I’m trying to understand the restrictions of my residence permit (permesso di soggiorno). Under it you can’t work for an employer — but can you still open your own business, a café for example? Does the ban on subordinate employment (lavoro subordinato) also apply to self-employment, or are those different things?
Detailed analysis of the topic: Residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) 2026: how to get it for the first time
These are legally different things — lavoro subordinato is employment under an employer, while lavoro autonomo is self-employment. A ban on one doesn’t mean a ban on the other. But with cafés it’s a separate story — you need a partita IVA (VAT number) and the permesso’s “tipo” must allow it, otherwise opening a business is impossible. I once dealt with a similar question myself; the information is really contradictory — the Italian principle “generally forbidden, but somehow possible” applies here too. The key is to check what’s written on the permesso itself in the “tipo” field: if it allows lavoro autonomo, then everything’s fine. If it only allows lavoro subordinato, then you won’t be able to open a café without changing the permit’s basis.
Thanks, dashulya44, I checked — my permesso (residence permit) doesn’t list a direct ban on self-employment (autonomo), only on subordinate employment (subordinato). Do you know if delaying any activity until the renewal could later backfire when I submit the documents?
You can wait, but when renewing the Questura (Italian police/immigration office) they look at real activity — partita IVA (VAT number), turnover, bank statements for the period. Without that they won’t grant a renewal for autonomo (self-employed status). How much time is left before submission?