The Entry Visa for Self-Employment (type “National Visa”) is an authorization that allows entry into Italy for a short or long stay for non-EU foreign citizens intending to engage in self-employment activities. It can only be issued following a Self-Employment Work Permit request made to the competent Italian Prefecture.
Authorization (Nulla Osta) for Self-Employment Purposes
It is the indispensable authorization for non-EU foreign citizens to obtain the entry visa for self-employment and for the subsequent request for a residence permit (for the same purpose). It must be requested at the Single Immigration Desk of the competent Prefecture through a specific online procedure. The request for the Nulla Osta for Self-Employment can only be submitted upon the entry into force of the Flows Decree, which sets the number of quotas available for the entry of self-employed workers.
Self-employment refers to industrial, professional, artisanal, or commercial activities, including the establishment of companies (capital or personal) or the assumption of corporate positions.
The issuance of the Nulla Osta for self-employment must be requested from the Police Headquarters (Immigration Office) competent for the territory, by completing the appropriate telematic forms and is exclusively carried out within the quotas established annually or triennially by the so-called “Flows Decree”. The Nulla Osta for Self-Employment is issued within the limits of this numerical quota.
The procedure: The procedure for requesting a visa for self-employment is divided into two phases:
- The Police Headquarters (Immigration Office) competent for the territory verifies the available quotas and issues the Nulla Osta for entry into Italy.
- The Italian Embassy or Consulate in the country of origin or habitual residence of the worker issues the entry visa.
Requirements: The foreign citizen who wants to apply for a Nulla Osta for self-employment must:
- Have an annual income from lawful sources higher than the minimum required by law for exemption from health care participation.
- Have accommodation complying with hygiene and health requirements, with a Certificate of Habitability or Accommodation.
- Have a Nulla Osta for entry into Italy issued by the competent Police Headquarters, to which a copy of the declarations, attestations, or substitute documentation required based on the type of self-employment to be carried out in Italy must be submitted (also through a proxy).
Moreover, there must be no impediments to the entry of the worker (arising from the Italian Civil and Penal Code or from reports in the Schengen database).
How to proceed: The foreign citizen intending to carry out self-employment in Italy must request provisional Nulla Osta for entry from the competent Police Headquarters, also through a proxy present in Italy, submitting the following documentation:
- Declaration that there are no impediments to the issuance of a self-employment authorization, drawn up by the competent ministerial or administrative authorities.
- Documentation submitted for the issuance of the aforementioned declaration.
- Attestation of financial reference parameters (a declaration specifying the financial resources required for the exercise of a specific self-employment) issued by the competent administrative authorities.
- Possible possession of the required professional characteristics.
The Police Headquarters (Immigration Office) has 20 days to issue or refuse the Nulla Osta.
The Nulla Osta for Self-Employment is valid for 6 months; therefore, the entry visa must be requested within this period. To obtain the entry visa for self-employment, the prepared documentation must then be forwarded, with a date not earlier than three months, to the Italian Embassy or Consulate in the country of origin or habitual residence.
The non-EU foreign citizen, once granted the Self-Employment Work Permit, applies for the Entry Visa at the Italian Embassy or Consulate in their country of origin or residence, by submitting the following documentation:
- Application form for entry visa;
- Recent passport-size photograph;
- Valid travel document with an expiration date at least three months beyond the requested visa’s expiration date;
- Availability of suitable accommodation, demonstrable in one of the following ways: purchase or lease agreement of a property; declaration made according to the same rules by an Italian or foreign citizen regularly residing in Italy, attesting to providing suitable accommodation to the visa applicant, corresponding to the minimum parameters required by regional law for public residential buildings with a Certificate of Habitability;
- Certification regarding the abstract identification of the economic resources necessary for the entrepreneurial, commercial, or artisanal activity to be undertaken, issued by the competent Chamber of Commerce for the territory where the activity will be carried out. These resources must not be less than three times the annual Social Allowance;
- Documentation attesting to income earned in the previous financial year in the country of origin or habitual residence, exceeding the minimum level required by law for exemption from participation in healthcare expenses;
- Work Permit issued by the territorially competent Police Headquarters.
The Italian Embassy or Consulate in the country of origin or habitual residence of the foreign citizen evaluates the application, the presence of requirements, and the availability of quotas according to the Decree on Immigration Flows, and issues the entry visa for self-employment.
The entry visa allows the non-EU foreign citizen to enter the national territory regularly and apply for the corresponding Residence Permit.