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WORKING IN ITALY

Remote workers: What are your visa options when moving to Italy?

Italy does not (yet) have a special 'digital nomad' visa - so what other options are available to freelancers and remote workers? Here's what you need to know if you're planning a move.

Remote workers: What are your visa options when moving to Italy?
Living the remote-working dream in Italy will involve a bit of paperwork. So where should you start? Photo by David Espina on Unsplash

Italy has announced that a new visa option for ‘digital nomads’ or remote workers is on the way for non-EU nationals wanting to move to the country.

Though the government is yet to give details of how the application process will work, it’s hoped that the new visa will mean a far easier route to a new life in Italy for the growing number of people who can work from anywhere with just a laptop and an internet connection.

READ ALSO: What do we know so far about Italy’s digital nomad visa?

The idea of swapping a spare bedroom office in colder climes for a new life in Italy is proving especially tempting in combination with the country’s growing number of discount home purchase or rental schemes aimed at repopulating remote, rural villages.

While it is possible for many non-EU nationals to spend up to 90 days in Italy without any visa at all, those wishing to work legally while here must apply for a visa and work permit

And the current visa options available are not always viable for self-employed freelancers and remote workers, immigration law experts say, due to the strict quotas and requirements involved.

Here’s a breakdown of the other visa options available at the moment for those hoping to make the move to Italy.

Self-employment visa

The self-employment visa, or visto per lavoro autonomo, is the permit that most non-EU freelancers would probably expect to apply for when seeking to move to Italy for work.

Successful applications, however, are rare.

So rare, in fact, that Costanza Petreni, a senior immigration consultant at the immigration firm Mazzeschi, says she actively discourages clients from taking this route.

READ ALSO: Working remotely from Italy: What are the rules for foreigners?

“We have so many clients asking for this type of application, because in the absence of a digital nomad visa there’s almost no other option. But what we tell them is it’s extremely hard and uncertain,” Petreni says.

The visas are released in annual quotas, via Italy’s decreto flussi, on a first come, first served basis. For the last few years, including in 2022, only 500 have been made available each year.

Petreni says one of the main issues they face, however, is less a lack of available permits than the absence of clear guidance from consulates as to exactly what documentation they need.

A common obstacle, for example, is that the consulate will require the applicant to be registered with the relevant professional body or guild for their profession – but won’t specify which one they have in mind.

READ ALSO: How many people does Italy grant work permits to every year?

If you work remotely, can you just move your life and laptop to Italy?
Just 500 self-employment visas were released by Italy in 2022. Photo by Persnickety Prints on Unsplash

In Italy, membership of such bodies is standard, but in most other countries, it tends to be only very established professions that even have their own guilds or royal societies – making this a significant stumbling block for many applicants.

“Even for photographers, they’d say, well, you need to register with the relevant body; but there isn’t one, that’s the problem,” says Petreni.

She says the process can sometimes be a little easier for those who are already in Italy on, say, a study visa.

That’s partly because those who are already present in Italy and applying to convert their existing residency permit into a work permit come under a different quota, with more spaces available (7,000 in 2022).

It’s also because once you’re in Italy, it’s your local prefecture, rather than an Italian consulate, that handles the application process – and in Petreni’s experience, dealing with the prefecture can be simpler.

“In theory, the requirements are the same whether you convert your permit or whether you do a one-time visa application for self-employment. But the authorities checking are different.”

One key difference, she notes, is that prefectures will generally be able to tell you whether they have any spaces left in their quota and whether it’s worth filing an application as a result, whereas consulates typically won’t share this information (“I don’t know if they know”).

READ ALSO:

She warns, however, against assuming that entering the country on a study visa and then converting to a self-employment visa is a silver bullet, as success is by no means guaranteed.

“If I were proposing this to a client, I would have to be very careful in managing expectations, so that after one year of a study permit they don’t become very cross that they didn’t convert it,” Petreni says.

