From a court ruling that could overturn last year’s citizenship restrictions to new EU asylum rules and digital border controls, here’s what to expect from Italy’s immigration system in 2026.
It’s been a turbulent period for immigration and citizenship rules in Italy, with the government limiting claims to citizenship and trying to resolve labour shortages while seeming tough on migration.
With that in mind, 2026 is a mixed bag for changes and discussions regarding migration in the coming months. Here’s what you can expect.
Citizenship by descent: could changes be overturned?
Italy’s Constitutional Court will rule on whether a law change that blocked thousands from claiming citizenship by descent should stand, after challenges from Italian nationals abroad.
The court in Rome set the date for a public hearing on 11th March 2026 to examine the controversial law change pushed through by the government in March 2025, abruptly limiting eligibility for Italian citizenship by descent.
Citizenship via ancestry was previously seen as a birthright (Iure Sanguinis or ‘right of blood’) for anyone who could prove an unbroken line of descent from an Italian citizen going back as far as 1861.
READ ALSO: Court to decide if Italy’s citizenship crackdown is legal
That’s no longer the case, and only people with a parent or grandparent born in Italy are eligible.
If the court rules that the changes are unconstitutional, people whose applications were rejected under the new rules could have grounds to appeal, and those who missed the March 2025 deadline might get another chance to apply.
A ruling is expected in April.
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Work permit quotas
Italy has announced new routes for hiring certain types of non-EU employees outside of its much-criticised quota-based decreto flussi work permit system – which the government has pledged to reform.
Italy will admit around 165,000 non-EU workers under the system in 2026, with most permits going to seasonal agricultural and hospitality work, the care sector, and heavy industry jobs.
READ ALSO:Â How descendants of Italians can move to Italy under new rules
If you’re an employer looking to hire from outside the EU, or a worker hoping to come to Italy, applications are submitted during ‘click days’ when the government portal opens for each sector. Quotas typically fill within minutes and are always oversubscribed.
The first click day for 2026 is 12th January for agricultural workers, followed by dates in February for tourism, general employment and domestic work.
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This year, families hiring carers for young children (under six) can now do so outside the quota system, the same as carers for elderly or disabled people.
The government also announced that permits will be made available outside the quota system to people from seven countries, including the US, who can prove Italian ancestry. Further details of this programme are still to be announced.
EU asylum reform
The EU is reforming asylum rules in 2026, which Italy, as a member country, has agreed to implement.
Among the planned changes are opening of centres outside the EU’s borders to which migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected would be sent: so-called “return hubs”.
The EU also envisages harsher penalties for migrants who refuse to leave European territory, including through longer periods of detention and returning migrants to countries that are not their countries of origin, but which Europe considers “safe”.
The reform is scheduled to take effect in summer 2026.
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Simpler procedures for work permits
Italy’s new simplification law includes some changes meant to make things easier for employers hiring non-EU workers.Â
Processing times for work permits are being cut for workers who completed Italy-backed training programmes abroad. Housing documentation requirements have been updated, and employment contracts can now be signed digitally – so not a transformation of the process, but this should remove some of the headaches.
New EU digital border controls
Two EU-wide systems are still being rolled out that will affect anyone travelling to or through Italy.
The Entry/Exit System (EES) replaces passport stamps with digital records for non-EU visitors. It’s being phased in now and is mostly up and running at Italian airports, but should be fully operational at all borders by April 2026.Â
There were reports of delays caused by problems with the system over the busy December travel period, and travellers have been warned to expect longer queues at airports during the transition.
The ETIAS travel authorisation system is also scheduled for late 2026.
Once it launches, visitors from visa-exempt countries (including the US, UK, Canada and Australia) will need to apply online and pay €20 before travelling to Schengen zone countries.
New rules for travel to the UK
This isn’t an Italian rule, but it does affect some foreigners living in Italy. The UK introduced a required visa waiver, called the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), for visitors in April 2025.
The UK government recently warned that travellers will be refused entry from February 2026 if they do not have the correct document.
The ETA is a visa waiver that must be applied for online in advance of your trip. It costs £16 and lasts for two years.
UK nationals are exempt, as is anyone travelling on an Irish passport, but all other nationalities now need the ETA.