Visas & Customs Requirements

Employment:

The work visa is the most difficult to obtain. It is divided into three subcategories for the following types of applicants:

• performing arts work: for musicians in a planned concert series, actors in a planned film, etc.
• dependent work: for those employed and paid by an Italian company
• independent work: for freelancers, such as programmers and consultants

There are a limited number of such independent work visas afforded to Americans every year, and experience has shown that they disappear within a few hours after the quota is announced. The major challenge in landing a work visa is that you must have letters from the company saying it intends to hire you, or else bring you on as a consultant. This would be an unusual windfall for someone not already living in Italy.

In order to solve this paradox, many Americans arrange job contacts while on shorter vacations in Italy, and then fly back to the U.S. to straighten out their visas. Keep in mind that you should not overstay your three-month visit or your renewed six-month permit to be successful with this approach. For even more time, some people choose to sign up for a bona fide course in Italy, and then apply for a student visa. Many people manage to parlay the student permit into a work permit once the course is over.

Again, finding an employer who is willing to file the paperwork for an American has become more difficult recently, as there are new quotas set for foreigners allowed to fill Italian jobs. If you manage to qualify, you need to have your employer send the Labor Ministry a letter that says the company intends to hire you. When that has been approved, the Ministry will issue a nulla osta document to police headquarters. The company will also send you a work contract to present to the embassy or consulate, along with proof of Ministry approval, for your visa.

Teaching Positions:

Frustration with traditional Italian schools has led to the increasing popularity of international schools offering the entire curriculum in English. There are teacher jobs for English-speaking teachers in every subject, especially English as a second language (ESL). Americans, Canadians and Australians are working in Italy even though they aren't citizens of the European Union.