Work in Italy as a foreign doctor, nurse or AHP (2026)

• Ministero della SaluteMinistry of Health (DGPROF), recognition of foreign health qualifications

  Recognition of doctors', nurses', dentists', pharmacists', midwives' and other health titles obtained abroad

  Read the registration guide

• Ordini (OMCeO, OPI)Ordini delle professioni sanitarie (OMCeO, OPI and other federations)

  Registers (albi) of doctors, dentists, nurses and other health professions, with the Italian language check

  Read the registration guide

1. 1

   1. Check which Ministry procedure applies to you

   If your title was obtained outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you use the Ministry's procedure for non-EU qualifications, whatever your nationality. Doctors use Modello D1 with Allegato D1, nurses use Modello D2-1 INF with Allegato D2-1. A separate form (D4 for doctors) exists for EU citizens whose non-EU title is already formally recognised in another EU country. The Ministry does not assess documents before you apply, so read the attachment list for your profession carefully.
2. 2

   2. Get the Declaration of Value from the Italian consulate

   You need an original dichiarazione di valore from the Italian embassy or consulate in the country that issued your diploma. It confirms the issuing authority, the entry requirements of the course, the length of the course, that the title allows you to practise there, and what you may do with it. Many applicants underestimate how long this takes, so request it early.
3. 3

   3. Collect the rest of the documents and legalise them

   The list includes a certified copy of your diploma with a transcript showing hours per subject (theory and practical training separately), your licence and registration in the country of training where they exist, a certificate of good standing and a certificate of no criminal impediments (both originals, no more than three months old), and certificates of any work since qualifying. Documents from non-EU countries need legalisation by the Italian consulate or an apostille. Nurses also send a signed, dated CV.
4. 4

   4. Translate everything into Italian

   Every document in another language needs an Italian translation certified by the Italian consulate in the issuing country, or sworn before an Italian court. Copies must be certified by the consulate or, in Italy, by a notary, a court clerk or any municipal office. The Ministry asks for certified copies, not originals, and says it is not responsible for originals it did not request.
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   5. Apply to the Ministry of Health and pay the stamp duty

   Send the form and documents to DGPROF, Office 2, Viale Giorgio Ribotta 5, 00144 Rome, and pay €16 stamp duty for each title, either online through the Ministry's payment platform or with a physical marca da bollo on the paper form. You can apply from abroad: the regulation says recognition may be requested by people not living in Italy. The Ministry's stated processing time is four months from a complete file.
6. 6

   6. Pass the compensatory measure if one is set

   If the Conferenza dei servizi finds gaps in your training, the decree makes recognition conditional on an aptitude test in Rome. Doctors sit a computer-based written test (30 multiple-choice questions per subject, at least 18 correct) and an oral. Nurses sit a multiple-choice test with two drug dosage problems, then a practical or oral test. If you fail, you can retake the whole test after at least six months.
7. 7

   7. Pass the Italian language and rules check at the Ordine

   Before registration, the Ordine checks your Italian and your knowledge of the rules on professional practice. Ordini set their own format: OPI Verona runs a written and oral exam on Italian and nursing law for a €100 fee, and OMCeO Milano asks for a B2 or, from 1 September 2026, a C1 certificate plus its own test. Ask your Ordine for its next session as soon as you have the decree.
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   8. Register in the albo within two years

   Register with the Ordine of the province where you live or have your professional address. You need an Italian tax code (codice fiscale), the registration fees, the government concession tax and stamp duty: OMCeO Milano lists €135, €168 and €16. If you do not register within two years of the decree, it loses its effect and you must ask the Ministry to renew it.
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   9. Find a job and secure the right permit

   Nurses hired by public or private health facilities can enter outside the annual quotas under article 27 of the immigration law, and other highly qualified roles can use the EU Blue Card. In both cases the employer applies for the work authorisation (nulla osta) at the Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione. The regulation states that entry to work in a health profession depends on recognition of your title by the Ministry.
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    10. If you are a specialist, recognise your specialist title next

    The Ministry only recognises a non-EU specialist title (form E1) after your basic medical or dental title has been recognised. Doctors sit a separate specialist aptitude test, a 90-minute written clinical case followed by an oral on the same day.

