How many hours per week can I work part-time in Italy while studying, and what's the typical hourly wage?

The 20-hour figure is well known, but the annual cap of 1,040 hours is the part students overlook, and it means you can't simply work 20 hours every single week of the year without eventually breaching the limit once university breaks and full-time periods are added in.

The 20-Hour Weekly and 1,040-Hour Annual Caps

• During term: subordinate employment under a student residence permit is capped at 20 hours a week.
• Annual ceiling: total work across the year cannot exceed 1,040 hours, so full-time work during breaks eats into the same allowance.
• Documentation: a valid Italian study visa, residence permit and Italian tax code (codice fiscale) are required before you can legally start work.

What You Can Realistically Earn

Italy has no single national minimum wage; pay is set through sector-specific collective agreements, so your actual rate depends heavily on the job and city. Café, retail and hospitality roles commonly pay EUR 7-11 an hour, while tutoring or skilled student work can reach EUR 10-20 an hour. At 20 hours a week, that works out to roughly EUR 693 at the lower end and about EUR 1,040 gross a month at the higher end, before tax.

This Information Is Also Available On

• EURES (European Commission's job mobility portal)
• Portale Integrazione Migranti (Italian Ministry of Interior)

My Advice

In my experience, part-time work in Italy comfortably covers pocket money and some living costs but rarely covers rent on its own in cities like Milan, so budget your core expenses from savings or a loan and treat this income as a supplement. Tutoring and language-teaching roles consistently pay above retail and hospitality rates, so it's worth applying for those even if they take longer to secure.