Moving to Italy

Note: If you  like to discuss Moving to Italy ifplease use the forum at http://my.lifeinitaly.com

The following are guidelines ONLY, not legal advice. We are not lawyers. All information on this site is believed to be accurate, and we strive to correct errors and keep information current. Please notify us if you believe any information to be incorrect or out-of-date. However, we disclaim liability for any errors or omissions, and we will not be held responsible for any direct, indirect, or consequential damages resulting from anyone's reliance on or use of the information on this web site.

Visas: Italian law requires all civilians who enter Italy, except European Union citizens, to obtain visas prior to their entry into Italy. This law does not require active duty service members to have visas. Civilians who are visiting Italy for less than 90 days as tourists do not need one of these types of visas. Italian government officials will send those without proper documentation required by Italian Law back to their country of origin at their own expense. What type of Visa do I need? Members of the U.S. civilian component and U.S. contract workers who are pending orders to Italy must obtain visas for work purposes ("visto per motivo di lavoro") prior to coming to Italy. Family members of the U.S. military or civilian component and dependents of U.S. contract workers must obtain visas for family purposes ("visto per motivi di famiglia") prior to coming to Italy. Obtaining your Visa: For a listing of the Italian Consulate Offices, try their web site at http://www.italyemb.org/consolati.htm

Work Permit for seasonal work

Permit of stay will be issued if the request is presented by one of the following:

1) Italian or foreign employers legally residing in Italy
2) Trade associations on behalf of their associates

Italian or foreign employers residing legally in Italy, or trade associations which, on behalf of their associates, intend to establish a seasonal working relationship in Italy, must present a registered request to the areas' department office of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

The same office will issue an authorization within 15 days: the permit is valid for a minimum 20 days and a maximum of 6 or 9 months, depending on duration of the seasonal work required.
With this authorization which will be sent to your country of origin, you will be issued an entrance visa by the Italian Embassy or Consulate which will permit you, once in Italy, to obtain a work permit for the time agreed upon.
PLEASE NOTE: you can convert your seasonal work permit into a work permit for dependent labor for a limited or unlimited time if the conditions to do so exist.

Work Permit for Independent Work

If you intend to carry out occasional independent work in Italy which is not reserved to Italian or European citizens, you must demonstrate four things:
• that you dispose of sufficient means for the type of activity you intend to practice (commercial, industrial, handicrafts, professional etc);
• that you hold the requisites to practice such a profession under Italian law (i.e. requirements for guilds or professional registers);
• that you hold a certificate issued by a competent authority, not older than three months, attesting that there is no impediments to issuing an authorization or a license to practice that profession;
• that you have at your disposal a place to live and an annual income.

PROCEDURES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Italian diplomatic authorities in your country of origin will issue an entrance visa after verifying the requirements are met and after receiving the Nulla Osta from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and the other Ministry having jurisdiction over the professional activity you wish to carry out.
After arriving in Italy and presenting to the Questura of the Municipality where you intend to work with all the general documentation required, you will be given a work permit.
Renewal. You need the following documents in addition to the general documentation:
• a photocopy of the tax identification number and a 740 tax return form;
• professional license, if required;
• certification of enrolment in the Chamber of Commerce, if required, or a professional guild.

Registering with a professional guild:

If you hold a university degree or a diploma issued in Italy or an equivalent degree obtained abroad and that may be recognized in Italy, you can take the professional qualifying examinations and enroll in the professional guild, in the derogation of the provisions that foresee the need to be an Italian citizen to practice professionally.
Today this rule has been overcome in the name of citizenship as well as reciprocity and, in essence, in order to enroll in a professional guild there are no limitations with the exception of the public administration sector.

The area of independent work for foreigners can be described as follows:

a) foreigners may not engage in independent professions such as: notary public, security and management of property, private investigator, attorney, stock broker, official auditor, Professional agent or broker, maritime broker;

b) foreigners may engage in independent professions such as: engineer and architect, industrial expert , agricultural expert, professional accountant, accountant, journalist, biologist, agronomist, forestry expert, business consultant, insurance broker, business agent, insurance broker, business agent, surveyor, agro-technician, customs broker, business agent and representative, psychologist, medical surgeon, orthodontist, veterinarian, pharmacist, obstetrician, gynecologist .

The application (on revenue stamped paper of 20.000 lira) for enrolment in a guild should be sent to the President of the board of the Professional association in the Municipality of residence and should include the following:

• birth certificate;
• residency certificate;
• certificate from the judicial register, issued no later than three months prior;
• diplomas and/or University degree (translated, legalized, certified for equivalency if they are from outside Italy);
• certification of authorization to practice following State exam, if required.
In the event of expulsion from a professional guild, it is possible to take legal action.

Permit to stay for studies:

A student visa is issued according to different procedures depending on the type of studies you intend to carry out in Italy. The permit of stay is valid for a period of one year maximum.
PLEASE NOTE: This type of permit of stay also allows you to obtain contract work for a period of no more than 20 hours weekly, 52 weeks a year for a total of 1040 hours, and only after authorization from the educational institution.

Renewal

In general, this type of permit is renewable for the entire study period. Your permit of stay will be renewed if after the first year of university you pass a verification of profit, for the following years at least two verifications. This type of permit cannot in any way exceed more than three years, other than its validity period.

Conversion

You can convert your permit of stay for study (before this permit expires) into a work permit if the conditions to do so exist and within the limits of quotas established annually by Decree by the President of the Council of Ministers of stay for studies.
A student visa is issued according to different procedures depending on the type of studies you intend to carry out in Italy. The permit of stay is valid for a period of one year maximum.
PLEASE NOTE: This type of permit of stay also allows you to obtain contract work for a period of no more that 20 hours weekly, 52 weeks a year for a total of 1040 hours, and only after authorisation from the educational institution.