Policies on Long-Term Visas (National Visas)

Current Italian immigration policy favours entry into Italy for long-term visa stays of:

• investors in Italian companies, who can benefit from a fast-track visa procedure;
• highly qualified employees with a job offer from an Italian company or seconded to an Italian company;
• wealthy retirees who already own or rent a house in Italy; and
• university students.

There are also immigration procedures available to low-skilled workers. These are meant to cover workforce shortages in specific fields such as agriculture, construction, the tourism hotel sector, among others. However, these work visas are subject to annual quantitative restrictions.

In any case, all immigration procedures leading to the right to reside continuously in Italy are characterised by an application for a national visa to the Italian Consulate of the foreign country of residency of the applicant and a subsequent residence permit application to the Italian police once the foreign national enters Italy with the national visa. In many cases, before the visa application, the applicants themselves, their employer or their family members have to request a preliminary authorisation called nulla osta from a provincial office of the Ministry of Interior, the police or other public bodies depending on the type of application.

Short-Term Visas (Schengen Visas)

National visas must be clearly differentiated from Schengen visas, which do not lead to a residence permit being issued and do not allow stay in the Schengen area for more than 90 days every 180 days. It is noteworthy that many countries are Schengen visa exempt on the basis of bilateral agreements with the EU. Their citizens can therefore visit the Schengen area for up to 90 days every 180 days with just their passport.

Non-EU citizens travelling within the Schengen area without a national visa can be referred to as “visitors”.

See also 2.3 Restrictions on Visitors.

The Digital Nomad Visa

As of May 2024, it has been possible to apply for a digital nomad visa and residence permit in Italy. This is an unprecedented new opportunity for medium or long-term relocation to Italy, as it is the first Italian-conceived visa and residence permit based on work grounds. It can be granted without the need for an Italian employer or client to sponsor the application. In fact, the employer or client of the digital nomad is normally based in a country that is different to the one the digital nomad is resident in.

This new visa category recognises the growing delocalisation of the labour market. This was a phenomenon which was certainly boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis of 2020/2021. It opens a huge pathway to Italy for non-EU citizens who wish to enjoy the Italian lifestyle and keep their work in their country of origin or former residency.

The New EU Blue Card

A second major change in Italian immigration law concerns the so-called EU blue card. This is an EU-level residence permit that favours the entry of highly qualified workers into EU member states.

This permit was previously only granted to people holding at least a bachelor’s degree and having a job offer for activities that require intellectual skills and specific expertise and knowledge. However, as of April 2024, the government has implemented a broader concept of “highly qualified worker” by also including workers without a university degree but with significant professional experience in a field that requires intellectual skills and specific expertise and knowledge.

This innovation is another big new attraction to help lure a highly qualified workforce to Italy, which goes beyond the formal requirement of a university degree and embraces a “substance over form” approach in assessing a visa applicant’s qualification.

EU citizens do not need a visa or residence permit to live and work in Italy. There are two main categories of work visas for non-EU citizens.

Low-Skilled Employees

The first category is dedicated to low-skilled employees from specific non-EU countries who are going to be employed in specific jobs and within limited numbers defined by the so-called Flow Decree (Decreto Flussi), which is an annual piece of legislation enacted by the government to control the influx of migrants coming to Italy to work.

The original nationalities of these foreign employees are selected based on an incentives mechanism for foreign countries to co-operate in combating illegal immigration. Generally speaking, those countries that are signatories to bilateral co-operation agreements to tackle illegal immigration and/or to repatriate illegal immigrants are included in the list of nationalities eligible for this type of work visa. Countries that do not co-operate are excluded from the list.

The fields that these migrants can be employed and sponsored for a visa in are also identified by the same annual decree based on the needs of the job market (as identified by the government and the most representative employers’ associations at a national level). For example, in 2023–2024, workers with a job offer in the following fields were given the option of applying for a visa: the agricultural sector; road haulage; construction; hotel tourism sector; mechanics; telecommunications; food industry; shipbuilding; bus transportation; fishing; plumbing; and electricians.

