Decreto flussi and work permit (nulla osta): which documents to have translated (and which not)

In short

• The application for a work authorisation (nulla osta al lavoro) under the decreto flussi is submitted by the employer, online, on the Ministry of the Interior's ALI portal. At this stage the worker normally only needs a passport: no translation.
• Translations come later: at the Italian consulate for the visa (some missions ask for birth and marriage certificates, a CV and qualifications), for the recognition of professional qualifications and for subsequent procedures in Italy, such as family reunification or driving licence conversion.
• Each consulate decides which documents to ask for and in what form: always check your mission's list before having anything translated.

Every year thousands of workers and employers search for "which documents to translate for the decreto flussi", often after reading contradictory advice. The honest answer is that translation is not needed where many people think (in the nulla osta application) and is needed instead at stages that are rarely discussed. In this guide we follow the procedure from start to finish and tell you, step by step, what needs translating and what does not.

What is the 2026-2028 decreto flussi

The decreto flussi is the measure by which the Italian Government sets how many non-EU citizens may enter Italy for work. For the current three-year period it is the DPCM of 2 October 2025, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on 15 October 2025, with operating instructions in inter-ministerial circular no. 8047 of 16 October 2025. According to the Ministry of Labour, the decree provides for 497,550 entries over three years: 164,850 in 2026, 165,850 in 2027 and 166,850 in 2028, for seasonal and non-seasonal employment and self-employment.

For 2026, applications opened with the so-called click days, at 9:00:

• 12 January 2026: seasonal agricultural work;
• 9 February 2026: seasonal tourism work;
• 16 and 18 February 2026: non-seasonal employment (the 16th for workers from countries with migration cooperation agreements with Italy, the 18th for the others).

Applications can still be submitted until 31 December 2026, within the limits of the quotas still available. For the dates of the 2027 quotas, check the notices on the ALI portal and from the Ministry: the calendars are announced year by year.

Step 1: the nulla osta application (nothing is translated here)

The work nulla osta is the authorisation issued by the Prefettura's Sportello unico per l'immigrazione (SUI, the single immigration desk). It is requested not by the worker but by the employer, who logs into the ALI portal with SPID or CIE (Italian digital identity) and fills in the form. Before applying, the employer must, among other things:

• ask the Centro per l'impiego (job centre) to check that no workers already in Italy are available for the position;
• obtain, where required, the asseverazione of a labour consultant or trade association confirming that the contract requirements are met and that the business has the financial capacity.

Be careful not to confuse the terms: the "asseverazione" of the decreto flussi is a check carried out by the labour consultant on the employer, and has nothing to do with translation. If someone offers to "asseverate" your documents for the nulla osta application, ask for an explanation.

From the worker, the form mainly asks for personal and passport details. There is no need to attach a translated birth certificate or a translated criminal record certificate: security checks are carried out by the Questura (police immigration office) of its own motion. Once issued, the nulla osta is valid for six months: within that time the worker must apply for a visa at the consulate. The issuing times stated in the circular are 20 days for seasonal work and 60 days for non-seasonal work, but in practice they can be longer.

Step 2: the visa at the consulate, where translations may be needed

With the nulla osta in hand, the worker books an appointment at the Italian consulate or embassy in their country of residence (often via the Prenotami portal or an external visa centre). The list of documents varies from mission to mission, and that is the key point.

Missions that ask for the minimum

Some consulates ask only for the form, a photo, a valid passport, the nulla osta and the receipt for the consular fees. This is the case, for example, with the information sheet of the Consulate General of Italy in Moscow for employment: no documents to translate.

Missions that ask for records and qualifications

Other missions, however, want to know more about you. The Italian Embassy in Yaoundé, for the same visa, asks among other things for:

• the birth certificate of the applicant and of their children;
• the marriage certificate, for married applicants;
• a CV with documentation of academic or vocational training and reference letters from previous employers;
• for family care work, also the birth certificates of the applicant's parents and of the employer.

If these documents are not in Italian or in a language the consulate accepts, you will be asked for a translation. In these cases the most common documents are the birth certificate, the marriage certificate, the diploma and the transcript, and sometimes a previous employment contract or a payslip as proof of experience.

Missions that want their own translators

There is a third case, and it is important to know about it before spending money. Some consulates require the translation to be done by one of the consulate's approved translators, or to be legalised by the consulate itself. The Moscow Consulate itself, for some work subcategories (entertainment, for example), states that documents must be submitted "as a certified copy (or one conforming to the original), apostilled and accompanied by a translation into Italian made by one of the Consulate General's approved translators" (subcategories sheet).

In that case no external translation, ours included, meets the requirement. The practical rule is always the same: read your mission's information sheet, and if it is unclear, write to the consulate before ordering. If you send us the list you received, we will tell you whether our sworn translation in PDF matches what they ask for; for certification against the original or the apostille, you can ask us for a quote.

Apostille or legalisation of certificates

When the consulate asks for civil status records or academic qualifications, it usually wants them legalised or apostilled by the authorities of the country that issued them. The correct order is: first the apostille on the original, then the translation, which must also cover the apostille. We explain this in detail in the guide on apostille and sworn translation.

Step 3: arrival in Italy and the residence contract

Within eight working days of entering Italy, the worker goes to the Sportello unico to sign the residence contract (contratto di soggiorno) with the employer and start the application for a work residence permit. At this stage you need the passport with the visa, and the documents that the Sportello or the Questura list in the appointment notice. As a rule, no new translations are requested for documents already examined by the consulate.

