Italy plans to recruit nearly 500,000 foreign workers over three years under its Decreto Flussi quota system, with Bangladesh among the countries eligible for recruitment.
The Italian Embassy in Dhaka highlighted the importance of legal migration, skills training and Italian language proficiency at a seminar titled “Language, Civic and Professional Training for Skilled Migration to Italy” at a city hotel yesterday.
The seminar was jointly organised by the Italian Embassy and its international cooperation partners to explain the provision, its regulations and the outcomes of the first projects implemented in Bangladesh.
Discussions also focused on the importance of Italian language proficiency in integrating into the country’s labour market. It also mentioned that around 217,000 Bangladeshis currently live legally in Italy, including 80,000 work permit holders. They sent $1.7 billion in remittances to Bangladesh in 2025, making the diaspora an important bridge between the two countries.
Italy has introduced a new provision, Article 23, in its immigration law to facilitate the recruitment of skilled workers and their integration into Italian society.
Under the provision, workers who complete a certified pre-departure training program approved by Italy’s Ministry of Labour and Social Policies can legally enter Italy outside the annual Decreto Flussi quota.
The training must cover three areas: basic Italian language, civic education about Italy, and professional skills relevant to the workers’ respective sectors.
Organisers said the training would be free for prospective migrants. The program can be completed in Bangladesh, and applications can be submitted throughout the year without a designated click day.
“Format” representative Antonio Milo said the initiative had five key advantages: it operates outside the quota system, provides free training, is monitored by the Italian government, prepares workers in Italian language and professional skills before arrival, and offers skills that participants can use in Bangladesh even if they do not migrate to Italy. The Italian embassy said the guidelines were adopted on July 7, 2023.
According to figures presented at the seminar, Italy will recruit 164,850 workers in 2026, 165,850 in 2027 and 166,850 in 2028, totalling 497,550 over the three years. Decreto Flussi is Italy’s official quota system for recruiting foreign workers.
Organisers said the quotas would be distributed among different countries, with Bangladesh having a reserved quota in recognition of its cooperation in repatriating irregular migrants.
The embassy clarified that a Nulla Osta is not permission to enter Italy but an authorisation for an Italian employer to hire a worker. The embassy will make the final decision on the visa.
Speaking as the chief guest, Mahdi Amin, adviser to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment and spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, said the government would try to provide expatriate cards to workers before they leave for Italy.
The cards would help workers with remittances, maintaining family relationships and accessing various government services.
He said the government would also provide assistance through BOESL and other public institutions to those seeking support with skills-based migration.
Amin said many trainees had undergone five or six months of training and were developing proficiency in Italian as a third language alongside Bangla and English.
“We want to consider this a model,” he said, adding that the government would try to adapt the curriculum to technical training centres and vocational institutions.
He said the trainees were not only building their own careers but also creating a model that could help prepare future generations of Bangladeshi workers for overseas employment.
In his open remarks, Italian Ambassador Antonio Alessandro said that employers would bear the full cost of the training and workers would not have to pay any intermediary. Anyone found to have paid money to a middleman would be denied a visa.
He said recruitment under Article 23 projects would be based on the needs of Italy’s private sector. Italian companies would first identify the types of skilled workers they require. Training programmes would then be designed accordingly, followed by the selection and training of candidates.
The training includes Italian language lessons, an introduction to the country’s culture and civic life, and technical skills relevant to the specific employment sector. Each project is assessed before it can be approved by an inter-ministerial committee led by Italy’s Ministry of Labour and Social Policies.
The ambassador said the projects are fully financed by prospective Italian employers and companies. As a result, trainees and prospective migrants are not required to pay for the training.
European Union Deputy Head of Delegation Baiba Zarina spoke as a special guest, discussing talent partnerships for safe, legal and skills-based migration to Europe.
Giuseppe De Giovanni, migration adviser at the Italian embassy, presented the keynote paper, outlining employment-related entry regulations and the provisions of Article 23.
Massimilliano Di Fusco of Format, Antonio Milo of Frontiere Skills and Ennio Milano, manager of UP Recruitment Agency, presented several Article 23 projects.
Among others, International Labour Organisation (IOM) Head of Programme Gunjan Dalakoti and Laura Nicole Tom-Bonde, chief of IOM, and EU Ambassador Michael Miller also spoke on this occasion.
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