intra company self-employment visa as a director

Who is eligible to apply for an Intra-company visa and residence permit?

The Intra-company Visa and residence permit is specifically conceived for workers of foreign companies to be temporarily transferred to an Italian entity that is controlled by, affiliated to, or part of the same group of companies with the foreign company.
The Italian entity could be a subsidiary, a branch or a representative office of the foreign company.
Please note that the applicant can be a minority shareholder of the foreign and Italian company, whereas he/she should not be a legal representative of the Italian company.

Main requirements to apply for the Intra-company transfer visa and residence permit

The worker should be:

  • either a manager in the foreign (non-Italian) company, or a highly specialised worker with particular expertise, professional experience and knowledge in the field of the Italian hosting entity, or a worker in training, holding a university degree, to be transferred to the hosting entity to allow them to develop particular professional competencies and enhance their career;
  • temporarily transferred to the Italian entity;
  • employed in the foreign company for at least 3 months before the visa application.

Main Procedural Steps

  1. Applying and collecting the ‘Nulla Osta’ (Certificate of No Impediment issued by the competent Immigration Desk);
  2. Filing the visa application at the Italian Consulate of the applicant’s place of residency;
  3. Entry in Italy and application for the residence permit at the competent Police headquarter within 8 days;
  4. Registration of the applicant’s fingerprints at the competent Police headquarter;
  5. Issuance of a 2- years residence permit.

Scope of our Assistance

Our assistance includes the following activities (full assistance up until the issuance of the residence permit):

  1. Preliminary legal analysis and advice on the options to obtain an Italian Visa and Residence Permit;
  2. Guidance and advice on how to collect all the relevant documents;
  3. Drafting the power of attorneys;
  4. Guidance and advice on how to obtain the necessary notarization of the power of attorney, and, for the proxies drawn up abroad, the necessary apostille or legalisation and its certified translation;
  5. Drafting the Secondment Letter, which describes the terms and conditions of the secondment in Italy and the job position of the worker in the foreign company;
  6. Application for and collection of the Certificate of No Impediment (Nulla Osta) at the competent Immigration desk;
  7. Guidance and advice on the Visa application before the competent Consulate, and on the preparation of the relevant documentation;
  8. Guidance and advice on the Residence Permit application and the subsequent procedural steps before the competent Italian authorities, and on the preparation of the relevant documentation;
  9. Establishing contact with all public stakeholders involved in the afore-mentioned procedures to solve potential issues, overcome obstacles, and promote a positive outcome of the applications.

Validity of the Intra-company transfer residence permit

The Intra-company transfer residence permit has a maximum validity of 2 years, renewable. However, after three years, the applicant should wait three months before applying for a new intra-company visa. Only for managers and executives with a University Degree is instead possible to remain in Italy for an indefinite time through direct hiring by the Italian company.

The residence permit is renewable provided that the foreign national has actually worked for the Italian company to which he has been seconded, and as long as the foreign national is never absent from the Italian territory for longer than 6 continuous months.

The applicant can renew the residence permit on their own or be assisted by us.

Time frame

The expected time frame to obtain the Intra-company transfer visa is approximately 3 months from the application for the Certificate of No Impediment. Once the applicant obtains the Visa, they can travel to Italy, apply for the residence permit, work and reside there legally.

Get in Touch

Do not hesitate to write to us if you wish to have additional information on the requirements for this type of Visa and counselling on your specific case.