Seasonal jobs in Italy: harvests, beach resorts and the decreto flussi

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What seasonal work is there in Italy?

Italian lavoro stagionale relies on agriculture, which depends heavily on foreign labour, and on one of Europe’s largest tourism industries, from Adriatic beaches to the northern lakes and the Dolomites. Both sectors offer contracts lasting from a few weeks to several months.

In the fields, the work involves picking, pruning, sorting and packing. In hospitality, waiters, bartenders, cooks, housekeepers, receptionists and entertainers dominate. Italian is appreciated everywhere and essential for any customer-facing role.

Farming regions and crops

Trentino-Alto Adige and the Val di Non supply a large share of Europe’s apples. Piedmont’s Langhe, Tuscany’s Chianti, Veneto’s Prosecco hills and Sicily organise the grape harvest. Puglia, around Foggia, harvests processing tomatoes.

Calabria and Sicily produce citrus and olives in winter, Emilia-Romagna fruit and vegetables, and Campania market garden crops. Southern regions recruit heavily, but they are also where exploitation risks are highest.

• Vineyards: harvest and canopy work from Tuscany to Friuli.
• Orchards: apples, pears, kiwis, peaches and cherries.
• Vegetables: tomatoes, melons, greenhouse crops.
• Citrus and olives: Sicily, Calabria, Puglia.

Italy’s seasonal calendar

The summer tourist season and the grape harvest overlap in September, which strains recruitment. Nevertheless, the main working windows remain stable from one year to the next.

Lakes, art cities and mountains

Lake Garda, Lake Como and Lake Maggiore recruit from April to October. In winter, Dolomite resorts such as Cortina d’Ampezzo and Val Gardena, and those of the Aosta Valley, hire for hotels, mountain huts and ski lifts.

Who can work a season in Italy?

Europeans work freely, while third-country nationals must come within the decreto flussi, which sets each year the number of seasonal work authorisations in agriculture and tourism.

EU citizens

An EU, EEA or Swiss national needs no permit. They must obtain a codice fiscale from the tax authority and, for stays over three months, register with the anagrafe of their municipality of residence.

The decreto flussi for non-EU nationals

The 2026-2028 decreto flussi provides 88,000 seasonal entries in agriculture and tourism for 2026, 89,000 for 2027 and 90,000 for 2028. Employers filed applications on click days of 12 January 2026 for agriculture and 9 February for tourism.

Applications remain possible until 31 December 2026 within the quotas, with priority for workers who did a season in Italy in the previous five years. The seasonal nulla osta is processed with priority, then the residence contract is signed online within eight days.

Length of the seasonal permit

The residence permit for seasonal work covers at most nine months in any twelve-month period. It does not allow the holder to stay in Italy beyond that, except for conversion in cases provided by law, notably after several regular seasons.

Pay and working conditions

Italy has no statutory minimum wage. Pay depends on national collective agreements, applied at provincial level in agriculture, and on the tourism and hospitality agreement, which set hourly or monthly wages by grade.

Farm collective agreements

Seasonal farm workers, known as operai a tempo determinato, are paid according to provincial scales, by the hour or by the six-and-a-half-hour day. Differences between provinces are real, so always ask which scale applies.

Tourism and hospitality

In tourism, the collective agreement sets monthly wages by grade, with a thirteenth and often fourteenth month paid pro rata. Board and lodging are frequently provided in hotels, especially in remote resorts, and must appear in the contract.

Contributions and seasonal unemployment

Declared seasonal workers contribute to INPS, the social security institute. Farm and tourism workers may, under conditions, receive unemployment benefits between seasons. A declared contract is therefore also an investment for the following year.

Steps to land a season in Italy

The Italian market works largely through networks, agencies and rehiring. The steps below mainly apply to Europeans; for others, everything goes through the employer and the decreto flussi.

1. Choose the sector and region, then check the season’s calendar.
2. Prepare a CV in Italian with availability, languages and similar experience.
3. Search vacancies through EURES and regional employment centres.
4. Write directly to hotels, campsites, farm cooperatives and wine estates two to four months ahead.
5. Obtain a codice fiscale and open a bank account or prepaid card with an IBAN.
6. Insist on a written contract stating agreement, grade, pay, hours and housing.
7. Non-EU nationals should check the employer has obtained the nulla osta before applying for a visa.

Caporalato and other traps

Caporalato, illegal recruitment by gangmasters who take part of workers’ wages, remains a serious problem in Italian agriculture. These warning signs should alert any candidate.

• An intermediary who organises transport and pays cash for a commission.
• No written contract or INPS registration.
• Overcrowded housing charged against wages.
• A nulla osta promised in exchange for payment: only the employer can apply.
• Very long days paid at a flat rate without a record of hours.

Benchmarks and documents

The table below summarises the main administrative and pay benchmarks. Without a statutory minimum wage, always check the applicable collective agreement scale before signing.

Finding accommodation

In beach and mountain resorts, summer and winter rents are high. A job with board and lodging, common in hospitality, cuts costs significantly. In agriculture, check the quality and real cost of any housing offered.

Frequently asked questions

These answers address the questions most frequently asked by European and international candidates interested in a farm or tourism season in Italy.

How much does a seasonal farm worker earn in Italy?

There is no single national figure: pay depends on the provincial agreement and the grade. Ask for the hourly or daily scale of the province concerned and check it appears on the payslip, the busta paga.

Can a Moroccan or Indian national work the grape harvest?

Yes, if an Italian employer obtains a seasonal nulla osta within the decreto flussi quotas. The worker then applies for a visa at the consulate and signs the residence contract after arriving in Italy.

Do I need Italian for a summer job?

Not for picking, although a few words help. In hotels and restaurants Italian is usually expected, and English or German are sought after in very touristy areas such as Lake Garda or South Tyrol.

What is a click day?

It is the date from which employers can submit nulla osta applications online under the decreto flussi. Applications are processed in order of arrival until quotas run out, which is why careful preparation matters.