How to work remotely in Italy.
Moving to Italy on a study visa may smooth the path for those hoping to apply to work there as a freelancer. Photo by Hannah Wei on Unsplash.

Intra-company visa

If the barriers to obtaining a self-employment visa are so prohibitively high, what other options are out there?

One alternative that Petreni will sometimes suggest to clients is the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) work permit.

This entails setting up an Italian branch of a foreign-headquartered company, which she says can work for clients who have “even a small company in the US or UK”.

In this case, the worker would be applying for a visa not as a freelancer but as the employee of a foreign company that has posted them to Italy. The visa has a five-year duration (as opposed to the self-employment visa, which is valid for an initial period of two years).

One of the advantages of this visa, says Petreni, is that it’s outside of the decreto flussi, and therefore not subject to quota limits.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How to get an Italian work visa

“This is an option we have proposed, and it has worked in many cases,” she says.

“The problem is that it’s quite hard financially, and tax-wise, so it’s not for everyone… you need to put quite a bit of money in the Italian branch and have it running, so you have your yearly taxes, and you need to show that the parent company is reliable.”

“We will suggest having €20,000, €25,000 for an intra-company at least, just to show that it’s in good standing order.”

'Not just extra paperwork': What it's like moving to Italy after Brexit

An ICT work permit might be a viable option for some remote workers looking to move to Italy. Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP

The EU Blue Card

The EU Blue card, introduced via an EU directive, is another option Mazzeschi sometimes proposes to potential clients.

Those coming to Italy on the card must earn a minimum salary of €24,789.93 and have a three-year university degree at minimum.

This scheme allows an Italian company to locally hire highly qualified non-EU nationals, and again operates outside of the decreto flussi quota system.

READ ALSO: ‘Not just extra paperwork’: What it’s like moving to Italy after Brexit

In this case, instead of setting up an Italian branch of a foreign company, the applicant registers a company under Italian law. Checks on the company will be stricter than they are for an intra-company office. 

“They want to see that the Italian company has the funds to hire a non-EU employee,” says Petreni. “For that option, we suggest at least €50,000 share capital for the Italian company.”

“It’s usually someone who already has a company running abroad, and then they decide whether to do the intra-company or the EU Blue Card. But for self-employees, the most-used option would be the intra-company, when they can do it.”

What type of visa will you need to move to Italy?

The EU Blue Card could be the best option for some would-be Italian residents. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Petreni says that people considering applying for the EU Blue Card often want to know whether it allows the holder to move around freely and work anywhere within the EU once they arrive.

It’s not quite that simple, she says – in the beginning you can only work from the country where the company you’re working for is based –  but holding the card can facilitate the worker’s move to a different EU country.

In the case of Italy, someone who has worked in another country in the European Union for eighteen months can move to Italy and apply for an EU Blue Card permit to work for an Italian company within one month of arriving.

Final tips

To the average freelancer just wanting some mobility, these two latter options might sound somewhat daunting.

For those who want to attempt a self-employment visa application in spite of the challenges involved, Petreni has some advice: contact your consulate to get as much information as possible before starting the application process.

“See if they have very specific requirements, because the information is not clear and it can be discordant for self-employment options, so it’s very important get in touch and see how the consulate is and what kind of answer they can give.”

“Self-employment is a bit of a jungle, it’s crazy,” says Petreni.

Find more information on the Italian Foreign Ministry’s visa website here.

Please note that The Local is unable to advise on individual cases. For more information on visa applications, consult the Italian embassy or consulate in your country or an immigration law professional.

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For members

AMERICANS IN ITALY

LISTED: The visa options Americans can apply for to live in Italy

Moving to Italy is a dream for many US nationals who have fallen in love with the country, but which Italian residency visa should Americans opt for depending on their circumstances?

LISTED: The visa options Americans can apply for to live in Italy

It can be quite confusing for Americans who want to move to Italy as there are a number of different visa options available and a whole raft of requirements in order to be eligible for them. 

US nationals don’t have the automatic right to get a job in Italy or anywhere else in the EU because of their status as third-country nationals within Europe’s single market, but thankfully some visas will allow you to work here. 

