Do I understand correctly that right now the only workable route is to register as a sole proprietor (ИП) in Italy? The digital nomad visa isn’t really functioning yet, even though in practice it’s the same move as relocating as a nomad — only with the mandatory requirement to register as an ИП?
Exactly. Lavoro autonomo is currently the only workable scheme; they’ve been promising a nomad one for ages but nothing’s come of it. Just keep in mind it’s not exactly like our sole proprietorship (ИП) — there’s a different system here with a VAT number (partita IVA) and mandatory contributions to INPS (Italian National Institute for Social Security), so be prepared for proper accounting.
6 Likes
Yes, exactly — there really aren’t any other workable options right now. Just keep in mind that the quotas for lavoro autonomo (self-employment) are only about 500 for the whole country per year, and you also have to get into the dekret flussi (декрет флусси). And partita IVA is not our ИП (individual entrepreneur) — the accounting there is more serious; for taxes and INPS contributions you really need a commercialista (accountant).
6 Likes
The consulate will need you to prove not a business plan, but that you actually need to be in Italy to work — those are fundamentally different things. Without language skills and without real contracts with the Italian side, it’s extremely hard to explain that at the interview. By the way, you can start putting contracts together remotely even before applying. One more point about the Blue Card: if you have a high qualification and an employer in Italy is willing to sponsor it, that’s a route outside the Decreto Flussi quotas and the Decreto Flussi queue, but the salary threshold there is strict.
3 Likes
Blue Card, by the way, is a route that bypasses the “flussi” quotas, but the salary threshold is currently about €33k gross per year; for shortage professions like IT it’s around €25k — when they were arranging my friend’s in Milan, they went exactly through this option. Small Italian companies rarely take on that kind of paperwork; you need a serious employer willing to deal with the bureaucracy. There’s also elective residency (residenza elettiva), which wasn’t mentioned here, but it requires passive income of at least €31k per year and working is completely prohibited — more an option for rentiers.
3 Likes