The maximum cap for workers who can be granted a visa has also established by the annual decree, based on the anticipated requirements of Italian industry. For example, in 2025 a maximum cap of 165,000 for this type of visa was introduced.

An application can be initiated with a request for a nulla osta to the regional office of the Ministry of Interior only if there is an employer willing to employ the non-EU worker. However, employers are allegedly frequently paid to appear as such by foreigners who are already staying in Italy illegally. The great number of fictitious applications and the attempts by the competent authorities to detect this fraud make the evaluation process slower and reduces the chances of legitimate workers and employers being granted a visa.

Highly-Skilled Employees

The other employment visa category encompasses all types of visas granted annually in unrestricted numbers to foreign nationals with a job offer from an Italian company or person.

In principle, highly-skilled workers fall under this category and cannot be denied a visa based on the quantitative restrictions of the annual decree.

The EU blue card (Article 27 quarter of the Italian Code on Immigration)

The largest subcategory of the “highly-skilled” visa category is the EU blue card, which is granted to all non-EU employees with a job offer with an annual gross salary of at least EUR27,000 and who hold a university degree or have considerable professional experience that has provided them with intellectual skills and specific knowledge comparable to those of a graduate.

See also 1.2 Upcoming Policy Changes to find out more about this visa option.

Other specific professionals (Article 27 of the Italian Code on Immigration)

In addition to the EU blue card, there are several other employment visas that are granted without quantitative restrictions for the following specific professional categories:

• lecturers and professors of foreign universities carrying out academic or teaching activities in Italy;
• translators and interpreters;
• employees of foreign companies or organisations carrying out activities in Italy, where the employer tasks the employee with work activities to be performed in Italy for a certain period of time;
• employees of foreign companies who will embark on Italian cruises to perform work activities based on a service agreement with the Italian company or natural person owning or managing the ship;
• artists and technicians to be employed at opera, theatre, music and dance events;
• dancers, artists and musicians to be employed in bars, clubs or other entertainment venues;
• artists to be employed by companies or other private or public entities (active in the field of cinema, music, theatre, radio or television) to carry out cultural or folklore-based events;
• employees of a circus performing in Italy;
• professional athletes who intend to take part in paid professional sports activities for an Italian sports club affiliated with the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI);
• journalists employed by a foreign press organisation, a radio broadcaster or a TV network (as long as the journalist is accredited in Italy);
• au pairs or other people who take part in exchange programmes (established by an international agreement valid in Italy) to work part-time in Italy;
• nurses who are going to be employed in Italian private or public health facilities or hospitals;
• members or officials of foreign governments; and
• employees of foreign public offices, foreign public entities or international organisations.

Permanent residence in Italy refers to the so-called EU long-term residence permit, which lasts for ten years and is renewable as long as the applicant is registered as a resident in Italy at the time of the renewal and can demonstrate an income declared in Italy or other means of subsistence.

The requirements to obtain the long-term residence permit are that the applicant:

• has legally and continuously resided in Italy for at least five years. The requested period of time is not considered continuous if the applicant has been away from the Italian territory for more than ten months within the five years or for six months continuously;
• has registered their residency address at the competent municipality, at least at the time of the application for the long-term residence permit; and
• is in possession of a valid residence permit at the time of application. However, at the time of the application, the permit held by the applicant must not fall into one of the following categories: study or vocational training; temporary protection; medical treatment; special protection; labour exploitation; short-term permits with less than one-year duration; or diplomatic permits.

Any other type of residence permit, including any type of work permit, can lead to a long-term residence permit, provided that the five-year continuous legal residency in Italy condition is met.

In this instance, the applicant must have an annual income declared in Italy which is not less than the annual social allowance (approximately EUR7,000). The minimum income is increased by half for each additional dependent family member and evidence of suitable accommodation for hosting the family member is required. More specifically, the applicant is required to submit a certificate of house suitability to the municipality to demonstrate that the lodging is fully compliant with safety rules and can host a sufficient number of people.

