.

The window stays open until 31 December

Requests can be sent from each click day until the quota for that category is used up, and in any case until 31 December of the same year. The law does not close the door after the first morning.

How many places: quotas for 2026, 2027 and 2028

The decree sets a three-year plan. In 2027 there are 165,850 entries in total.

Inside the seasonal totals, 47,000 places for agriculture, and 13,000 (2026), 14,000 (2027) and 15,000 (2028) for tourism, are reserved as a priority for requests sent through employer organisations. They are part of the seasonal figure, not extra places added to it.

Who files, and what the worker does

The quota system runs through the employer. Your part starts once the employer's request has been accepted.

1. An employer in Italy, which can be a company or a household, prepares a request for a nulla osta al lavoro (work authorisation) during pre-compilation and sends it on the click day through the Ministry of the Interior's ALI portal. The request names you.
2. The Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione (SUI) in the province where you will work checks the request and, if it is accepted, issues the nulla osta. This is the first document that reaches you.
3. You apply for a type D (national) work visa at the Italian mission the nulla osta is addressed to. For UAE residents that is normally the Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General in Dubai, depending on your emirate.
4. After you arrive, you and the employer sign the contratto di soggiorno (residence contract).
5. You apply for your permesso di soggiorno (residence permit). The deadlines for these last two steps are short, and our click day guide lists them.

Routes outside the click day

Two employer-sponsored routes do not use the quotas at all, so there is no click day to wait for. In both, the employer or host company in Italy still applies to the SUI for a nulla osta first.

EU Blue Card (Carta Blu UE)

The Blue Card is for highly qualified employees. The Embassy of Italy in Abu Dhabi asks Blue Card applicants to show one of the following:

• a degree from a higher education course of at least three years
• at least five years of professional experience at a comparable level, relevant to the job offered
• for ICT managers and specialists (ISCO-08 groups 133 and 25), at least three years of relevant experience in the seven years before the application

Regulated professions also need the Italian recognition that applies to them. The job must meet a minimum salary set under Italian law and updated over time. We could not confirm the current figure from an Italian ministry source, so we do not quote one here. Ask the employer to confirm it before the nulla osta request is filed.

Intra-company transfer (article 27-quinquies)

This route is for people already working for a company outside the EU who move to an Italian entity in the same group. It covers managers, specialists whose knowledge the host entity considers essential, and graduate trainees. For UAE applicants, the Abu Dhabi checklist asks for a UAE employment contract showing at least three months of uninterrupted work with the company, the host entity's nulla osta application, and a posting letter or Italian contract setting out the length of the transfer and the pay.

Applying from the UAE: Abu Dhabi Embassy or Dubai Consulate

Work visas are lodged with the Italian mission that covers your emirate, and which one that is depends on the emirate that issued your UAE residence visa.

The Abu Dhabi Embassy accepts work visa applications no more than six months and no later than 15 calendar days before your planned travel date. The procedure can take up to 90 calendar days, and the Embassy keeps your passport until it decides. The Dubai Consulate's checklist asks for a UAE residence visa with at least six months' validity left and a nulla osta issued within the last six months.

For an ordinary work visa under the quotas, the Abu Dhabi checklist does not ask for degree certificates. Degrees come in for the Blue Card. They must be apostilled, if the country that issued them is party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, or otherwise legalised by the Italian mission covering that country. They then need an Italian translation by a legal translator attested in the UAE and a Declaration of Value (dichiarazione di valore) from the Italian mission accredited where the university is based.

Nulla osta scams: what no one can sell you

Because only the employer can file, a "quota place" or a nulla osta offered for a fee is a warning sign. So is a "priority" consular appointment. Before you pay anyone for an Italian job route, check these points:

• You can name the Italian employer and the SUI province handling the request.
• The employer files the request in its own name. You are never asked to pay for the nulla osta itself.
• In Abu Dhabi, appointments are booked through Prenot@mi after you email the Embassy. Nobody can sell a faster slot.
• No one tells you to fly on a visit visa and sort out work papers in Italy. The route runs through a type D visa issued where you live.

