NASPI for former frontiersmen: requirements and calculation

Context

In a nutshell

• NASpI is the Italian unemployment benefit paid by INPS, created by Legislative Decree 22/2015: the New Cross-Border Workers Agreement did not introduce it.
• A cross-border worker living in Italy who loses a job in Switzerland receives it from INPS as the State of residence (Art. 65 of Regulation (EC) 883/2004).
• 13 weeks of contributions in the previous four years are enough, Swiss periods included: there is no requirement of 12 months of work or of a minimum income.
• In 2026 the benefit is 75% of the average monthly salary up to €1,456.72, plus 25% of the part above it, up to €1,584.70 a month.

Key facts

• Who: cross-border workers living in Italy who become wholly unemployed after working in Switzerland.
• Contribution requirement: 13 weeks of contributions in the four years before unemployment.
• 2026 amount: 75% of the average monthly salary up to €1,456.72, plus 25% of the excess, with a cap of €1,584.70 a month.
• Reduction: 3% a month from the sixth month of payment, from the eighth month for those aged 55 or over on the date of the application.
• Duration: half of the contribution weeks of the last four years, up to 24 months.
• Application: to INPS within 68 days of the end of employment, with the portable document U1.

NASpI (Nuova Assicurazione Sociale per l'Impiego) has existed since 2015 and is not a new benefit for cross-border workers. The New Cross-Border Workers Agreement, signed on 23 December 2020, in force since 17 July 2023 and applied from 1 January 2024, concerns the taxation of employment income. Its ratification law, Law 83/2023, contains in Art. 7 a rule on the NASpI amount for cross-border workers, explained below; the requirements remain those of Legislative Decree 22/2015.

Requirements to access NASpI

To obtain NASpI, the cross-border worker must:

• be involuntarily unemployed: dismissal or expiry of a fixed-term contract. Voluntary resignation excludes NASpI, except resignation for just cause and termination by mutual consent within the conciliation procedure;
• have at least 13 weeks of contributions in the four years before unemployment began. Periods of work in Switzerland count too, certified by the portable document U1 (Art. 61 of Regulation (EC) 883/2004);
• have lived in Italy during the last employment in Switzerland: that is why NASpI is paid by INPS as the State of residence (Art. 65).

The requirement of 30 days of actual work in the previous 12 months no longer applies to unemployment events from 1 January 2022. There is no requirement of 12 months of work in the last 18 months, of a minimum income or of “insurance coverage”: none of these conditions appears in Legislative Decree 22/2015.

Calculation of the NASpI allowance

INPS starts from the average monthly salary: it adds up the salaries subject to social security contributions over the last four years, divides the total by the contribution weeks and multiplies the result by 4.33 (Art. 4(1) of Legislative Decree 22/2015). For a cross-border worker the reference salary is the one earned in Switzerland (Art. 62 of Regulation (EC) 883/2004). On the average monthly salary, in 2026:

• the allowance is 75% up to €1,456.72;
• if the salary exceeds €1,456.72, 25% of the difference is added;
• the amount cannot exceed €1,584.70 a month (INPS circular no. 4/2026).

The cap is reached with an average salary of €3,425.36: from that figure upwards the allowance stays at €1,584.70. From the first day of the sixth month of payment the amount falls by 3% each month; for those aged 55 or over on the date of the application the reduction starts from the eighth month (Art. 4(3)).

Art. 7 of Law 83/2023 provides that, for cross-border workers, NASpI in the first three months equals the benefit calculated under Swiss legislation, when that is higher. As of September 2026 the measure is not yet applied, so INPS pays the ordinary amounts described above.

Operational details

Practical examples

The examples start from the average monthly salary expressed in euros and use the 2026 values.

• Example 1, average salary €1,400: below the threshold, so NASpI is 75% of €1,400, i.e. €1,050.00 a month.
• Example 2, average salary €2,000: 75% of €1,456.72 (€1,092.54) plus 25% of €543.28 (€135.82), i.e. €1,228.36 a month.
• Example 3, average salary €3,000: €1,092.54 plus 25% of €1,543.28 (€385.82), i.e. €1,478.36 a month.
• Example 4, average salary €5,000: the calculation would give €1,092.54 plus €885.82 (25% of €3,543.28), i.e. €1,978.36, but the amount stops at the cap of €1,584.70 a month. From the sixth month it falls to €1,537.16 and then keeps falling by 3% each month.

Duration: NASpI lasts half of the contribution weeks of the last four years, not counting periods already used for other unemployment benefits (Art. 5). With four full years of contributions (208 weeks) it is paid for 104 weeks, about 24 months; with two years (104 weeks) for 52 weeks, about 12 months.