The applicant should also have a valid certificate of knowledge of Italian language which is at least at level A2.

The term “visitors” refers to non-EU nationals allowed to spend a maximum period of 90 days every 180 days in the Schengen area solely due to their nationality or their obtaining of a Schengen visa.

See also 1.1 Immigration Policy to find out more about who qualifies as a “visitor”.

The following restrictions apply to “visitors” to Italy.

• “Visitors” can incorporate companies, be their directors and buy estates in Italy only if Italian citizens are allowed to do the same in the foreigner’s country of origin. These rules derive from a reciprocity clause, generally applied to all foreigners for all civil rights they wish to exercise in Italy (Article 16 of the General Rules on Italian Law, which constitutes a foreword to the Italian Civil Code).
• “Visitors” cannot issue Italian invoices as freelancers nor be employed to work in Italy.
• “Visitors” without valid health insurance in Italy can only access Italian public healthcare for urgent and necessary medical treatment, namely medications which, if not provided, could lead to death or further serious deterioration of health (Article 35(3) of the Italian Code on Immigration).
• “Visitors” can drive in Italy either with an international driving licence issued in their country of origin or with their ordinary driving licence together with a translation of it which has been certified by the Italian Consulate in the “visitor’s” country of origin or certified in Italy through a licensed translator. However, foreign residents, after the first year of residency in Italy, can only drive if they convert their driving licence into an Italian one and this is only possible when there is a bilateral convention allowing them to do so or the foreign resident obtains an Italian driving licence.
• “Visitors” can buy a car in Italy only for the purpose of getting an EE licence plate and then export the car to their country of permanent residency. The EE licence plate allows the vehicle to operate in Italy for up to one year.

Only foreigners regularly residing in Italy can buy a car, obtain an Italian licence plate and an ordinary registration card on a vehicle.

No information has been provided in this jurisdiction.

Many non-EU nationals can travel to Italy and the wider Schengen area without a Schengen visa or any other type of authorisation.

However, most non-EU nationals need a Schengen visa to enter the Schengen area. The nationalities that are exempt from this visa requirement or those which are not can be checked here.

In certain specific circumstances, remote working has become a good ground on which to apply for an Italian national visa.

See 1.2 Upcoming Policy Changes and 2.2 Pathways to Permanent Residence to find out more about this visa option.

There are no prerequisite language requirements to obtain any type of national visa in Italy.

However, this general rule has two exceptions.

• The first is that student visa applications based on pre-enrolment in an Italian-intensive language course requires the applicant to have intermediate knowledge of Italian at the time of the visa application. This requirement, imposed by Italian consulates in the context of students requesting a visa to study Italian in Italy, has been considered legitimate by the Italian Administrative Tribunal.
• The second is that the Italian permanent residence permit can only be obtained by those foreign nationals who have had a residence permit for at least five years, have been both a civil and tax resident in Italy for those five years and have reached level A2 proficiency in Italian.

All children under 17 who visit Italy have to have vaccinations against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, morbilli, rubella, parotitis and varicella.

The most effective means of enforcing the vaccination of children is that, by law, public and private kindergartens and nurseries may not admit unvaccinated children under Law No 119/2017 of 31 July 2017.

The obligation to have vaccinations for the last four diseases on the list above is subject to re-evaluation every three years based on the latest data on national coverage and epidemic diffusion.

In Italy, as a general rule, all employees must be paid a salary that meets the minimum threshold agreed upon and established, for each specific field and level of task, by the most representative national trade unions and employers’ associations.

Any visa application based on an offer of employment will therefore be examined to verify that the offer complies with the applicable minimum salary.

The employer must also show a turnover that matches the number of existing employees and the number of foreign employees they intend to sponsor.

In addition, the issuance of visas for highly qualified work, and more specifically, the issuance of the EU blue card, is conditional on the offer of a minimum annual gross salary of EUR33,500 and on a preliminary check of potential candidates available who are already residing in the province where the company is based.

