Italy’s Digital Nomad visa plans: Fact vs fiction

By Alessia Ajelli

Up until early 2022, Italy had no specific provisions regulating the influx of remote workers from outside the EU (aka digital nomads) – meaning that no such workers could enter the country on a visa specifically designed for foreign remote workers. Those entering the European country on tourist or business visas with the intention to stay there and pursue remote work risked breaching Italian laws.

In March 2022, however, the situation was beginning to change – at least on paper. It was then that the Italian government officially announced amending the country’s immigration laws, making available, for the first time, new types of visas and residence permits that specifically cater to digital nomads and remote workers from outside the EU.

ITALY IS FOLLOWING THE GLOBAL NOMAD VISA TREND

The decision came following the successful examples set by other countries, some of which integrated these types of visa and residency permits within their immigration systems years ago, including Romania, Brazil, Malta, Croatia – just to name a few. Such countries were successful in attracting foreign digital nomads who wanted more freedom to move and live in other countries around the world, while supporting themselves through remote working.

Formally, 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. However, since that date the process experienced a significant backlog since the decree implementing the changes (Decree 286/98 – Testo Unico dell’Immigrazione) failed to be approved within the following 30 days provided by the same Law 55/2022.

The implementation decree is still pending and there is no grounded or reasonable indication of when it will be finally approved and published. As of today, therefore, we only brief information and references on how this new visa and residency permit category will be shaped and what the requirements to be met by applicants will be.

WHO CAN BE A REMOTE WORKER IN ITALY?

That being said, what we surely know, at least theoretically, is the individual target groups for this kind of visa: digital nomads and remote workers, as defined by Italian law 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”.

The remote workers could be either independent freelancers working autonomously with or for foreign clients and receiving payment as independent contractors, or employees of foreign companies based outside Italy, with no presence in the Italian territory (such as through a representative office, secondary or branch office).

APPLICATION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS

This visa and residence permit will be considered outside the Italian quota mechanism (decreto flussi) – there will be no cap or limit to the number of visas requested/granted - and the individuals interested in getting one will have to apply directly at the Italian Embassy/Consulate in their country of residence. There will be no need to apply for a previous work authorization (nulla osta) to be issued by the Ministry of the Interior. Therefore, the process, at least in its initial stage, will be handled in the foreign country of residence of the applicant.

Once the long-anticipated implementation decree comes into effect, the Italian Consular authorities will process applications which, according to the information available so far, shall include documentation proving that  the applicant is carrying out highly qualified activities through technical tools enabling them to work remotely,  proof of compliance to tax and social security obligations in the applicant’s country of residence, whilst also complying with the Italian tax and social security law,  and finally, the applicant has to provide a health insurance policy covering all the risks of their stay in Italy.

UNCERTAINTY DUE TO DELAYS 

The long wait for the issuance of the implementation decree has created great expectations as well as doubts, both from the side of individuals potentially interested in applying and professionals who would assist them with their applications.

There remains great unclarity in terms of what will be the actual requirements to be met and the specific documentation that applicants shall provide to prove their eligibility. For example, what would be considered as ‘highly qualified activities? Can a personal computer and working through a cloud system fall under the definition of technological tools enabling the remote work? What would be the minimum threshold in terms of income/turnover generated by the applicant to be considered eligible? Is the amount of such minimum threshold going to be left to the discretion of Italian Consulates/Embassies depending on the foreign countries where the application is lodged (like in the case of elective residence visas applications)?

These, and many other questions, have been raised and continue to pop up as time goes by, with the interest of foreigners to potentially get an Italian digital nomad and remote worker visa.

THE FUTURE OF ITALY’S NOMAD VISA? 

Italy is surely an attractive country for many foreigners who want to establish their life in its territory. The nomad visa represents a step forward in bringing the Italian immigration system closer to the ones of other countries, including many European ones, that have already been offering these types of programs for a while.

For the time being, however, the uncertainty that surrounds the Italian digital nomad and remote workers visa and residence permit, especially regarding the guidelines that will be given to the Italian Consular authorities for its processing as well as the definition of some of the basic requirements for its granting, is unclear. We can only wait until the implementation decree is finally approved by the Italian authorities and at that point, we will be able to understand whether this new visa category will have the potential to be successfully applied for all over the world. 

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