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Italy Is Recruiting 65 Thousand Foreign Health Professionals: Salaries Up to €7,000 (R$ 44,6 thousand), Housing, Flight Tickets, and Italian Language Course
The scene is clear: public and private hospitals in Italy operating at the limit, increasing queues, and empty shifts. The press and industry entities themselves report a shortage of about 65,000 nurses – a number that pushes the system into a global talent race. For Brazilians, the package comes with attractive features: offers that can reach €7,000/month for specialist doctors (R$ 44.6 thousand), in addition to housing, air travel, and language courses covered by employers in certain regional and private programs. It’s the rare combination of competitive salary, legal entry point, and real demand.
Salaries in Italy: Doctors and Nurses in Numbers (and What Is Gross vs. Net)
At the top of the career ladder, specialist doctors can achieve monthly salaries exceeding €7,000 (gross), depending on specialty, region, seniority, and shifts.
Market salary estimates indicate annual averages around €130,000 for doctors, with ceilings well above that in senior positions or with complementary activities.
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Labor shortage: Switzerland is ‘desperate’ to find 40,000 workers, and Brazilians in this situation can apply.
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Brazil reaches the lowest unemployment rate in history and launches job openings, internships, and 10,000 free courses in 2026.
Nurses vary depending on the region and contract, with annual averages around €46,000–50,000 (gross) in major Northern cities. Attention: the tax burden and contract deductions reduce the net amount, making it essential to evaluate the cost of living and contract before making a decision.
Milleproroghe Decree: Temporary Recognition of Diplomas
Article 15 of Decree-Law 34/2023, known as the Bollette Decree, opened the possibility for exceptional temporary practice of health professions with qualifications obtained abroad, to address the chronic staff shortage.
This special pathway was first extended until December 31, 2025, and then further extended until December 31, 2027.
In practice, regions and health structures can hire foreign professionals under specific rules, while full recognition is processed through ordinary channels.
How Hiring Works: Language, Professional Order, and Regional Pathways
Even with the temporary pathway, basic rules remain: prove diploma, training history, and adequate Italian proficiency; and for regular practice, obtain ministerial recognition and registration with the competent professional order — OPI for nurses and Ordine dei Medici for doctors.
Some regions have structured notices and their own channels to expedite the entry process, including local language assessment and fixed-term contracts.
Italy operates with annual quotas under the Flussi Decree. For 2023–2025, the government has planned 452,000 entries between seasonal and non-seasonal, with 151,000 authorizations in 2024 and 165,000 in 2025.
In June 2025, the cabinet announced a further step: nearly 500,000 additional visas for 2026–2028, raising the legal offer of foreign labor to fill critical sectors, including health. For Brazilian candidates, this means more application windows and less bottleneck in processing.
Extra Benefits: Housing, Flight Tickets, and Language Course, Who Pays?
The mentioned benefits — housing, flight tickets, Italian course — are not guarantees from the central government. They arise in regional programs, hospitals, foundations, or private agencies that want to make the position more attractive.
It is common to see relocation assistance and language training sponsored by the employer, especially in cities with a greater deficit. But each notice should be read carefully: who offers what, for how long, and under what conditions of permanence.
Where Is the Greatest Demand (and Why)
The gap is deeper in regions with an aging population, historical cuts in investment, and the exit of professionals to other European countries with higher salaries.
The result is increasing pressure for shifts, closure of services, and a talent war competing for nurses and doctors in the global market.
Official reports have been warning about the chronic under-supply and the urgency of planning the health workforce.
Step by Step for Brazilians (Practical Summary)
Map the job: start with regional public hospitals and private networks; check language requirements and the legal basis for hiring.
Diploma and documents: gather transcripts, curricula, professional registration in Brazil, and sworn translations.
Temporary pathway: confirm whether the region or hospital uses Article 15 of DL 34/2023; contracts are usually for fixed terms.
Recognition and order: for regular practice, submit recognition to the Ministry of Health and register with the professional order.
Visa and permesso: apply for a work visa under the Flussi Decree; upon arrival, convert it to a permesso di soggiorno within the legal timeframe.
Contract and benefits: validate gross vs. net salary, schedules, and benefits for housing, flight tickets, and course.
Citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis) does not depend on working two years in Italy, as many believe.
The current rules have tightened access to remote connections and centralized analyses, prioritizing direct lines — parents and grandparents. Work alone does not generate citizenship. Each case requires specific documentary analysis, done in notaries and consulates.
Opportunity with Reality Check
Yes, there is real demand and more open legal pathways than in the recent past. But the route requires documentary organization, functional Italian, understanding gross and net salaries, and attention to regional rules.
The upside: competitive salaries for doctors, stable progress in public or private networks, and the chance to build a European résumé.
The downside: high cost of living in major centers, bureaucracy, and increasing competition as more candidates enter the game.
With multi-year quotas and the projection of nearly 500,000 visas by 2028, Italy signals that it will have a long window for qualified immigration. Health will continue to be at the forefront: aging, retirements, and training deficits keep the market warm — and those who arrive prepared, documented, and with language skills at the ready are likely to get ahead.
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