This requirement is fulfilled by publishing an equivalent job post with the local job placement entity for at least 15 days. However, it is a mere formality because the employer is never bound to accept anyone’s candidacy.

See also 1.2 Upcoming Policy Changes and 2.1 Sponsor-Based Employment Visas to find out more about the EU blue card.

According to Italian immigration law, only one employer can sponsor the national visa application of a non-EU national.

Joint sponsorship by more than one employer is therefore not allowed.

A foreign national can be denied a national visa to Italy under Articles 4(3) and (6) of the Italian Code on Immigration in any of the following cases.

A Person Who is Considered a Threat to Public Order or Public Security (in Italy or in any Schengen State)

The concepts of public order and public security are defined by Article 159(2) of Legislative Decree No 112/1998, issued on 31 March 1998 as those fundamental public interests protecting the security and safety of citizens and their civic cohesion as well as public institutions and bodies and their assets.

According to relevant case law, one or more convictions cannot automatically imply that the person(s) represent a threat to public order and security. The conviction has to prove personal behaviour that poses an actual and present threat to public order and public security, which should be interpreted restrictively as any ban constitutes an exception to the general principle and rule of an individual’s freedom of movement (CJEU, Judgement no. 30, 27/10/1977, paragraph 28).

A Schengen State Issues a Warning on the Common Schengen Information System (SIS)

According to its own internal procedures, only when a third country national constitutes a threat to public order, public security or national security, can a Schengen state issue a warning on the common Schengen information system (SIS). It can do so on case-by-case basis in line with Article 24(1) of Reg CE 1987/2006.

In any case, under Article 24(2) and 24(3) of Reg CE 1987/2006, the warning can be made when:

• the third country national is detained for at least one year (automatic);
• there are serious reasons to believe the third country national has committed a crime (upon an evaluation by the relevant national authorities);
• there are serious reasons to believe the third country national intends to commit a crime in the territory of a Schengen state (upon an evaluation by the relevant national authorities);
• the third country national has received an expulsion order, an entry ban or a visa denial (upon an evaluation by the relevant national authorities);

• a person has been convicted in Italy for serious crimes concerning smuggling, human trafficking, exploitation of prostitutes, sexual violence and trade of drugs);
• a person has been convicted in Italy for other serious crimes listed in Articles 380(1) and (2) of the Italian Code on Criminal Proceeding (these are crimes for which individuals can be arrested while committing the criminal offence);
• a person has been convicted of crimes concerning the breach of intellectual property, patents and copyrights (these crimes are defined by Articles 473 and 474 of the Italian Criminal Code and those foreseen by Law No 633 of 22 April 1941, Title III, Capo III, Section II); and
• a person who has received an expulsion order from the Italian State (Article 4(6) of the TUI).

The Italian Consulate checks and verifies that the visa applicant does not fall into any of these categories by:

• verifying any information contained in the SIS;
• liaising with any Schengen authority that has input information in the SIS;
• consulting the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (when useful or relevant); or
• consulting any other official source available in the State where the visa applicant comes from. The Italian Consulate may have access to criminal databases of the country of origin.

Criminal record certificates are only required for a visa applicant making an application for an investor visa. For this specific visa procedure, a recent criminal record from all countries where the applicant has resided for more than six months in the ten years prior to the application is required.

See also 2.2 Pathways to Permanent Residence to find out more about the golden visa option.

Only the following visa applications require a personal income and/or a certain amount of money available at the time of the application to be demonstrated:

• elective residency visa;
• self-employment visa;
• digital nomad visa;
• start-up visa;
• investor visa; and
• student visa.

In principle, visas for employment in Italy, do not require the visa applicant to demonstrate a previous income or the availability of a certain amount of money at the time of the application.

Preliminary entry clearance (nulla osta) applications are submitted via a Ministry web portal. The paper versions of the relevant documents will only be required upon the arrival of the visa applicant in Italy. This is to allow the procedure for obtaining the Italian residence permit to be completed.

