Italy - Tax Guide for Freelance Contractors

Nationals of the EU/EEA Member States and Switzerland are able to work without restriction in Italy, except for citizens of the two most recent members Bulgaria and Romania.

Bulgarian and Romanian citizens, further to the Italian government decision, will still be under the application of a transitional arrangement for a period of one year prior of being allowed to have full access to paid employment.There are no restrictions on self-employment.
The above transitional arrangement provides for the immediate opening-up of the following sectors:

• agriculture and hotel and tourism,
• domestic work and care services,
• construction,
• engineering,
• managerial and highly skilled work,
• seasonal work.

Any employer who wishes to hire a Romanian or Bulgarian worker for one of the above sectors must comply with the employment regulations currently in force and notify the job centres as well as the competent social-security and welfare institutions.

Workers from the new Member States must apply for a residence permit to the competent police headquarters (“Questura”), either in person or by mail.

All other nationalities will 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.

To obtain a work permit:

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.