Things change if, once in Italy, you submit other applications: a family permit for your spouse, family cohesion, switching to another type of permit. For these procedures the Questura often asks for translated and legalised civil status records: we cover this in the guide on documents to translate for a residence permit.

The cases where translation really matters

Highly qualified workers and the EU Blue Card

The EU Blue Card (Art. 27-quater of the Consolidated Immigration Act, d.lgs. 286/1998) falls outside the decreto flussi quotas, but follows a similar procedure: nulla osta requested by the employer, then visa. Here the qualification is central to the application: you need a higher education qualification of at least three years or, in some cases, a professional qualification. To prove it, you use the consulate's declaration of value (dichiarazione di valore) or the CIMEA statement of comparability (CIMEA is the Italian centre for the recognition of qualifications), and for both you may need translations of your university degree and of your study plan or transcript. Law 182/2025 on simplification also changed the nulla osta timeframes for these workers: check the current deadlines with the Sportello unico.

Healthcare professions

Nurses and other healthcare professionals often enter outside the quotas (Art. 27 of the Consolidated Act), but in order to work they must obtain recognition of their qualification from the health authorities. It is a procedure in its own right, with a file that includes the diploma, the study programme, traineeships, registration with the professional body in the country of origin and a certificate of good professional standing, almost always to be translated into Italian. Before starting, ask the body handling the application for the exact list and the required form of translation.

Criminal record certificate: when it is required

For the decreto flussi nulla osta, the criminal record certificate from the country of origin does not need to be attached by the worker. It may, however, be requested in other situations: by some consulates at the visa stage, by employers in particular sectors, by professional bodies and, later on, for a citizenship application. In those cases you will need the sworn translation of the criminal record certificate, ordered after obtaining the up-to-date certificate.

Driving licence for work

Drivers, warehouse workers using vehicles, labourers moving between sites: a foreign driving licence soon becomes a work document. During the first year of residence you can drive with your foreign licence accompanied by an international driving permit or a translation; after that you need to convert it, if your country has an agreement with Italy. You will find everything in the guide to converting a foreign driving licence and on the page for the sworn translation of a driving licence.

Family reunification, later on

Once the worker holds a permit of at least one year, they can apply for family reunification with their spouse and children. At that point translations are almost certain: birth and marriage certificates, sometimes the family status certificate. It is worth thinking about this when requesting certificates in the country of origin, so as to have them apostilled only once.

What type of translation to ask for

Italian law provides that a foreign document to be used before the public administration must be accompanied by a translation into Italian "certified as conforming to the foreign text by the competent diplomatic or consular mission, or by an official translator" (Art. 33 of DPR 445/2000). In practice, then, there are two routes: a translation certified by the consulate, or one by a sworn translator. Which one your mission accepts is up to the mission. The differences between the various forms are explained in sworn, asseverated, certified or legalised.

With Giuradoc it works like this:

• you upload a scan or a legible photo of the document, apostille included;
• a translator sworn before the competent courts of appeal translates the document, signs it, stamps it and certifies that it is faithful to the document received;
• you receive the PDF within 24-48 working hours, at 30 € per page, whatever the language combination;
• if the consulate wants paper, add the paper copy by post (€15).

We work from and into Italian with English, Spanish, French, German, Romanian and Arabic, as well as between these six languages. If your language is not listed, write to us for a quote. To work out which format you need, see the page which translation to choose; the full list of documents is in our services.

Mistakes that waste time

• Translating everything "just in case" before the nulla osta. It is not necessary, and some certificates expire (the criminal record certificate, for example, is often valid for six months for the authorities that require it).
• Translating before the apostille. The apostille is part of the document and must be translated: if it comes afterwards, the translation has to be redone.
• Not reading your own consulate's list. The Moscow and Yaoundé information sheets ask for very different things for the same visa.
• Letting the nulla osta expire. You have six months to apply for the visa: book your consulate appointment as soon as you receive it.
• Names spelt differently across passport, nulla osta and certificates: tell the translator the spelling used in your passport.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to have my passport translated for the nulla osta application?

No. The employer enters the passport details in the online form. A passport translation may be needed for other procedures, for example when the document does not show the details in Latin characters, but not for the nulla osta.

The consulate is asking for my translated birth certificate: is a sworn translation in PDF acceptable?

It depends on the consulate. Many missions accept a translation by a sworn translator; others want one of their own trusted translators or consular legalisation of the translation. Ask the mission and send us their reply: we will tell you whether our translation matches.

Does the employer need to have anything translated?

Normally not: their documents are Italian. It may be useful to translate the contract or job offer into the worker's language so that they understand it, but that is a choice, not a nulla osta requirement.

I have a seasonal permit: do I need translations to convert it into non-seasonal work?

Usually not, because the conversion is based on a new contract with an employer in Italy. This may change if the office asks for new foreign documents: follow the Sportello unico's appointment notice.

How much does it cost to translate documents for a work visa?

With Giuradoc, 30 € per page in PDF, plus the option if you need it: paper copy (15 €). For several documents in the same order, write to us from the contact page. Details on costs are in the guide how much a sworn translation costs; general answers are in the FAQ.

Sources: Ministero del Lavoro, «Flussi 2026-2028, pubblicato il decreto»; Fisco e Tasse, flussi 2026-2028: quotas, requirements and click days; Consulate General of Italy in Moscow, employment visa and subcategories; Italian Embassy in Yaoundé, employment visa; Italian Embassy in Tbilisi, validity of the nulla osta; d.lgs. 286/1998, Consolidated Immigration Act; DPR 445/2000, art. 33; legge 182/2025.