Profile

EU Blue Card

Route status

Active as of 2026-08-04[3][6]

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Residency route facts

Identity

Identity
Official name (local)Carta blu UE as of 2026-08-04[3][6]
Official name (English)EU Blue Card as of 2026-08-04[3][5]
Official Italian designation is 'Carta blu UE'; the English name is the EU instrument's own name.
Legal basisD.Lgs. 286/1998 (TU immigrazione) art. 27-quater, as replaced by D.Lgs. 18 ottobre 2023, n. 152 transposing Directive (EU) 2021/1883 as of 2026-08-04[3][6]

Who can apply

Who can apply
Nationals not served by this routeEU, EEA, EFTA as of 2026-08-04[6]

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial duration2 years as of 2026-08-04[6]
RenewableYes as of 2026-08-04[5][6]
Renewal durationNot established from a qualifying source
TU art. 27-quater does not state a separate renewal term; the general art. 5 rules apply. Not sourced.
Work rightsown activity only as of 2026-08-04[6]

Permanent residence and citizenship

Permanent residence and citizenship
Counts toward permanent residenceYes as of 2026-08-04[9][10]
The EU Blue Card is not among the permit categories excluded from the EU long-term residence permit by TU art. 9(3); the art. 9 conditions (five years, income, language test, housing) apply.

Requirements

Requirements
Job offer requiredYes as of 2026-08-04[5][6]
TU art. 27-quater(5)(a): a proposed employment contract or binding job offer of at least six months.
Salary threshold
    • Measured against: collective agreement
    • Amount: Not established from a qualifying source
      TU art. 27-quater(5)(c): pay must not be below the rate set by the national collective agreements signed by the comparatively most representative unions, for the applicable sector/role. No single euro figure exists in the statute since it varies by the applicable CCNL.
    • Measured against: statistical average
    • Amount: 1 × average annual gross salary as measured by ISTAT per year as of 2026-08-04[5][6]
      TU art. 27-quater(5)(c): pay must also, in any case, not be below the average annual gross salary measured by ISTAT. The operative euro value is not published as a threshold; the reference figure it-retribuzione-media-istat carries amount_published: false.
Labour-market testRecorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value[6]
TU art. 27-quater(4) applies the art. 22 procedure to the filing and issue of the nulla osta, and art. 22(2) requires the employer to verify at the centro per l'impiego that no worker is available on the national territory; art. 27-quater(5-ter) derogates from art. 22(2) only where the applicant already holds another highly qualified residence title. No official guidance stating expressly whether the verification applies to first Blue Card applications was located – the statute is structured as though the test applies, but nothing confirms it either way.
Qualification requirementdegree, regulated profession, equivalent experience as of 2026-08-04[6]
Employer sponsorshipYes as of 2026-08-04[3][6]
The nulla osta application is filed by the employer at the sportello unico per l'immigrazione (art. 27-quater(4)).
Job-search routeNo as of 2026-08-04[6]

Process

Process
Where to apply fromeither as of 2026-08-04[5][6]
The employer files the nulla osta application with the sportello unico per l'immigrazione. TU art. 27-quater(2)(c) extends the route to third-country nationals already legally resident in Italy, and comma 6 grants them access irrespective of the requirement of actual residence abroad.
Statutory processing time30 days as of 2026-08-04[4][6]
TU art. 27-quater(6): the sportello unico issues or refuses the nulla osta within 30 days. Where the employer has signed a protocol of understanding with the Ministry of the Interior the nulla osta is replaced by a communication and the questore issues the permit within 30 days (comma 8). For intra-EU movers a 30-day decision term applies, extendable by a further 30 days in duly justified exceptional cases (comma 17).
Quota
  • Quota exists: No as of 2026-08-04[4][6]
    TU art. 27-quater(1): entry and stay are permitted outside the quotas set under art. 3(4) (decreto flussi).
  • Exempt from the general quota: Yes as of 2026-08-04[4][6]

Physical presence

Physical presence
maximum consecutive absence6 months · to keep the permit as of 2026-08-04[1]
DPR 394/1999 art. 13(4): a residence permit is not renewed or extended after a continuous interruption of stay in Italy of more than six months (more than half the validity period for permits of two years or longer), save serious proven reasons.

