Nulla Osta Waiting Times in Italy (2026): From Click Day to Your First Working Day

The six steps, and which one is slow

Getting to a legal first day of work in Italy is six steps in a fixed order. Most of the waiting is in two of them: the nulla osta decision and the residence permit appointment. Here is the chain, with the durations people have actually seen in 2024 and 2025. The 2026 figures will differ; treat these as the realistic range, not a promise, and check interno.gov.it for official statements.

• 1. Click day: one morning, usually February. Your employer's request is either inside the quota or queued.
• 2. Nulla osta: the prefettura and questura check the employer and you. Published target: 60 days. Reality in 2024 and 2025: 3 to 8 months, with big differences between provinces.
• 3. Visa at the consulate: once the nulla osta reaches the consulate, you book an appointment and apply. 2 to 10 weeks, depending on the consulate's queue.
• 4. Entry: the visa gives you a window to enter, usually 6 months from issue. You travel.
• 5. Stay contract and permit application: within 8 days of arrival you sign the contratto di soggiorno at the Sportello Unico and post the permesso di soggiorno kit. You may work from this day with the receipt.
• 6. Permesso di soggiorno card: fingerprints at the questura, then the card. 3 to 12 months in the big cities. You can work while you wait.

Add it up: from click day to a legal first working day, 8 to 14 months is normal. The fastest cases seen are about 6 months; the slowest pass 18.

Why the nulla osta takes months instead of 60 days

The law says 60 days. The reason it takes longer is volume. One prefettura can receive tens of thousands of requests on one morning and has the same staff as before. The checks are real: the employer's tax returns and turnover must show they can pay the contract, the local employment centre must have confirmed no resident worker was available, and the questura must clear your name. Any missing paper stops the clock. Provinces with many requests (Milan, Rome, Naples, Brescia, Bergamo, Verona) are the slowest; small provinces are often faster.

Since 2025 some of the employer checks were moved to before the click day, which is meant to shorten this step. Early reports from 2025 showed some provinces at 2 to 4 months. That is progress, not a guarantee.

What "nulla osta rilasciato" means, and how to check status

The portal shows a status for every request. The words you will see, in the order they appear:

• Inviata: sent on click day.
• In lavorazione: being processed. This can stay for months.
• Richiesta integrazione: the prefettura asked the employer for a missing document. The clock stops until it is sent. Ask your employer to check the portal weekly.
• Nulla osta rilasciato: issued. The authorisation is transmitted electronically to the consulate you named. You will usually get a PDF from the employer. This is the document the consulate wants to see.
• Rigettata: rejected, with a reason. The employer may appeal within 60 days.

Only your employer can see the request on the portal. You cannot log in. Agree with the employer that they check it and forward you every change. If an agent tells you they can "see your status" without the employer, they are guessing.

The consulate step

When the nulla osta arrives, book the visa appointment at the Italian consulate or the visa centre it uses in your country. Bring the nulla osta, passport, photos, the signed job offer, proof of accommodation in Italy (the employer provides it), and the visa fee (about 116 euro for a national visa, as of 2026; confirm with the consulate). The consulate may call you for an interview. Appointments in Dhaka, Islamabad, Cairo and Manila are often weeks out; book the day the nulla osta is issued. Official visa information is on esteri.it.

Two documents trip people at the consulate more than any other. The first is the criminal record certificate from your own country, which the consulate wants issued within the last six months and legalised (apostille or consular legalisation, depending on the country). Order it when the status turns to "rilasciato", not before, or it will be out of date. The second is proof of accommodation in Italy. The employer signs a declaration of hospitality or shows a rental contract in your name; a hotel booking is not accepted for a work visa. Ask the employer for this paper in the same week the nulla osta is issued, because the consulate will not take an incomplete file and the next appointment may be a month away.

A nulla osta is valid for 6 months. If the consulate queue is so long that it would expire, the employer can ask the Sportello Unico for an extension. Do not let it lapse.

After you land: the 8-day rule

Within 8 days of entering Italy you must go to the Sportello Unico (the employer books it), sign the stay contract, and submit the permesso kit at a post office. You receive a receipt (ricevuta). With the receipt you can legally work, register with the health service and open a bank account. The fingerprint appointment at the questura and the card itself take months in big cities, and this does not stop you working.

What to do while you wait

Eight to fourteen months is long enough to waste or to use. The people who arrive best prepared did four things during the wait. They learned Italian to A2 with a free app and a weekly class, because the questura, the doctor and the first boss all speak Italian and nothing else. They collected and legalised the documents the consulate will ask for (birth certificate, criminal record, qualification certificates), because a legalisation in Dhaka or Lahore takes weeks and the consulate appointment comes with short notice. They saved money for the first month, since the first Italian pay arrives at the end of the first full month and rent is paid in advance. And they kept their current job until the nulla osta was issued, not before. If you are already in the Workuro register, keep your profile and CV current during the wait; employers who search it are the ones who file requests for the next click day, and a second employer is a second chance if the first request is queued.

Reality check

• Nobody can speed up the prefettura. Agents who promise "fast nulla osta for a fee" cannot do it. The only real accelerator is a complete file with no missing documents.
• Silence is normal. Months without news does not mean rejection. Rejection comes with a letter.
• Your passport must outlive the process. If it expires within a year, renew it before click day. A passport renewed after the request was filed means a new number, and the nulla osta carries the old one; the employer must then ask the Sportello Unico to correct it, which costs weeks.
• Do not quit your current job at "inviata". Quit at "rilasciato", when you have a visa date.
• Tell your family the real timeline. Most of the pressure to pay an agent for "speed" comes from home, from people who were told it would take two months. A family that knows it takes a year does not push you toward a fraud.

Where this leaves you

Read these next, in this order:

• Italy work permit processing time: the fastest route
• Decreto Flussi 2026: click day dates and how to prepare
• Italy work visa 2026: types, cost, processing time
• Working in Italy from Egypt: visa, permit, costs
• Welder jobs in Italy for foreign workers

Your Workuro profile is free. Employers in Italy search the register and contact you directly, and nobody is ever charged to be listed or found: create a free profile.