Visa applications, which follow the issuance of the nulla osta, are usually submitted in person by the visa applicant at the premises of the Italian Consulate which has the competency for the foreign residency area. At the time of the visa application, relevant official documents may be required in original and paper versions.

However, following COVID-19, few consulates have continued to accept applications submitted by mail. Some official documents may also need to be posted in original and paper versions, depending on the specific type of application.

In principle, visa applications can be submitted from all countries where Italy has an operating Italian Consulate or an operating Consular Office at the Italian Embassy.

In cases of civil, international armed conflicts or severe diplomatic crises, these consular offices may be temporarily closed for all or some of their duties and functions. The visa services may be temporarily closed as well.

There are currently no ways to expedite an application for an Italian visa, even for those willing to pay additional fees.

Soliciting the competent authorities is generally useless or even counterproductive if attempted before the expiry of the applicable legal deadlines for the decision.

However, there is one type of visa application that, by law, should follow a priority track. This is the investor, or golden visa application. To incentivise investments into Italian companies or government securities by non-EU nationals, the Italian legislature has set a maximum timeframe of one month for the nulla osta application decision to be made and for this visa application to be prioritised by Italian consulates. In practice, the nulla osta is usually issued within approximately two months of the application date and the visa is subsequently usually issued within approximately one to two weeks, which includes the time it takes to obtain an appointment with the Consulate.

Application for a Residence Permit

All potential immigrants have to apply for a residence permit within eight working days of their arrival into Italy with a national visa. The application is submitted to the police by mail, using a specific postal service and an application form, which is provided by most Italian post offices.

Signing a residence contract

However, before the residence permit application is submitted, all employment visa holders have to meet the prefecture and sign a so-called residence contract (contratto di soggiorno) together with a representative of the public office and their Italian employer. Through this trilateral contract, the employer takes criminal responsibility for the:

• truthfulness of the employment;
• intention not to terminate the employment before its term ends (unless for legitimate reasons);
• actual payment of the salary;
• presence of suitable accommodation for the foreign national; and
• compliance with the social contributions due for all current foreign or Italian employees.

In order to meet the eight-day deadline for applying for a residence permit, it is therefore important to request an appointment with the prefecture to sign the residence contract in good time.

Meeting with the police

After the residence permit application is submitted via the post office, the applicant will be given an appointment with the police station. The appointment is scheduled digitally and on the basis of the first available time slot of the public office. In some areas in Italy, the appointment can be fixed within several months of the application. During this time, the applicant is considered to be legally staying in Italy due to the receipt of their residence permit application.

During the appointment, the applicant will be required to show:

• their original passport with the visa;
• the original receipt for the residence permit application;
• four identical and recent passport-type photographs of the applicant;
• all available original documentation substantiating their application; and
• evidence of available accommodation (hotel or rental agreement).

During the appointment, the applicant will be fingerprinted and there will not usually be an interview. The applicant may only be required to explain the documentation they are submitting. Italian police usually have low/medium proficiency in English. If the applicant does not speak English or Italian, it is recommended that they are accompanied by someone who speaks Italian and who knows the specifics of the application.

After the first appointment, if everything is approved and accepted by the police, the applicant will receive a text message giving the date they can collect the residence permit at the same police station.

No information has been provided in this jurisdiction.

No information has been provided in this jurisdiction.

Public Fees for the Visa Application

All national visa applications, including employment visas, cost EUR116 (this amount is converted into the currency of the applicant’s country of origin based on a quarterly recalculation that takes the most recent exchange rate into account).

As an exception to this general cost, the national student visa application only costs EUR50.

Public Fees for the Residence Permit Application

In addition to the cost of the national visa application, the applicant will have to pay for the residence permit application, which, as a general rule, is calculated as follows (according to the Ministerial Decree of 6 October 2011):

• EUR30 for the expedition of the application to police headquarters;
• EUR30.46 for printing the residence permit; and
• EUR40/50/100, depending on the type of residence permit.

