Italy guide 路 verified 2026-07-04
Working While Studying in Italy, and Staying After
Working & staying on
Students can work meaningful part-time hours during term and full-time during breaks, and after graduation Italy offers a 9 to 12 month permit to search for a job (full-time work allowed once converted) before converting to a work permit.
Work while studying
Up to 20 hrs/week during term
Full-time work is permitted during university breaks/holidays. The student residence permit does not need to be converted for this part-time work.
Post-study permit
9 to 12 month job-search permit (permesso di soggiorno per ricerca di un lavoro)
Non-renewable; available to graduates of a Bachelors, Masters, or PhD/equivalent higher technical diploma from an Italian institution, under Art. 39-bis.1 of the Immigration Consolidated Text (D.Lgs. 71/2018). Duration is set case-by-case between 9 and 12 months, not a flat year. It authorises staying to look for work, sign an employment contract, register a business, or apply to convert to a work permit, and once converted, the 20-hrs/week study-permit cap no longer applies, so full-time work is allowed during the search itself.
Conversion to work permit
Convert to permesso per lavoro subordinato once employed
Must be actioned before the job-search permit expires, once a qualifying job offer/contract is secured.
Work part-time within the term-time cap
Students may work up to 20 hours/week during lecture periods (cumulative annual cap of 1,040 hours/52 weeks), with full-time work allowed during university breaks. Typical roles: hospitality, retail, tutoring/language teaching, campus jobs.
Apply for the ricerca di un lavoro permit before the student permit expires
OptionalOnce studies are complete, register a declaration of immediate availability for work at the local Employment Centre (Centro per l'Impiego) and apply to convert the student permesso into the 9 to 12 month job-search residence permit before the current student permesso lapses. Once converted, the 20-hrs/week cap lifts, full-time work, starting a business, or signing a contract are all allowed while searching.
When: Before the student residence permit expiresConvert to a work permit on securing employment
OptionalOnce an employer is ready to hire, convert the permit to a standard work-based residence permit (permesso per lavoro subordinato) through the employer's nulla osta process, or register as self-employed if starting a business.
Where this fits
This is one step of the full Italy journey: admission, tests, application, visa, money, arrival and stay-back, every figure cited to an official source.
More on Italy
Bramica is independent and takes no commission from any university, recruiter or agency. This page is information, not immigration advice. Rules, fees and thresholds change; confirm the current requirement on the official source before acting on it.