italy — immigration
Moving to Italy: which visa suits you best?
Which visas are available if you want to move to Italy and you are not sponsored by a company?
Elective residence visa
It does not allow any kind of work, also remote working and it is a kind of retirement visa, for which the applicant needs to prove to have a “passive” income (not deriving from work). Its issuance is discretionary on each Consulate and the outcome of the application has become extremely unpredictable: (i) most Consulates require the applicant to prove a passive income 2–3 times the minimum set forth by the law; (ii) also request the applicant to submit the last tax returns, they want the income to be clearly listed in the returns; (iii) if the applicant has also an income deriving from work, Consulates tend to deny the visa because they consider that the applicant will not stop working while in Italy; (iv) in most Consulates it is very difficult to book an appointment for filing the visa application and when available appointmens can be given after some months; (v) the processing time for the visa is by law up to 90 days (and the Consulate will keep the passport) and if the Consulates request more documents the time can be extended.
Investor visa
It is not subject to quotas availability and allows to work. Once it is approved by the Ministry it is certain that you will be granted the visa (differently from n. 1 and 3 that are to be approved by the Consulate which has a wide discretion on the issuance). It however requires investing € 250 K in a startup company or € 500 K in purchasing shares or capital increase of a Spa or Srl company in activity for more than 1 year. Applicant can also purchase shares of publicly listed companies. The main advantages of this visa are: (i) investment is to be executed only after obtaining the visa; (ii) investor visas must be processed by Consulate with priority; (iii) If Investor spends in Italy less than 183 days/year, it will not have any tax obligations (subject to some conditions, check with your tax counsel); (iv) Visa can be extended to spouse and children up to 18; (v) Investor visa is the only visa that allows the investor not to spend any minimum time in Italy.
Digital Nomad visa
Requirements for the Digital nomad visa were finally approved by the Government but some conditions remain vague and unclear and it shall not be easy — as it sounds — to obtain the visa
Self employment visa (as a freelance)
It is extremely difficult to obtain because it is subject to the availability of quotas (less than 500 quotas available for 2023) and in practice most applicants receive a denial from the Consulate after having obtained the necessary clearances in Italy. Self-employment visa is very difficult to obtain because of the uncertainty on which authority in Italy should be contacted for the issuance of the relevant attestations/declarations and for the requirements that may be set by the Consulate/Embassy.
Representative Office Visa
You probably read in some articles posted on the web that Italy is granting a visa to someone who register a Rep Office, as officer representative. What is not made clear in the articles is that self-employment visa commented in the article is exempted from yearly quotas but subject to some conditions (art. 40/22 Decree 394/1999), namely it is for employees of a foreign company who are sent to work in Italy to a subsidiary of the Group to work as “self employees”. To obtain this visa is necessary to obtain an authorization from the Labor office and to submit, amongst other things: (i) evidence that the individual is employed by the sending company; (ii) evidence that the company that hires the individual is affiliated with the company which registered the Rep Office; (iii )the parent company’s yearly financials that show that the company is in good standing and financially strong to support the assignment. The above requirements are identical to the requirements for obtaining an intra-company visa, eg a visa which is granted after obtaining a prior approval by the Immigration Office in Italy (art. 27a Immigration Law) thus avoiding the uncertainty linked to the art. 40/22 which, on the contrary, is approved/denied by the Consulate.
Visa as director of newly established company
Italy grants this visa only if a company has been in activity for at least 3 years. Accordingly, establishing a branch/subsidiary does not entitled the owner or appointed director to obtain a visa. Even when a company is 3+ years old, the Consulate has discretion to grant the visa looking at (i) if there are available quotas (few hundreds are allocated to this visa each year) (ii) the company yearly turn-over, registered capital, assets and reserves (which need to be substantial), number of employees. Also this visa is subject to availability of quotas.
Startup visa
For those who want to start an “innovative” company in Italy. Not all “newly” established companies are considered “startup” for this purpose. Law 221/2012 defines “innovative startup” as a new enterprise of a high technological value. Innovative is a company whose business model is characterised by a strong technological character and with has an exclusive or prevalent corporate purpose the production, development and marketing of innovative goods or services of high technological value. The startup visa is not easy to obtain because there are are only few hundred quotas available every year. The applicant will need to register in the Ministry portal and upload all docs and prepare an innovative business plan, The Ministry is also very strict with the bank letter that need to be submitted to confirm that applicant has available funds. There is not an official sample letter but Ministry wants the letter to specifically include a declaration that the Bank has carried out all checks required by the FATF anti-money laundering rules.
For more information check here Articles | Mazzeschi Legal Counsels
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