Minors up to 13 are exempted from the EUR30 and EUR40/50/100 costs. Meanwhile, minors up to 17 and applicants seeking international protection are exempted from the EUR40/50/100 costs.

In terms of the residence permit application, see 4.4 Travel Restrictions Once Application Filed.

Both the costs of the visa and residence permit applications have to be paid by the applicant. However, the employer may decide to refund the cost of the application to the employee.

In many cases, the employer pays the necessary legal assistance to sponsor the visa application of the non-EU worker they wish to employ. This is the most significant cost.

The most common law enforcement action is taken against individuals whose residence permit application is rejected at first issuance or renewal, or who are found to be staying in Italy illegally. This measure is called an “expulsion” order and imposes an obligation on the individual to leave Italy and return to the country of origin or former residency in line with Article 13 of the Italian Code on Immigration.

The recipient can follow the “expulsion” order voluntarily within a specific timeframe. Alternatively, in some cases, it can be executed by the police with coercion.

Sponsors can be subject to criminal liability and sanctions where they facilitate illegal immigration. This can include faking the immigration law requirements to favour the obtaining or extension of national visas and/or residence permits.

Any criminal proceeding can result in penalties, interim measures against the sponsor or a ban from sponsoring other visas/residence permits.

An in-depth examination of specific immigration offences is outside the remit of this guide.

Italian employers sponsoring a work visa application in favour of a non-EU national have two main types of obligations. These are as follows.

Minimum Statutory Working and Safety Conditions

Employers have to offer and abide by the same minimum statutory working and safety conditions applicable to Italian or European workers.

The minimum working conditions are laid out in national collective agreements which are stipulated by the most representative trade unions and entrepreneurs’ associations. Most fields are regulated in Italy by at least one national collective agreement.

Breaching these minimum standards and any legal provisions safeguarding the worker’s safety as well as social security contributions obligations towards non-EU workers (like towards any worker) can lead to administrative sanctions.

Depending on the seriousness of the violation, sanctions can be: fines (the most common type of penalty); temporary suspension of the company’s activities; exclusion from fiscal benefits or public tenders; or the revocation of specific licences or authorisations to perform specific activities.

In addition, breaching safety rules and standards, especially when this leads to physical damages for workers, can result in the employer or any other person delegated by them to oversee safety procedures and rules being criminally liable.

Intention to Employ

Any employer sponsoring a visa application has to have the legitimate intention to employ the non-EU citizen with the working conditions communicated to the immigration authorities.

Faking the intention to employ a non-EU worker for the sole purpose of facilitating the obtaining of a national visa can constitute the crime of favouring illegal immigration, with consequent criminal liability and sanctions.

Any adult (18 or older) is allowed to apply for a work visa and work in Italy in line with the Italian immigration law rules and restrictions on these types of applications.

There is no specific right to work check in Italy.

Non-EU citizens holding an Italian national visa or a residence permit can sponsor a family visa and residence permit for their closest family members.

According to the applicable legal framework, the following family members are eligible:

• spouse or partner of a civil union (gay registered partnership);
• minor children (under the age of 18);
• dependant adult children who cannot provide for themselves due to very serious health conditions;
• economically dependant parents not older than 65 years old, as long as they do not have any other children in their country of origin or last residency;
• parents over 65 years old, as long as they do not have other children in their country of origin or last residency or those children cannot support themselves for reasons related to their health; and
• the parent of a minor already legally residing in Italy.

In principle, no visa category is excluded from the right of sponsoring a visa/residence permit to their close family members.

However, in some cases, the non-EU nationals already residing in Italy with a residence permit who intend to apply for family reunification are required to have had an Italian residence permit for at least two years prior to the application being made.

This residency requirement does not apply when the primary visa holder and their family members enter Italy at the same time. Unlike family reunification, this procedure is called “accompanying family member”.

All dependant visas issued to family members of the sponsor allow any type of work activity in Italy.