Work permit

The law requires that any foreigner obtain a permesso di soggiorno after eight days of stay.

Anyone who works in Italy must have a work permit (permesso di soggiorno per motivi di lavoro.) By rights, nationals of EEC countries shouldn't need one, but they still do. The procedures are less complicated for them than for non-EEC nationals (extracomunitari,) who need a visa obtained in their home country before they can get a permesso di sogiorno.

Procedures to obtain a work permit are much easier for EU- than for non-EU nationals. Anyone from the EU who is about to be hired need only go to the Office for Foreigners (Ufficio Stranieri) of the Questura and request a permit to stay for work reasons (permesso di soggiorno, motivi di lavoro.) Take a passport, a photocopy of the data pages in your passport, two photos and a letter from your anticipated employer stating their intention to hire you and describing your professional capacity. Fill out a form available there and on the same day you will receive a stay permit allowing you to work. With this you can proceed to get a residence certificate and an employment record booklet if applicable.

Non-EEC nationals wanting to be hired in Italy have a harder time of it. Once you are about to be hired your employer sends a request to the Ufficio Provinciale di Lavoro which then sends the request to Rome. If approved, the documentation returns to the Ufficio Provinciale di Lavoro and must then be taken to the Questura for their Nulla Osta. The employer then sends the stamped permit and a letter offering you employment to your address in your home country. There you take the two documents to the nearest Italian consulate or embassy and your passport will be stamped with the right sort of visa. Now you can enter Italy. Once here, take the stamped permit, letter of employment from your company (in Italian, stating your name, position, length of your assignment, and from which country you are being paid,) passport and two photos to the Questura, and request a permesso di soggiorno for work reasons

Additional documents include the equivalent of a social security number (codice fiscale.) Please visit the related section on our website for more information.

Employee rights

Here are some basic rules and regularities concerning employee rights in Italy:

• A 40 hour week is standard in Italy and salaries are always paid in more than 12 installments. Often, working overtime may be required, but must always be supplemented by additional income.
• Employers must deduct taxes out of employee paychecks.
• Employees should expect a minimum of 4 weeks paid holiday. Unused vacation days may be carried over to the next year.
• In case a company cancels the vacation, they must still pay their employees for those days in addition to an overtime salary.
• There are 10 days of public holiday in Italy, as well as half day holidays and feast days for Christian saints.