Residence permits for work purposes

According to Italian law, non-EU citizens or cittadini extracomunitari (those who come from countries outside the European Union) can legally enter and / or work in Italy with these permits:

1. Permesso di Soggiorno per Lavoro Autonomo. Residence permit for self-employment: for people who are not employed by a company.
2. Permesso di Soggiorno per Lavoro Subordinato. Residence permit for subordinate work: for people who are employed by a company (including domestic workers) and seasonal jobs (jobs related to the tourism-hospitality and agricultural sector).
3. Residence permit for other specific cases, for example studying or training. Even with this type of permit you are entitled to work..

With a work residence permit you also have other rights, such as: access to the health system, school and education, family reunification requests, etc.

What are the requirements for obtaining a residence permit for work?

Generally, to obtain a residence permit for work reasons you must have:

• A passport or another valid identification document;
• Regular entry to Italy with a visa (except for special cases governed by the Immigration Act called Testo Unico sull’Immigrazione);
• Having applied for a residence permit within 8 working days of entering Italy.

Then there are specific rules that change depending on the residence permit you want to apply for:

1. Permesso di Soggiorno per Lavoro Autonomo – Residence Permit for Self-Employment

• Documents showing that you have a legal work activity in Italy;
• Have an annual income that is at least equal to the amount that exempts you from health care costs. For the year 2021, that is equal to 8,263.31 euros.
• Prove that you have a house where you live. It’s okay even if you are a guest at another person’s home. In this case, the owner or the person renting the house, must write a statement where they say that you are living in their house.

The duration of the permesso di soggiorno per lavoro autonomo is 2 years. This permit can be renewed by showing the updated documents that are mentioned above.

2. Permesso di Soggiorno per Lavoro Subordinato – Residence permit for subordinate work

• A fixed-term or permanent employment contract;
• Have an annual income equal to the minimum social income (reddito sociale minimo). For the year 2021, that is equal to 5,983.64 euros;
• Prove that you have a house where you live. It’s okay even if you are a guest at another person’s home. In this case, the owner or the person renting the house, must write a statement where they say that you are living in their house.

The duration of the permesso per lavoro subordinato depends on the employment contract but generally cannot exceed:

• 9 months for one or several seasonal work contracts;
• 1 year for fixed-term subordinate employment contracts (lavoro subordinato a tempo determinato);
• 2 years for permanent employment contracts (lavoro subordinato a tempo indeterminato).

This permit (permesso per lavoro subordinato) can be renewed.

3. Permesso di Soggiorno per Motivi di Studio o Formazione – Residence Permit for Study or Training Reasons

You can work even with the study permit. However, your work must not be more than 20 hours per week.
You can obtain a residence permit for study or training purposes:

• After arriving to Italy with a visa for study purposes;
• Or if you convert your previous residence permit for family reasons (permesso di soggiorno per motivi familiari), or permit for minors or foster care (permesso per minore età o affidamento).

The duration of the residence permit for study is one year and can be renewed for another three years beyond the years of the course you have chosen.

Important: you can change your study permit into a work permit only through the quotas decided in the decreto flussi. In some specific cases, you can do it without waiting for the decreto flussi, after a degree program like: laurea triennale, specialistica, etc.

Can I convert my residence permit into a permit for work reasons?

Converting the residence permit means changing the type of permit you already have and requesting a permit to work legally in Italy.
The conversion application is made at the Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione. The procedure may change depending on the type of permit you have and the one you want to apply for. It usually takes a few months for the permit to be converted.

Generally, to convert a residence permit into one for work reasons you must have:

• A valid (not expired) residence permit;
• A valid (not expired) passport;
• An employment contract or another document to prove that you have a job;
• Prove that you have a minimum annual income.

Depending on your situation, you may also be asked for other documents in addition to those on the list.

Which residence permits can be converted into work permits?

According to the latest Italian laws you can ask for one of these residence permits to be converted into a work permit:

• Residence permit for special protection – Permesso di soggiorno per protezione speciale;
• Residence permit for natural disasters – Permesso di soggiorno per calamità naturali;
• Residence permit for medical treatment – Permesso di soggiorno per cure mediche;
• Residence permit for minors assistance – Permesso di soggiorno per assistenza minori;
• Residence permit for religious reasons – Permesso di soggiorno per motivi religiosi;
• Residence permit for sporting activities – Permesso di soggiorno per attività sportiva;
• Residence permit for artistic work – Permesso di soggiorno per lavoro di artistico;
• Residence permit for acquiring citizenship or statelessness – cittadinanza o dello stato di apolide (tranne i casi in cui lo straniero era precedentemente in possesso di un permesso per richiesta asilo).

Remember that to change some residence permits, you need to find out about the decreto flussi. The decreto flussi is the law with which the Italian government decides how many residence permits can be converted into work permits each year.
There are also special cases where it is not necessary to wait for the decreto flussi to convert your permit. For example, if you have a study permit and have obtained a degree in Italy, you can convert it at any time.

If you have refugee status or are a holder of subsidiary protection, you can ask to convert your residence permit into a work permit. But usually people don’t do this because their refugee permit lasts 5 years and is valid even if people don’t have jobs.

Attention: The rules are many and they may change depending on the situation, so get well informed and ask for advice to a lawyer, an association or patronato/caf.
To find the local patronato, search online for the words: patronato + name of your city (for example: patronato Firenze).

To find the immigration office of your Comune, search online by typing:
Ufficio immigrazione + name of your city (for example: Ufficio immigrazione Comune di Firenze).