Case: Muhamed is a Saudi business man, he has been appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of a company incorporated and operating in Italy and he intends to obtain a valid residence permit in order to reside in the Italian territory and be able to follow the company business and activities on a stable daily basis.
Question: what are the options for Muhamed to obtain a work visa and a residence permit for Italy that would allow him to live in the country and perform the crucial duties his office as a director typically requires?
Solution: Considering that Muhamed is acting as a director of a company incorporated and operating under the laws of Italy, he might find the Italian autonomous work visa and residence permit particularly interesting and appealing.
Third country nationals who are members of the board of directors or quotaholders who carry out work activities (“socio prestatore d’opera”) in favour of companies that have been incorporated in Italy for at least three years, are eligible to apply and obtain a visa and a residence permit for autonomous work purposes.
The process Muhamed has to go throught for the obtainment of the autonomous work visa entails several steps and involves many different authorities.
First of all, provided that the Italian company has been legally existing and active for a period of at least 3 (three) years, Muhamed will have to obtain a no impediment certificate (the so called nulla osta), which is issued by the Questura Office of the place where the company has its legal office.
The nulla osta can be issued only on the condition that Muhamed is able to prove the satisfaction of the requirements set forth by the law, among which the most crucial are:
- proof of the fact that under no circumstances a subordinate work agreement will be entered into by and between the company and Muhamed;
- proof of the fact that for his role as member of the board, Muhamed will receive a remuneration not lower than 9.000,00 Euros per year and that he will therefore have sufficient economic resources to sustain himself in Italy;
- proof of the availability of an accommodation in Italy.
Once the nulla osta has been issued by Questura Office, Muhamed will be entitled to apply for an entry visa for autonomous work purposes at the Italian Embassy or Consulate in his country of residence.
With the entry visa duly stamped on his passport, Muhamed will be able to travel to Italy and apply, within 8 days from his arrival in the Italian territory, for the residence permit for autonomous work.
His residence permit will have an initial one-year duration and he will be able to renew it for further periods of one year, on the condition that the company is still existing, that Muhamed is still a member of the board of directors and that he still can prove to have sufficient economic reources to support himself in Italy.
On top of that, after 5 years of legal residence in Italy, Muhamed will also be entitled to apply for the so-called EU residence permit for long-term residents, which will allow him to reside in Italy indefinitely.