Italian Self-employment residence permit (Manager of an Italian company)

Italian Immigration Law provides for several kinds of work permits. All work permits grant the applicant the right to request family reunion with his/her spouse and minor children. Under special circumstances, family reunion with parents and adult children is allowed as well.

There are two categories of work permit:

1. Work residence permit (ordinary): residence permits subject to a Governmental cap. Every year, the Italian Government issues a specific Law measure called “decreto flussi” (flows decree), by means of which the maximum number of workers who can be admitted to Italy (cap) is provided. Such workers are divided into several categories (domestic workers and care attendants, employees, self-employed workers). Once the annual cap is reached, any further applications can be filed only upon issuance of the new flows decree.
2. Work residence permit (special cases): residence permits not subject to a cap. Applications for this particular kind of permit can be filed at any time and are reserved for highly specialized workers or executives.

This particular kind of residence permit falls under the “ordinary” residence permit category. They are subject to a cap and reserved for foreign nationals who are appointed member of the Board of Directors of an Italian company which has been active for at least three years.

Upon granting of the residence permit, 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 work permit has 1 year duration and is renewable over an unspecified number of years. A self-employment permit can be converted into an employment permit. The holder of said permit is granted free access to Italian health care 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 work permit into a long-term resident’s EU residence permit (formerly known as residence card), i.e. a permanent residence permit.

Non-EU nationals can apply for the Italian citizenship and passport 10 years after the issuance of the first residence permit by means of application for naturalization by residence.

The procedure begins with the Nulla Osta request with the relevant Police Station and Chamber of Commerce. Such request shall be submitted together with the documentation demonstrating that the applicant meets all requirements provided by Law. Not later than 30 days after receipt of the request, the relevant authorities issue or deny the Nulla Osta, which is valid for six months. During the validity period of the Nulla Osta, the foreign national shall schedule an appointment before his/her country’s Italian Consulate for the purposes of the issuance of the self-employment visa, by submitting the Nulla Osta together with any further documentation required by Law for this procedure. Within 180 days, the Italian Consulate then issues a multiple-entry self-employment type-D visa valid for 365 days. Prior to the expiration of the visa, the foreign national must come to Italy in order to request the residence permit and to formalise the employment relationship.

The residence permit request procedure consists of 3 steps:

• Step 1 Not later than 8 days after entry in Italy, the non-EU national must request a work permit by submitting his/her application with Poste Italiane (Italian Post Offices).
• Step 2 Following the application for residence permit, the foreign national will be issued a receipt providing the date scheduled for the fingerprinting appointment with the Immigration Desk.
• Step 3 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 3 steps of the procedure. In the time period between the residence permit request and its collection, the foreign national is allowed to travel abroad.

Aprigliano is a leading Italian Immigration and Citizenship Law boutique offering a wide range of integrated services tailored to the needs of each Client. We do not believe that achieving the Client’s desired outcome is enough; what we aim for is exceeding our Client’s expectations by taking care of every single detail. We see our Clients as people, not numbers, with different cultural backgrounds, personalities and expectations. Our goal is to understand each person’s needs in order to provide a tailored service that will make the application process positive and stress-free. Contact us for more information.