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WORKING IN ITALY

What to know about getting an Italian work permit in 2023

Italy has released details of the number of work permits available this year and which types of workers can apply. Here's what to know if you're thinking of moving to Italy for work from outside the EU.

Published: 2 February 2023 17:28 CET
Updated: 6 February 2023 09:05 CET
What to know about getting an Italian work permit in 2023
Construction is one of the industries Italy is allocating work permits for in 2023 amid a shortage of workers. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)

Each year, the Italian government sets out exactly how many work permits it will grant to non-EU citizens. and for which industries.

The Italian government released the details of the 2023 quota at the end of January, confirming that a total of 82,705 permits will be available this year.

This is significantly higher than in previous years, with just under 70,000 permits issued in 2022, and 30,000 in 2021.

Some 44,000 of this year’s permits are intended for seasonal workers, in industries including agriculture and tourism.

READ ALSO: How to get an Italian work visa

Most of the remaining permits are reserved for those on longer-term employment contracts, and the majority of those can only be allocated to firms hiring workers in the following sectors:

  • Road haulage
  • Construction
  • Hospitality and tourism
  • Mechanics
  • Telecommunications
  • Food
  • Shipbuilding

However this year’s decree also brings in new and stricter criteria for issuing these permits.

For non-seasonal permits, employers must now confirm with Italian government employment agencies that no qualified Italian nationals are available to do the jobs before putting in an authorisation request.

READ ALSO: The jobs in Italy that will be most in demand in 2023

This requirement is waived for workers who have completed training programmes in their country of origin that are specifically designed to send workers to Italy. Find further details from the Italian labour ministry here (in Italian).

Applications for this year’s permits will open on March 27th.

Getting one of these permits is just the start. As a non-EEA citizen, there are three main documents you’ll need to live and work in Italy: a work permit (nulla osta), a work visa (visto) and a residency permit (permesso di soggiorno).

Find out more information about the types of Italian work visa available here.

Self-employed workers

As in previous years, in 2023 only 500 permits in total have been made available to self-employed workers. Those eligible include artists, and entrepreneur investors who will create at least three jobs in Italy, but competition for these limited place is fierce.

While Italy approved a ‘digital nomad’ visa in March 2022 that many hoped would make it easier for freelance workers to move to Italy, there have been no updates since and the plan now seems to have been abandoned by Italy’s new government.

The new decree setting out Italy’s 2023 work permit quota does not cover visa rules, so there was no mention of it here.

EU Blue Card

There is one possible way for highly-qualified workers to move to Italy for work outside of the work permit quota: The EU Blue Card is available to non-EU nationals, and the requirements include an undergraduate degree and a firm job offer from an Italian company, with a salary of at least €24,789.

Find out more about the EU Blue Card scheme in a separate article here.

Please note that The Local is unable to advise on individual cases or assist with job applications.

For more information about visa and residency permit applications, see the Italian Foreign Ministry’s visa website, or contact your embassy or local Questura (police headquarters) in Italy.

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For members

VISAS

Will Italy follow Spain in cancelling its ‘golden’ visa?

Italy is one of a handful of EU countries still offering a 'golden' or investor visa option to wealthy would-be residents. As Spain moves to stop issuing these visas, how likely is the Italian government to follow suit?

Published: 25 July 2024 10:22 CEST
Will Italy follow Spain in cancelling its 'golden' visa?

‘Golden passport’ schemes have become an increasingly controversial topic across Europe amid concerns that they’re fuelling inequality and offering some criminals a gateway to life in the European Union.

Following a push from the European Commission, several countries have now limited or pledged to scrap these visa schemes; most recently Spain, which said this week it plans to eliminate all types of golden visas.

Spain’s culture minister recently described the existence of golden visas as a “European disgrace… which creates first and second-class citizens.”

Italy however continues to offer its ‘investor visa’ allowing non-EU nationals to move to the country, in exchange for paying anything from €250,000 to invest in an Italian start-up to €2 million in government bonds, under four different investment options.

Although some immigration experts argue that the Italian investor visa is not technically the same thing as ‘golden visa’ schemes elsewhere in Europe, it’s commonly known as the visto d’oro regardless.

It does allow successful applicants to become residents – although this is entirely optional – and then to apply for citizenship via naturalisation after ten years. It also allows freedom of movement around the Schengen zone, which is another major draw for applicants.

READ ALSO: Interest in Italy’s investor visa is growing – but who can actually get it?

With growing interest in moving to Italy from outside the EU, the number of would-be residents looking into this option after struggling to meet strict criteria for other visa types is also thought to be on the rise.

But, as neighbouring countries retract similar offers amid a Europe-wide trend towards tightening immigration rules, could the Italian investor visa’s days now be numbered, too?

Housing crisis

Spain’s initial reasoning for scrapping golden visas was the impact they’re having on the property market, in the wake of protests over a widespread lack of affordable housing.

Many believe the issue is partly linked to an ever-rising number of foreigners buying property in Spain, who are willing to spend more and more on a Spanish home, although the proliferation of short-term holiday lets in residential buildings is shouldering most of the blame.

According to the Spanish government, 94 in every 100 golden visas issued were linked to homes bought in cities such as Barcelona or ​​Madrid, where property prices and rents have risen exponentially.

EXPLAINED: How Spain has found a way to officially axe its golden visa

But there’s no parallel in Italy, where the investor visa does not offer an option to apply based on a property purchase.

While Italy’s cities are also seeing a rise in rents and property prices, leading to a shortage of affordable housing in many areas, there’s no clear link here to visas or international buyers.

Plus, there’s very little political interest in this issue in Italy: there’s been no discussion so far at the national level of limiting or further regulating tourist rentals to free up housing for local residents – much less limiting investment.

Easy route?

As well as the property option, Spain’s golden visa is – for now – also open to those who invest €1 million in shares in Spanish companies, or €2 million in government bonds, or transfer €1 million to a Spanish bank account.

These options have led to Spain’s golden visa becoming known as one of the easiest ways of gaining Spanish residency as a third-country national – at least for those wealthy enough.

Since Spain’s golden visas were made available in 2013, some 15,450 have been granted – and that’s not including authorisations for family members of golden visa holders who have also gained Spanish residency through the scheme. 

But again, the situation in Italy is very different: the number of investor visa applications here is miniscule by comparison.

Since 2018, when Italy’s investor visa was introduced, only a few dozen have been approved each year. The number has steadily increased, but according to the latest available data in 2021 the total number of applications was just 64.

The largest number were from American and Russian citizens (14 of each), and Italy has since stopped issuing the investor visa to Russian nationals following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

There is also no data available on how many of these applications were successful.

Visa consultants and previous applicants say the process of obtaining an investor visa is opaque, complex, and involves a thorough investigative process, and warn that there’s a high risk of being turned down.

At the moment, there’s no discussion of scrapping Italy’s investor visa – the low number of applicants and limited investment options seems to mean it simply isn’t viewed as a problem.

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