Italian Visas and Work Permits
Our tax guide for freelance contractors working in Italy
Italy does not apply any restrictions on the access to its labour market by citizens of other EU countries except for citizens of Bulgaria and Romania which joined the European Union on 1 January 2007.
The Italian government has decided to put in place a transitional arrangement for two years before allowing Romanians and Bulgarians full access to paid employment. There is a simplified procedure for Italian companies to ask for a work permit. For the following sectors no work permit, but only the announcement of the worker to the competent job centre and the social security authorities is necessary: agriculture, hotel, tourism, construction, engineering, managerial and highly skilled work and seasonal work. Romanians and Bulgarians also need to obtain a residence permit at the local police headquarters (Questura).
Citizens from all other countries need to go through a full work permit and residence permit application and it is fair to say that the expansion of the EU has made it more difficult for non-EU nationals to obtain work permits. The Italian work permit scheme is administered regionally, so implementation differs significantly depending on the exact destination within Italy. Italian work permits must be sponsored by an Italian company. They cannot be applied for directly by a potential employee or by an agency. Processing times vary between regions, but the average is between two and four months and the outcome not guaranteed.