Conversion of foreign blue card in Italian blue card

The Italian Immigration Law provides for the conversion of a Blue Card issued in another EU State into an Italian Blue Card. Such conversion can be requested 18 months after the issuance of the foreign Blue Card, and is reserved for foreign nationals who hold a university degree equivalent to an Italian academic qualification. A national requesting the conversion must be employed as highly specialized worker receiving a minimum annual salary of € 25.000,00.

The foreign Blue Card to be converted grants direct access to Italy. Therefore, the non-EU worker is not required to apply for an entry visa with the Italian Consulate. This kind of residence permit falls under the “special cases” category and is reserved for foreign nationals who hold a university degree equivalent to an Italian academic qualification and who receive a job offer in Italy providing a minimum annual income amounting to € 25.000,00. Upon granting of the Italian Blue Card, the foreign worker must attend a free 10-hour civic education course (integration agreement) in Italy organized by the Ministry of the Interior. The foreign national can choose the language of the course.

The first Blue Card can have a 1-2 year’s duration and is renewable. The holder of said Card is granted free access to Italian healthcare and to education for his/her children. Upon reaching of the retirement age, he/she will be entitled to the Italian pension. After 5 years of residence permit, the foreign national can convert his/her Italian Blue Card into a long-term resident’s EU residence permit (formerly known as residence card), i.e. a permanent residence permit. For the purpose of calculating said 5 years, the foreign Blue Card is taken into account.

Therefore, for instance, in the event the foreign national has been holding a foreign Blue Card for 2 years, and then requests its conversion into an Italian Blue Card, the long-term resident’s EU residence permit (residence card) will be granted after 3 years, instead of after 5 years, as per regular procedure. Non-EU nationals can apply for the Italian citizenship and passport 10 years after the issuance of the Italian Blue Card by means of application for naturalization by residence.

The procedure begins with the request of conversion of a foreign Blue Card into an Italian Blue Card to the relevant Prefecture. Upon assessment of the requirements, the Prefecture grants (or denies) the Nulla Osta, after which the applicant can formalise the employment relationship in Italy and request the Italian Blue Card. The conversion of a foreign Blue Card into an Italian Blue Card procedure consists of 4 steps.

• Step 1 The non-Eu national must appear before the relevant Prefecture for the purpose of collecting the Nulla Osta for the conversion of his/her foreign Blue Card into an Italian Blue Card.
• Step 2 The non-EU national must request the Italian Blue Card by submitting his/her application with Poste Italiane (Italian Post Offices).
• Step 3 Step 3 Following the residence permit application, the foreign national will be issued a receipt providing the date scheduled for the fingerprinting appointment with the Immigration Desk.
• Step 4 The residence permit can be collected not later than 30/40 days after the fingerprinting appointment.

The non-EU national must be present in person for the 4 steps of the procedure.

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