Start-Up VISA

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 plan on investing and working in an innovative start-up. 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 can have 1/2-year duration, and is renewable. 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 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 application for the “Nulla Osta Italia Startup Visa” (“Nulla Osta ISV”) shall be submitted to the Ministry of Economic Development, more specifically to the Technical Committee “Italia Startup Visa”, together with the documentation demonstrating that the applicant meets all requirements provided by Law. No later than 30 days after the application, said Committee shall issue (or deny) the abovementioned Nulla Osta ISV, which has a duration of 3 months.

During the period of validity of the Nulla Osta, the foreign national shall schedule an appointment with the Italian Consulate in his/her country for the purposes of the issuance of the self-employment (start-up) visa. In this respect, the Italian Government approved a specific decree dedicated to facilitating the submission of self-employment (start-up) visa and residence permit applications. Such decree provides for direct access to the Italian Consulate/Immigration Desk appointment (i.e. no wait), as well as the issuance of both visa and residence permit by accelerated procedure. The Italian Consulate then issues a multiple-entry, self-employment (start-up) national type-D visa valid for 365 days. Within 6 months from the issuance of the visa, the foreign national must come to Italy in order to request the residence permit.

The residence permit request procedure consists of 2 steps:

• Step 1 Not later than 8 days after entry in Italy, the non EU national must appear before the Immigration Desk for the purpose of requesting the residence permit and for the performance of the fingerprinting procedure.
• Step 2 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 2 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.