Comparison of practical scenarios

• Scenario A: a cross-border worker living in the province of Como, dismissed in Lugano after three years of work (156 weeks), with an average salary of €4,000. They meet the 13-week requirement and receive the cap of €1,584.70 for 78 weeks (about 18 months), with the 3% reduction from the sixth month.
• Scenario B: the same worker, but aged 57 on the date of the application and with four full years of contributions. NASpI lasts 104 weeks and the reduction starts from the eighth month.
• Scenario C: a cross-border worker who resigns without just cause to change career. They are not entitled to NASpI, whatever their contribution record.
• Scenario D: a cross-border worker who worked in Switzerland for only 4 months (about 17 weeks) after a period without contributions. They exceed 13 weeks and are entitled to NASpI for about 8 weeks, half of 17.

Useful tools to protect your net income

To reduce FX leakage, compare CHF-EUR exchange options and banks for cross-border workers.

Key points

How to apply

1. Ask a Swiss unemployment fund for the portable document U1: it certifies the contribution periods completed in Switzerland and lets you use them in Italy. For Italian cross-border workers the funds usually ask for the employer's certificate and the payslips of the last four years. 2. Apply to INPS within 68 days of the end of employment: online with SPID, CIE or CNS, through a patronato or via the contact centre. If the U1 is missing, INPS requests the data from the Swiss institution. 3. NASpI is due from the eighth day after the end of employment or, if the application is filed later, from the day after the application (Art. 6).

Operational checklist

• Keep the dismissal letter, the contracts and the Swiss payslips of the last four years.
• Ask a Swiss unemployment fund for the U1 document straight away.
• Apply to INPS within 68 days of the end of employment.
• Check that the average salary used by INPS matches your Swiss salaries.
• Allow for the 3% monthly reduction from the sixth month (from the eighth if you are 55 or over).

Rules

• Legislative Decree 22/2015: Art. 3 (requirements), Art. 4 (amount and reduction), Art. 5 (duration), Art. 6 (application and start date).
• Regulation (EC) 883/2004, which also applies in relations with Switzerland: Art. 61 (foreign periods), Art. 62 (salary of the last employment), Art. 65 (a wholly unemployed cross-border worker receives the benefit from the State of residence).
• Law 83/2023, Art. 7: Swiss amount in the first three months, if higher; not yet applied as of September 2026.

The Swiss unemployment fund does not pay the benefit to a wholly unemployed cross-border worker living in Italy. The revision of the Regulation under discussion in the EU does not apply directly to Switzerland (SECO, July 2026).

References

Sources: Legislative Decree no. 22 of 4 March 2015, Arts. 3-6 (https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2015-03-04;22); Ministry of Labour, NASpI page (https://www.lavoro.gov.it/temi-e-priorita/ammortizzatori-sociali/focus-on/indennita-disoccupazione/naspi/pagine/naspi); INPS circular no. 2 of 4 January 2022 (https://www.inps.it/it/it/inps-comunica/atti/circolari-messaggi-e-normativa/dettaglio.circolari-e-messaggi.2022.01.circolare-numero-2-del-04-01-2022_13665.html); INPS circular no. 4 of 28 January 2026, 2026 amounts (https://www.inps.it/it/it/inps-comunica/atti/circolari-messaggi-e-normativa/dettaglio.circolari-e-messaggi.2026.01.circolare-numero-4-del-28-01-2026_15147.html); INPS, page on the unemployment benefit for cross-border workers (https://www.inps.it/it/it/dettaglio-scheda.it.schede-servizio-strumento.schede-servizi.50188.Indennit--di-disoccupazione-lavoratori-frontalieri-e-diversi-dai-frontalieri%2C-prevista-dai-Regolamenti-UE-di-sicurezza-sociale.html); Regulation (EC) no. 883/2004, Arts. 61, 62 and 65 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02004R0883-20190731); SECO, Regulation 883/2004 and unemployed cross-border workers (https://www.arbeit.swiss/it/centro-dinformazione/regolamento-8832004-ue); Law no. 83 of 13 June 2023, Art. 7 (https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:2023-06-13;83~art7); Swiss Federal Council, entry into force of the Cross-Border Workers Agreement, 19 July 2023 (https://www.admin.ch/it/nsb?id=96751); Unia unemployment fund, PD U1 document (https://cassa-disoccupazione.unia.ch/indennita/internazionale-pd-u1-cittadin-ue/aels).