The month of March 2022 ends with a big news regarding Italian immigration law: following the example of other countries (such as Malta, Romania, Dominica, Brazil, just to name a few) Italy has finally introduced a new category of visa and residence permit i.e. digital nomads and remote workers.
The official decree implementing these changes into the Italian immigration law system (Legislative decree 286/98 –Testo Unico sull’Immigrazione) is still expected – the Government has, in fact, 30 days from the entrance into force of the law to issue all the necessary acts/documents specifying in details the requirements to be met as well as the application procedure – but the proposal submitted to the Italian Parliament has been approved and converted into law by Article 6-quinquies of Law No. 55 of March 28, 2022.
Third-country nationals who want to enter Italy to carry out their work activities remotely will soon be able to directly apply for a visa at the competent Italian Embassy/Consulate in their country of residence – without the need to apply in advance for a work authorization (nulla osta) – and should obtain a residence permit for a period not exceeding 1 year.
The Italian Consular authorities will issue the visa should the applicant be able to demonstrate to have an health insurance covering all the risks related to their stay in Italy and provided that the applicant undertakes to comply with the tax and social security obligations provided for by Italian law.
According to the definition provided by the law, digital nomads and remotes are defined as “third-country nationals who carry out highly qualified activities through the use of technological tools that allow them to work remotely, autonomously or for a company which is based outside the Italian territory”. Further details will be provided upon adoption of the official guidelines by the Italian Government and, therefore, all the requisites to be met for the issuance of the visa – with particular reference to the minimum threshold of income to be met by the applicant – will be explained and clarified.
LCA Corporate Immigration Team will keep you posted on any development on this matter.
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