Elective residency visa

The elective residency visa, or ERV, is designed for those who want to live in Italy and have the financial means to support themselves without working. Because you can’t work while on the ERV, it’s sometimes referred to as a retirement visa. 

You’ll need to prove you receive an annual passive income of at least €31,000 euros per person or €38,000 for married couples, plus five percent per dependent minor, though some consulates require more.

READ ALSO: Five expert tips for getting your Italian elective residency visa approved

This can be rental income, a pension, annuities, or some other source, but simply having significant savings in the bank doesn’t count: it has to be in the form of a fixed and reliable passive income stream.

Find out more about applying for an Italian elective residency visa.

Family visa

The family visa is available to US dependents of either an Italian citizen or a US citizen with an Italian stay permit. It allows entrance in Italy to the spouse, children or dependent parents.

You will need to provide evidence of your relationship with the person whose dependent you will be, for instance marriage or birth certificates.

Find out more about applying for an Italian family visa.

Employee work permit

This option has the obvious drawback that you need to have received and accepted an offer of a job in Italy in order to be eligible.

The good news is that your employer will then complete most of the visa application process for you – all you need to do is provide them with the relevant paperwork.

Your employer will apply for permission to hire a migrant worker from the immigration desk at their local prefettura (prefecture, the regional office of the central government). Once you get authorisation, the prefettura will inform the Italian consulate or embassy in your home country that your application can go ahead.

Student visa

To apply for a long-stay (type D) student visa, you’ll need to be accepted onto a course that lasts longer than three months.

When applying you should provide a letter of acceptance to your course in Italy, as well as proof of accommodation, sufficient financial means and health insurance.

There is no age limit, and the visa allows you to work up to 20 hours per week and bring family members to live with you.

Find out more about applying for an Italian student visa.

A student visa can be one way to enter Italy on a longer-term basis. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.

Golden visa

Italy does not technically offer a golden visa, but this is how its investor visa is often referred to. This scheme allows non-EU citizens such as Americans the right to live in Italy if they meet the key requirements, namely a minimum investment of €250,000 to €2 million in certain companies, charities or government bonds.

This visa entitles you two years’ residency, renewable for further three-year periods, and special tax benefits. Investors’ families are eligible to apply for dependent visas.

READ ALSO: Does Italy have a golden visa?

To obtain a visa, US investors must obtain a nulla osta (certificate of no impediment) issued by the Investors Committee for Italy (IV4I); you then have six months from its issuance to make the application for an investor visa.

Other visas

The above visas are the main ones suited to Americans looking to move to Italy longer-term, though there are a number of other visas available, including the internship visa, the startup visa, and the self-employed visa.

These visas all have stringent requirements that make them challenging to obtain.

To successfully apply for the internship visa, you must have been offered a paid vocational training course of between three and 12 months by a host organisation that will commit to paying your food and board and funding your repatriation in case of an emergency.

The self-employed visa might sound like an ideal solution if your job allows you to work from anywhere, and is currently the closest thing Italy has to a digital nomad visa.

In reality, however, experts have told us that successful applications for these visas are extremely rare, so it isn’t an option for most people.

The startup visa requires you to apply through a startup that is headquartered in Italy and less than four years old, and has a team composed of one third PhD students or two thirds MA students, or holds a patent, industrial property right or original software registered with the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE).

On arrival

Remember that your visa isn’t the only permission you’ll need if you want to live in Italy. 

After you enter Italy with a long-stay visa, you have eight days to apply for a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno). The length of time this document will remain valid depends on the type of visa you have.

You’ll also need to apply for a tax code and register as resident with your local comune, or town hall.

Find out more about what you’ll need to do once you land in Italy here.

Please note The Local is unable to advise on individual cases. For more information on whether you are eligible to apply for a visa, contact the Italian consulate in your country or consult an immigration law specialist.

Read out more about applying for a visa in our Italian visa section.

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