I'm a 30 something year old woman who has decided on Italy to be my new home. I'm not a student, I don't have worked lined up there, I'm not retiring anytime soon, I don't have ancestry there, and I'm not a tourist. I just want to start a permanent new life in Italy. I've read several of the forum posts but none seem to give me an concrete solution as to which VISA I should apply for.
I plan on getting my TEFL Certification here in Nashville this summer to make myself more employable. If possible, I'd like to move there in the fall before Christmas.
Any advice would certainly be helpful!
-Janice
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-Janice
Well, let's run down the list of options -- including the weird and exotic. In no particular order:
1. You could live and work in Italy illegally, as clandestini do. (I would not recommend that.)
2. You mention you do not have Italian ancestry. However, if you are a citizen of any of the countries in the European Union, the European Economic Area, or of Switzerland, you can live and work in Italy legally. If you can be recognized as a citizen of any of those 30+ countries that'll work.
3. Citizens of Panama have some limited treaty rights to live and work in Italy.
4. If you are a citizen of Australia or of Canada you can apply for a 6 month "working holiday" visa. (You have to do so quickly if you're Australian since the age limit is 30.)
5. You can bounce back and forth a couple times between Italy and, for example, the U.K. as long as you don't work, staying within the 90 day Schengen Area limit and the 6 month U.K. limit. A total of up to 180 days in Italy/Schengen and up to 12 months in the U.K. should be quite safe if you hop back and forth precisely.
6. You can legally marry (or "civil unionize" -- as in the French PACS) a male citizen of any European Union or European Economic Area country (or of Switzerland) and live with him in Italy, with the ability to seek employment. (Men with EU/EEA "status" -- those foreigners with EC Long Term Residence Permits, for example -- would also qualify.) Sorry, I'm already taken.
7. You mention you're not a student currently, but that is an option if you wish to enroll in an Italian university. Note that student visa holders are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week in university/study-related work.
8. You mention you're not retiring any time soon. OK, but can you take a very long vacation? Can you stop working for 5 years, living off demonstrated savings and/or investment income? If so, you can apply for an Elective Residency visa, live in Italy for 5 years, then convert to an EC Long Term Residency Permit which then allows employment.
9. Are you super prominent in your field? A top business manager, a well-known entrepreneur, a famous artist or performer, a distinguished professor (*), a world class professional athlete, etc., with talents that are difficult or impossible to find among the 60+ million residents of Italy? If so, you may (if you're very lucky) be able to get a work visa.
10. Could you plausibly apply for asylum in Italy? Would returning to your home country put your life in danger, and do you have some plausible ties to Italy as a refuge?
11. Could you become a nun and work in the Vatican?
12. Could you join the diplomatic corps and get transferred to Italy?
13. Could you join the U.S. military and get stationed in Italy, or work for a defense contractor stationed at a U.S. base in Italy?
14. Would you be willing to live and work in Svalbard for several years (a not-well-traveled path to Norwegian citizenship)?
15. Would the Italian government (or any other EU or EEA government, or the Swiss government) have any reason to grant you citizenship for your service to their country? (That worked for Louis Freeh, as an example.)
(*) Austria is a better choice for professors, if possible. If you become a professor at an Austrian university, and you do not already have EU, EEA, or Swiss citizenship, then Austrian citizenship is yours for the asking.
That's all I've got.
Hi Janice,
You may not have Italian ancestry, but you should look into whether you might qualify for some other EU country citizenship and work toward that. Holding an EU passport would make it much easier to move to Italy.
There have been recent discussions on the board about VISAs, I think BBCwatcher and/or Mozella have put up some exhaustive information, and AmyAmy is an authority on documents and procedures. The short answer as I understand it is that without having an employer in Italy "sponsor" your application you can't get a work visa.
If you don't already speak at least basic Italian, throw yourself into studying it now. It will be of great importance in working and living here. (the study visa has also recently been discussed on the site, including what kind of Italian language study could qualify. The study visa allows a reduced number of hours of work.)
I see BBCwatcher types faster than I do...
I think BBC watcher has it covered.
Io sono ancora qua
eh già
Hi Janice,
Yes, the advice given above is very complete. It seems to me that the Elective Residency is the simplest--that's the one that I have. I'm assuming you're American (from Nashville), right? I'm not sure which consulate you're required to use, but I've gotten my visa from the Miami consulate twice and they were very easy to work with.
As far as TEFL, yes, it's about the "surest bet" for an American finding work in Italy--especially if you don't speak fluent Italian. You can get your certificate in Nashville, I'm sure. But it would either 1) make more sense to get it in Italy, or; 2) be cheaper to get it online. Just my opinion.
I'm no expert in the visa process, but if you need any advice regarding TEFL, just drop me a line.
Rick Zullo
http://rickzullo.com/
ER is not compatible with working in Italy.
I'm guessing you are a law abiding U.S. citizen who just wants to come to Italy so you can work and live a normal life. Perhaps you have a bit of money saved up, but not enough to support yourself for the rest of your life. Seems reasonable enough, but sad-to-say the Italian government isn't particularly interested in making your dream easy to achieve.
BBCwatcher did indeed cover "the weird and exotic" paths which might be open to you (I'm quite impressed actually). Unfortunately, if you read his comprehensive post carefully, you'll see that you really don't have any simple options. In other words, you didn't inadvertently overlook some nifty path to living and working in Italy.
For example, you can't get an ER Visa if you have to work. Getting a work visa is difficult. And so-on. Becoming a professor in Austria or living someplace from which you can see the North Pole in order to gain eventual (who knows when) entry into Italy doesn't strike me as a great way to achieve your goal.
Not to say that it can't be done, but I think you have a hard row to hoe. Good luck.
Bob
America seems like a dream to me now.
Couple of new or coming wacky options:
If you can prove your family is of jewish origin from Spain and you are still a practicing jew, Spain is inviting jews who were kicked out of the country centuries ago to apply as they are offering to restore citizenship.  
etails are hazy as this was announced in the past month but definitely worth exploring as an option to obtaining European citizenship.
Spain is considering offering residence permits (not sure if that includes a work permit) if you purchase a home in Spain of at least $200,000. This seems much lower than the amounts required to obtain an Italian ER Visa, especially considering you may be able to take out a home loan with a small deposit. In theory your Spanish residency permit may allow you to stay in Italy for longer periods...
The Spanish residency permit being offered if you buy a house is only valid for Spain - the EU imposed this restriction on them to avoid migration to other EU countries through this route. Spanish citizenship, on the other hand, brings total free movement, unless restrictions are put on it like some British passports have.
Principal Relocation
www.reloprc.com
Ireland and Portugal already have these "come here to save our real estate market, spend lots of money, and don't work" residency programs for foreigners, albeit with some higher minimum home values (500K and 400K euro respectively).
Aliens (non-EU/EEA/Swiss) don't get cross-border residence permits. The EU didn't have to do anything special about that -- that's existing policy. National residence permits are still national.
Yes, like any other continuous legal residency there's a path to permanent residence and citizenship. After 5 years a foreigner could get an EC Long Term Residence Permit (but that permit is not useful in Ireland, the U.K., and Denmark). After at least 1 to 10 years -- the number of years depends on the country and the person's heritage -- naturalization would be available. Spain does not have "second class" citizenships to my knowledge -- every Spanish citizen is on equal footing with respect to EU/EEA/Swiss treaty rights.
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