Immigration update: Italy | Immigration process and secondment

All non EU nationals are required to apply for a work visa if they need to enter Italy to perform work activities.

• The immigration process for workers to be seconded in Italy is composed by the following steps:
• Work permit: to be applied online, it requires several documents to provide (by company and worker) duly translated into Italian and legalized, for the approval of the work permit
• Visa application: once the work permit is issued, the worker has to obtain the work visa at the Italian consulate in the jurisdiction of residency
• Entrance in Italy with the visa
• Stay contract signature (if applicable) and stay permit application to do within 8 days from the entrance in Italy. The applicant receives the 2 postal receipts stating the application and he is entitled to stay and work legally in Italy from this moment
• Fingerprinting appointment
• Stay permit collection

The main types of work permit for seconded workers are:

1) Intra-Company Transfer Work Visa (ICT):
• temporary transfer of a foreign national who is employed abroad by a foreign company operating in a company belonging to the same corporate group and based in a non EU country, of a company in Italy
• worker must be employed by the foreign company for at least 3 months prior to the date of application for the ICT Work Visa
• at the moment of the work permit application the worker must be outside UE
• not possible to hire the worker at the end of the secondment
• maximum total duration (in the whole EU territory) of the ICT is 36 months for managers and for highly specialized workers and 12 months for workers on training
• processing time: authorities have 45 days by law to issue the work permit from the moment of the online submission

2) Skilled Work Visa (ART 27 a)
• temporary transfer of a foreign national who is employed abroad by a foreign company operating in a company belonging to the same corporate group of a company in Italy
• worker must be employed by the foreign company for at least 6 months prior to the date of application for the Work Visa
• the worker must have a managerial/directive role (quadro or dirigente level)
• possible to hire the worker at the end of the secondment
• a maximum of five (5) years following the scheme 2 years + 2 years + 1 year.
• processing time: authorities have 180 days by law to issue the work permit from the moment of the online submission

Santa Fe Analysis

Should you have any questions, please contact the following:

Veronica Maggioni
Immigration Specialist
Santa Fe Relocation Italy
Tel.: +393483040948
Email: veronica.maggioni@santaferelo.com

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