NASpI: Who Qualifies for Italy's Unemployment Benefit and How to Apply

In a nutshell

NASpI (Italy's unemployment benefit — Nuova Assicurazione Sociale per l'Impiego) is the monthly payment that INPS (Italy's social-security agency — pensions, unemployment, family benefits) sends you when you lose your job through no choice of your own. It covers dismissals, expired fixed-term contracts, and resignations for just cause. The minimum contribution requirement is 13 weeks of paid-in contributions over the past 4 years, and the application — which is free — must be submitted within 68 days of your employment ending. Miss that deadline and there's no extension.

At a glance

Cost	Free, whichever method you use
Timeline	Apply within 68 days of your last day (hard deadline). First payment typically arrives within 45–60 days of your application
Where in Rome	Online at inps.it; patronato offices (ACLI, INCA, ITAL, INAS); INPS Rome branches (by appointment); Contact Center 803 164 (free from Italian landlines)
Documents	SPID / CIE / CNS login, IBAN, details of the job you lost (employer, national collective contract, end date), tax certificates (CU) for the past 4 years

Who can claim NASpI

You can apply if you lost your job involuntarily. You qualify if you were:

• dismissed for any reason (including dismissal for cause initiated by the employer)
• on a fixed-term contract that expired
• forced to resign for just cause — i.e., because of unpaid wages, failure to pay INPS contributions, workplace harassment (mobbing), or a significant worsening of your role or working conditions
• on maternity leave and your resignation falls within the protected period (pregnancy through the child's first year of life)
• covered by a consensual termination reached through the mandatory conciliation procedure at the ITL (Ispettorato Territoriale del Lavoro — the local labour inspectorate), for companies with more than 15 employees citing objective business reasons

You cannot claim NASpI if you resigned voluntarily without just cause, or if you agreed to end your contract outside a protected venue.

On top of the involuntary job loss, you need at least 13 weeks of unemployment contributions in the 4 years before you stopped working. These include contributions from private-sector employment, as well as notional contributions credited for compulsory maternity leave, sick leave, and parental leave (up to the child's fifth birthday). Since 1 January 2022, the old requirement of 30 working days in the previous 12 months no longer applies — it was repealed by Legge 234/2021.

How much you'll get and for how long

The amount is based on the average of your taxable earnings over the last 4 years:

• 75% of your average monthly salary up to €1,425.21 (2026 threshold)
• + 25% of any amount above that threshold
• maximum cap: €1,550.42 gross per month (2026)

Some real-world examples using 2026 figures: if your average gross salary was €1,000 a month, you receive €750; with €1,500 you'd get roughly €1,087; at €3,000 or more, you hit the cap at €1,550.

Starting from month 6, the amount is reduced by 3% each month (a mechanism known as décalage). If you were at least 55 years old when your job ended, the reduction only kicks in from month 8.

The duration equals half the number of contribution weeks you accumulated in the previous 4 years, up to a maximum of 24 months. Example: 100 contribution weeks in the reference four-year period gives you 50 weeks of NASpI.

How to apply: step by step

On the day your employment ends (through dismissal, contract expiry, or agreement), keep the following documents safe: the dismissal letter or termination agreement, your last few payslips, the CU (tax certificate) for the past 4 years, and the UNILAV termination notice.

Within 68 days, submit your application through one of these channels:

• Online at inps.it: log in with your SPID, CIE, or CNS → MyINPS → "Tutti i servizi" → "Disoccupazione: domanda NASpI". Enter the details of your former job, your IBAN for payment, and the DID (dichiarazione di immediata disponibilità al lavoro — declaration that you are immediately available for work).
• Patronato office (ACLI, INCA, ITAL, INAS): Patronato offices are free union-run offices that handle social-security and immigration paperwork on your behalf. They submit the application for you at no charge.
• INPS Contact Center: 803 164 (free from an Italian landline) or 06 164 164 (from a mobile, charged at your operator's rate).

When your payment starts depends on when you apply. If you apply within 8 days of your last day, NASpI is backdated to the 8th day after your employment ended. If you apply between day 9 and day 68, it starts the day after you submit. The first payment normally arrives within 45–60 days of your application.

Obligations you must meet to keep receiving NASpI

Collecting NASpI isn't passive. You must register with your local Centro per l'Impiego (CPI) — the public employment centre — within 60 days of applying. In Rome, CPIs are run by Regione Lazio (portal: lavoro.regione.lazio.it). You are expected to attend any interviews or training sessions you are called to, and to accept "suitable" job offers — defined as offering at least 80% of your previous salary and located within 50 km or 80 minutes of your home.

If you start any new work — employed or self-employed — you must notify INPS within 30 days by submitting the NASpI-Com form online. NASpI doesn't automatically stop: if your new earnings from employment stay below €8,500 gross per year, or from self-employment below €5,500 per year, the benefit is reduced by 80% of your income rather than cancelled entirely.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Waiting for your final payslip before applying. The 68-day clock starts the day after your employment ends — not the day you get paid. Count carefully and don't wait.
2. Not reporting new work. Starting a job without telling INPS within 30 days causes NASpI to be cancelled and requires you to repay what you received. The NASpI-Com form is submitted online.
3. Confusing NASpI with voluntary resignation. A straightforward resignation does not qualify. If you had a genuine reason to quit — unpaid wages, harassment, significantly changed conditions — make sure you select "dimissioni per giusta causa" (resignation for just cause) when submitting your resignation through the official online portal, ideally with union support.

Special cases

You are a non-EU national: you have every right to NASpI provided you meet the contribution requirements. Receiving NASpI also lets you convert your permesso di soggiorno (residence permit for non-EU citizens) into a permit for job-seeking when it expires (minimum duration: 1 year).

You have fewer than 13 weeks of contributions: NASpI is not available. Register with your local Centro per l'Impiego and check whether you qualify for the Assegno di Inclusione (AdI) — Italy's means-tested income-support benefit.

You worked in another EU country: contributions paid in other EU/EEA countries can be totalled up using U1 forms issued by the foreign social-security authority. Patronato offices handle this procedure free of charge.

You want to start a business or go self-employed: you can ask for your remaining NASpI to be paid as a lump sum in advance. Submit the request within 30 days of starting your activity. The procedure is at inps.it → MyINPS area → "NASpI anticipata liquidazione unica soluzione".

You found a short fixed-term job: if your new contract lasts 6 months or less, NASpI is suspended and resumes once the contract ends. If it lasts more than 6 months, the benefit is cancelled.

Official sources

• INPS — NASpI service page
• INPS — Unemployment NASpI
• Ministry of Labour — NASpI overview
• ANPAL — Assegno di Ricollocazione
• Regione Lazio — Employment and CPIs
• Porta Futuro Lazio

Legal references: D.Lgs. 22/2015 artt. 1–15, Legge 92/2012, Legge 234/2021 art. 1 c. 221, D.Lgs. 150/2015.