Applying for

work and living in Italy

visiting Italy long term

The legal requirements

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Moving to Italy? Working or studying in Rome? Are you British or American? German? French? Member of the EEC?
Bet you think you can just breeze into Rome and chill out for a few months don't you? Well you can't. There are certain rules to be adhered to - Rather an excess of formalities, in fact.

If you're not simply here on holiday, but are actually planning on staying in Italy for something more than just a few weeks, even if you don't want to work here, it's a bureaucratic nightmare. The Italian authorities get a big kick out of keeping the population in line, and at times, expatriates can feel like they're under martial law. Even if you're a European citizen, there's a raft of papers and permits the Italians insist you fill out or must have. Also, you'll find it quite hard to get justice in Italy, justice that is, in the way we understand it in Britain and the US. For Italian law is traditionally set up to punish the innocent and let the guilty go free. They don't mean it to be that way of course, It just is, for reasons eloquently explained by 19th Century Italian novelist Alessandro Manzoni here.

The following notes cover some matters which may be of interest to anyone planning to make short or long term visits to Italy, and in particular to the Rome Consular district, or who contemplate applying to live or seeking employment here.

short term visits

Foreigners visiting Italy should register with the nearest police station within 7 days of arrival, but those staying at hotels, boarding houses (pensione), or established camping sites are automatically registered by the management (when they ask for your passport when you sign the register).

long term visits

The ‘Permesso di Soggiorno’ (Certificate of Permission to Stay):
Those not arriving in italy on holiday but who are instead planning a longer term visit or permanent residence without being employed here should register with the police within 7 days of arrival and apply for a ‘permeso di soggiorno’ (permission to stay) from the Ufficio Stranieri, Questura Centrale, Via Genova, Rome.
This will usually be granted on production of evidence that the applicant has sufficient money to support themself while they are here. In certain cases a ‘permesso as a tourist', (valid for a short period) is given to allow the applicant sufficient time to arrange for a transfer of money, house-hunting etc.

Self-employed people or those wishing to establish a business should likewise apply for a ‘permesso di soggiorno’, specifying exactly what they intend to do.
Click here for more information on the trials and tribulations of obtaining your Permesso Soggiorno.

Those intending to establish a company will also need an ‘Atto Costitutivo della Società Omologato dal Tribunale’ (memorandum and articles of
association ratified by the Tribunal).

residency

On arrival in Italy, a person who wishes to become registered as a resident should apply without delay to the nearest ‘Ufficio Anagrafe’ - Municipal registry Office’ (in Rome the Anagrafe is in Via Luigi Petroselli 50).
A residence certificate is necessary to obtain customs clearance, to open a bank account, to purchase an apartment etc.

driving legalities

Anyone regarded by the Italian authorities as resident in Italy, whether or not holding a residence certificate, is required by Italian law to obtain an Italian driving licence and Italian number plates for any imported car. Conversion of a driving licence must be done within one year of taking up residence. New legislation is currently being passed to make British and other EEC driving licences acceptablein italy without need for conversion. if you do get stopped by the road police after a year, the current (large green and pink paper sheet type) of the British driving licence does actually say 'EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES MODEL' on it, which should mollify any over-zealous highway cops, though they balk at a driving licence that doesn't have a photograph of the bearer on it, and marvel that it is valid until the bearer is seventy years old! Such magnanimous government dispensations that we take for granted are unheard of in Italy.

students

As with any commitment to long-term residency in a foreign country, there are numerous preparations and precautions to take before embarking on study in Italy, especially if you intend to work here simultaneous with studies. Unless you have already been thoroughly briefed by your school or university staff, these should be thoroughly researched at a local careers centre or advisor at school, the local education authority or the student’s existing UK university, well in advance of departure. It is important to realise that most state authorities of countries outside of Britain or the US are not as forgiving and enlightened about civil liberties as we are used to ours being. In Italy's small-minded bureaucratic way, they insist on all papers being in order.

Another obvious point is to make absolutely sure that you have sufficient money to fund your studies and stay in Italy. Don't rely on the possibility of finding casual work once you are here. Even if you do find work, many Italian employers are dishonest and unprincipled and will rip you off. There is in fact powerful legislation in Italy to protect workers, but as a non-national you may find it difficult to make this work to your advantage. A devious or well-connected employer may still flout the rules even after the law has served against him, and we therefore advise you not to be drawn into a legal battle whilst in Italy, or anything similar which might detract from your studies. Stay clear of making any binding agreements or contracts with any Italian you do not know well or trust. Italians are naturally litigious and can turn legally nasty if you try to play tough with them. An unscrupulous employer or business partner, if suitably annoyed, will play much upon your ignorance and vulnerablity as a foreigner in their country.
(more on employment...)