• Italy does not ask for an English test. The Ministry of Health's document lists for doctors and nurses trained outside the EU do not include one: the language requirement is Italian.
• DPR 394/1999 (article 50, paragraph 4) says registration in an albo or special list follows a check of your knowledge of Italian and of the special rules on professional practice in Italy. The Ordini (or the Ministry, for professions without an Ordine) carry out the check before registration, and you pay for it.
• There is no single national format. OMCeO Milano asks non-Italian doctors for an Italian certificate at CEFR B2 and states that C1 is required from 1 September 2026. It also requires a test at the Ordine on using Italian to write medical certificates and professional documents, with reference to the rules on practice in Italy.
• For nurses, OPI Verona runs an exam with a written and an oral part. If your Ministry decree requires only a language check, you sit the Italian test; if it also requires the professional rules, you sit Italian and nursing legislation. OPI Verona charges €100 to sit the exam.
• For some professions the Ministry can set an Italian language compensatory measure itself. It has, for example, published sessions of an Italian language aptitude test for speech and language therapists (logopedisti) qualified abroad.
• Every foreign-language document in your Ministry application must come with an Italian translation certified by the Italian consulate or sworn before an Italian court, so plan translation costs alongside language study.

• Nurses outside the quotas (article 27, paragraph 1, letter r-bis)

  Article 27 of the immigration law (Legislative Decree 286/1998) lists professional nurses hired by public and private health facilities among the categories that enter outside the annual quotas set by the decreto flussi. The employer applies for the nulla osta at the Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione of the prefecture. The regulation says entry to work in a health profession depends on prior recognition of your title by the Ministry of Health.

• EU Blue Card (article 27-quater)

  For highly qualified workers with at least a three-year higher education qualification or, for regulated professions, the requirements of Legislative Decree 206/2007. The employer applies with a contract or binding offer of at least six months, at a salary no lower than the relevant national collective agreement and no lower than the average gross annual salary measured by ISTAT; the EU Immigration Portal gives €33,500 as the threshold set in 2024. The Sportello Unico must issue or refuse the nulla osta within 30 days.

• Employment under the regional derogation

  Decree-law 34/2023, article 15, says that until 31 December 2029 articles 27 and 27-quater of the immigration law also apply to medical and nursing staff hired under the derogation, on self-employed or employment contracts that may last more than three months and be renewed. Law 199/2025 (article 1, paragraph 939) states these contracts can last until the regional recognition expires. Your regional authorisation and your employer decide where you may work.

• Ordinary work permit within the quotas

  Other employment uses the quota system under article 22. The Sportello Unico issues the nulla osta within a maximum of 60 days from allocation to the quotas, and it is valid for up to six months. Within 15 days of your arrival, you and your employer sign the contratto di soggiorno, which the employer sends to the Sportello Unico to start your residence permit application.

• Study visa for a compensatory measure

  If the Ministry makes your recognition conditional on a compensatory measure and you are abroad, DPR 394/1999 provides for an entry visa for study for the time needed to complete it. You can only register for an exam session once you have received the Ministry decree that assigns the measure.

• Temporary clinical authorisation for training (article 39-ter)

  Non-EU doctors joining a training or updating programme that involves clinical work at a hospital trust, university hospital or research hospital (IRCCS) can be authorised temporarily without full recognition. The host institution sends the application to the Ministry, and the decree allows clinical work only within that programme and that institution, for up to two years.

• EU, EEA and Swiss qualifications

  EU, EEA and Swiss citizens with a qualification from one of those countries use the right of establishment procedure under Directive 2005/36/EC and Legislative Decree 206/2007, which includes automatic recognition for doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and midwives. No work permit is needed, but the Ordine still checks Italian before registration.

Public health pay is set by national collective agreements published by ARAN. The figures are gross basic amounts from the CCNL Comparto Sanità 2022-2024 (signed 27 October 2025) and the CCNL Area Sanità 2022-2024 (signed 27 February 2026). They exclude shift, night and on-call pay, seniority and local supplements, which depend on the employer. A draft Area Sanità agreement for 2025-2027 was signed on 7 October 2026 but is not yet final. Private hospitals and clinics apply their own agreements or set pay themselves.

• Nursing specificity allowance (indennità di specificità infermieristica)

  €87.79 a month

  Paid for 12 months to nurses and paediatric nurses, from 1 January 2025.

• Patient care allowance, other health professions

  €51.97 a month (midwives €87.79)

  Indennità tutela del malato, for profiles such as physiotherapists and radiographers, from 1 January 2025.

• Hospital doctor (dirigente medico), basic pay

  €50,005.77 a year

  CCNL Area Sanità 2022-2024, stipendio tabellare including the 13th month, from 1 January 2024.

• Medical specificity allowance (indennità di specificità medica)

  €9,466 a year

  For doctors and veterinarians, including the 13th month, from 2025.

• Nurse, Area dei professionisti della salute e dei funzionari: €24,918.93 a year basic pay, plus a 13th monthCCNL Comparto Sanità 2022-2024, Table 2a, from 1 January 2024, paid over 12 months.
• Position pay, initial professional post (incarico professionale iniziale): Fixed part €2,511 a year, total up to €30,891Fixed part from 1 January 2024; the total with the variable part is capped at €30,891 for 13 months.