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be includedYes as of 2026-08-04[6][7]
TU art. 27-quater(16): family reunification is allowed to the Blue Card holder irrespective of the duration of the permit, under the art. 29 conditions.
Eligible relationsspouse, minor child, adult dependent child, parent as of 2026-08-04[6][7]
TU art. 29(1): spouse not legally separated and at least 18; unmarried minor children (including those of the spouse or born outside marriage, with the other parent's consent); dependent adult children who cannot provide for themselves because of a state of health entailing total invalidity; dependent parents with no other children in the country of origin, or parents over 65 whose other children cannot support them for documented serious health reasons.
Family may apply at the same timeYes as of 2026-08-04[6]
Family members' work rightsfull as of 2026-08-04[6][8]
Family members receive a permesso di soggiorno per motivi familiari under TU art. 30(2)-(3), which allows registration with employment services and both employed and self-employed work; art. 27-quater(16) allows its conversion into a work or study permit.
Additional means per family member
    • Relation: spouse
    • Amount: 0.50 × social allowance (annualised total) per year as of 2026-08-04[2][7]
      TU art. 29(3)(b): the sponsor's minimum annual income must be not below the annual amount of the assegno sociale increased by half the assegno sociale for each family member to be reunited; for two or more children under 14 the floor is twice the annual assegno sociale (13 monthly instalments; see it-assegno-sociale.annualisation_factor).
    • Relation: minor child
    • Amount: 0.50 × social allowance (annualised total) per year as of 2026-08-04[2][7]
      TU art. 29(3)(b): the sponsor's minimum annual income must be not below the annual amount of the assegno sociale increased by half the assegno sociale for each family member to be reunited; for two or more children under 14 the floor is twice the annual assegno sociale (13 monthly instalments; see it-assegno-sociale.annualisation_factor).
    • Relation: adult dependent child
    • Amount: 0.50 × social allowance (annualised total) per year as of 2026-08-04[2][7]
      TU art. 29(3)(b): the sponsor's minimum annual income must be not below the annual amount of the assegno sociale increased by half the assegno sociale for each family member to be reunited (13 monthly instalments; see it-assegno-sociale.annualisation_factor).
    • Relation: parent
    • Amount: 0.50 × social allowance (annualised total) per year as of 2026-08-04[2][7]
      TU art. 29(3)(b): the sponsor's minimum annual income must be not below the annual amount of the assegno sociale increased by half the assegno sociale for each family member to be reunited (13 monthly instalments; see it-assegno-sociale.annualisation_factor).

Your next step

Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.

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Verification

Verification
Sources cited10
of which official (tier 1)9
Oldest as-of date2026-08-04
Newest as-of date2026-08-04
Reviewed on2026-08-11
Schema version1.1

Sources

  1. [1] DPR 394/1999, art. 13 – Rinnovo del permesso di soggiorno (consolidated, in force)
    Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy
  2. [2] Circolare INPS n. 153 del 19-12-2025, Allegato 2 – importi pensioni e assegno sociale 2026
    INPS · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-19 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy
  3. [3] Carta blu Ue, le nuove regole per i lavoratori stranieri piu' qualificati
    Portale Integrazione Migranti (Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04
  4. [4] Ingressi e soggiorno per lavoro – approfondimento
    Portale Integrazione Migranti (Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04
  5. [5] La nuova carta blu Italia
    LEXIA Avvocati (italianvisa.it) · law firm · Tier 2 · Accessed 2026-08-04
  6. [6] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 27-quater – Ingresso e soggiorno per lavoratori altamente qualificati. Rilascio della Carta blu UE (consolidated, in force)
    Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04
  7. [7] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 29 – Ricongiungimento familiare (consolidated, in force)
    Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy
  8. [8] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 30 – Permesso di soggiorno per motivi familiari (consolidated, in force)
    Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04
  9. [9] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 9 – Permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo (consolidated, in force)
    Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy
  10. [10] EU long-term residence permit
    Welcome Office Friuli Venezia Giulia (Regione Autonoma FVG) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy

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