A Permesso di Soggiorno may be required for study, but if the Italian university is not in the same region as the student’s residence, there may be a problem obtaining this. A letter from the Italian university alone may not be considered sufficient evidence of intention merely to study in Italy.
Students wishing to attend courses at Italian Universities or private institutes must produce a declaration issued before their departure by an Italian consulate certifying their acceptability. Contact the Italian consulate first before visiting, to ensure having all the right documents for the declaration to be issued.

The Bottom Line on all this is simply to make sure that everything is in order before you depart from the UK. Once you are in Italy it may be too late to correct mistakes, and a student’s studies and enjoyment of their stay in Italy may be hampered and marred as a result of insufficient attention to these legal details.

employment

Information on working conditions etc in Italy is available from local job centres in the United Kingdom.
It cannot be emphasised too strongly that there is much unemployment in Italy. It therefore follows that anyone who does not speak fluent Italian and has no special skills has little prospects of finding a job here. There is no great recruitment of foreign workers for harvesting as in some Mediterranean countries.

au pairs

are advised to first approach a reputable agency in the UK.

Anyone who decides to try their luck living and working in Italy should bring sufficient funds to support themself for several weeks and to purchase a return ticket in the event that their search for work proves unsuccessful.
Those with no means of support may be picked up by the police, charged with vagrancy and escorted to the nearest border.
(back to student advice)

More notes for the Guidance of British Citizens wishing to work in Italy and who have the Right of Abode in the UK

As an EEC National if you intend working in Italy you must have the following documents:

1. Permesso di Soggiorno

Police Permit to Stay. This is issued by the Questura and must be applied for within one week of arrival. Changes of address and employer must be notified to the police immediately and the permit amended. When you apply you will need a Full British Passport.

2. Libretto di Lavoro

Worker’s Registration Book. Available upon production of a permesso di soggiorno which shows that the applicant is in Italy for work.

3. You are also required to register with the central employment exchange (ufficio di collacamento).

(The addresses of the offices that issue the above documents are listed below)

registering as a resident

As soon as it becomes clear that you will remain in Italy you should take steps to register with your local ‘Anagrafe’ (Central Registry Office)

codice fiscale

(Fiscal Code)
This is something like a National Insurance number and although there is no immediate legal requirement to attain a Codice Fiscale, sooner or later it will be necessary to have one. The number is issued you in the form of a credit card-sized plastic card and it’s necessary to produce it or quote the number for eligibility for reduced costs in medical prescriptions and healthcare. If making any large purchase using credit, most shops will require a Codice Fiscale number from the customer as a fraud-prevention device.
This is also likely to apply when agreeing to rent an apartment, hire a car, etc. You should also apply for a Codice Fiscale number for any children who may be living with you in Italy.

In some cases shops will request your codice fiscale even if you are paying with cash. When this happens, we usually tell them to where to shove their request, and then we leave the shop. Even though I do have a codice fiscale, I'm damned if I'm gonna let the salesperson have it. My money should be good enough for them. As far as we're concerned, they've just lost a sale; We go and look for the item somewhere else, someplace that doesn't ask for a codice fiscale. We're not putting up with that kind of fascistic bureacracy.
In England and the US, the customer is always right, and Italy has got a long, long way to go before it learns this.

useful addresses

QUESTURA CENTRALE

(for Permesso Soggiorno)
Corner of Via Genova/Via San Vitale
(off Via Nazionale)

ANAGRAFÈ

(for Libretto di Lavoro)
Via L. Petroselli 50 (behind Piazza Venezia)
The issuing office is located in the ‘Ufficio Telescriventi’. Turn right inside main door on ground floor. There are also local Anagrefe offices if you live in the suburbs. Check your phone book for addresses.

UFFICIO DI COLLOCAMENTO

(Employment exchange)
Viale R. Vignali (off Viale Bruno Pelizzi/Via dio Torre Spaccata)

VIALE DELLA CONCILIAZIONE

(for Codice Fiscale)

and the best of British luck to you!

you'll need it...