Our decreto flussi guide has the full checklist.

Long-term residence and citizenship

Once you are living in Italy on a renewable permit, the long-term route is the permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo (EU long-term residence permit). It depends on a period of continuous legal residence, sufficient income and Italian language, and it is handled by the Questura. The detailed conditions change, so check them with the Questura when you get close.

Citizenship by residence can be requested after at least ten years of residence in Italy. The Ministry of the Interior lists sufficient income, no criminal record and no security objections among the conditions.

How Cosmos helps with Italy files

We are based in Dubai and work with UAE residents on the parts of an Italian move that happen here. In practice that means:

• looking at your profile and telling you which Italian route is realistic today, and when another country fits better
• checking the job offer and employer details before you commit
• preparing the UAE side of the visa file once a nulla osta exists, including translations and the appointment booking

We do not file nulla osta requests, because only the employer can. We do not sell quota places or job offers, and we cannot promise any decision by the SUI or an Italian mission. Where a question needs Italian legal advice, we work with a professional partner in Italy, and your engagement letter names who does what. See our fee transparency page for how engagements are structured, and verify our credentials.

If you do not have an Italian employer yet, compare the job-search routes in Germany: the Opportunity Card and moving to Germany from Dubai. We also cover the Italy investor visa and the Schengen visit visa from Dubai.

To talk through your options, book a 20-minute review using the form below, or call us on 04 357 7796.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Italy click day in 2027?

There are four: 12 January 2027 for seasonal agriculture, 9 February for seasonal tourism, 16 February for non-seasonal employment and 18 February for domestic and family care. Each opens at 09:00 Italian time, which is 12:00 in the UAE. The dates are set by article 8(2) of the DPCM of 2 October 2025, and the same dates apply in 2028.

When does the Italy work visa open in 2027?

Employers first prepare requests in a pre-compilation window, whose dates are set by a joint ministerial circular. For 2026 it ran from 23 October to 7 December 2025. As of 26 September 2026 the 2027 circular has not been published. Requests are then sent from the click days in January and February 2027, and can be sent until 31 December 2027 while quota remains.

When does the seasonal work visa for Italy open in 2027?

Seasonal agriculture requests open at 09:00 Italian time on 12 January 2027 and seasonal tourism requests on 9 February 2027. The decree allows 89,000 seasonal entries in 2027. The employer sends the request, and the worker applies for the visa only after the nulla osta is issued.

Can I still apply under decreto flussi 2026?

An employer can still send a 2026 request until 31 December 2026, but only against quotas that are still available. The worker cannot apply directly. If no employer is filing for you this year, the next opening is the 2027 cycle.

How many Italy work visas are available in 2027?

The decree allows 165,850 entries in 2027: 89,000 for seasonal work, 76,200 for non-seasonal employment and 650 for self-employment. Within the non-seasonal places, 14,000 are for domestic and family care.

Can I apply for the decreto flussi myself from the UAE?

No. Only an employer in Italy can send the nulla osta request. Your part starts once the nulla osta is issued: you then apply for a type D work visa at the Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General in Dubai, depending on the emirate that issued your residence visa.

Can a UAE resident get an Italian work visa without the click day?

Yes, through the EU Blue Card for highly qualified employees or an intra-company transfer within the same group of companies. Both sit outside the quotas, although the employer or host company in Italy still has to obtain a nulla osta first.

Official sources (accessed 26 September 2026)

• Gazzetta Ufficiale: DPCM 2 October 2025 (quotas 2026-2028 and click-day dates, arts. 5-8)
• Italian Ministry of the Interior: Decreto Flussi 2026-2028 and the 2026 pre-compilation window
• Embassy of Italy Abu Dhabi: checklist for work, Blue Card and ICT visas
• Consulate General of Italy in Dubai: consular district
• Consulate General of Italy in Dubai: subordinate work visa checklist
• Italian Ministry of the Interior: citizenship

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026 by the Cosmos Immigration content team. Dates, quotas and procedures can change. Check the official sources above before acting.