Calabria property Purchasing From a Non-Eu Country

Given the increased level of purchasers from outside the EU I thought I would give a brief insight into residence permit -

Non-EU citizens who wish to stay in Italy for more than 90 days must apply for a residence permit (“permesso di soggiorno”), issued by the District Headquarters of the Police of State (“Questura”). Staying in Italy without such authorization may result in the immediate deportation from the Italian territory.
The residency permit issued by Italy also allows the non-EU citizen to stay in all the other EU countries (with the exception of United Kingdom) for a maximum period of
90 days without any need of visa issued by such countries.

Yearly, the Italian government sets out immigration quotas divided per country of origin and type of residency permit. An average of 150.000-200.000 residency permits
are issued every year (last year over 700.000 applications were made).

In order to obtain the residency permit, the non-EU citizen must fulfil two crucial conditions:

1) he must have a job in Italy granting him and his family (should he wish to have
his family in Italy as well) adequate economical resources;

2) he must have the availability of a adequate lodging on the Italian territory.
In light of the above, non-EU citizens owning properties in Italy cannot apply for a residency permit adducing this sole reason.

A specific type of residency permit (choice of residency permit: “permesso di soggiorno per residenza elettiva”) may be issued should the non-EU citizen be able to prove the availability of ample economical resources coming from properties rentals, pensions,etc.

In such case the condition of having a job in Italy is not required.

Moreover, this type of residency permit is very difficult to obtain, due to the wide discretion that Italian authorities have in the assessing of the economical resources of the applier.
On the other hand, it is possible to get the residency permit in Italy taking advantage of certain Italian immigration rules favouring foreign companies in doing business in Italy. The quotas rule explained above does not apply to this type of residency permit.

The applicant should be employed by a foreign company, which will grant him a salary
and an adequate lodging. Depending on how high the salary granted is, even the
spouse and the relatives of the applicant may apply for this type of residency permit.

The first step to take is the incorporation of a foreign company. Strongly recommendable for that purpose is the UK Limited Liability Company (LTD), due to its strong reputation worldwide and its management flexibility.

The following activities should be carried out:

a) incorporation of the company (chosing case by case the best option in terms
of name of shareowners); it is understood the applicant should have the full
control of such a company;

b) appointment of a nominee director, acting on behalf of the company through a
power of attorney;

c) management of the company and drafting of the annual balance;

d) drafting of the “apostille”, giving legal effect abroad to the relevant documents
of the company;

e) drafting of the employment contract between the company and the applicant.
The second step to take is the registration of the foreign company in Italy and the registration of the employment contract to the competent Employment Office.
The following activities should be carried out:

a) registering the company at the competent Chamber of Commerce, appointing a fiscal representative on Italian territory;

b) applying for the registration of the employment contract to the competent Employment Office;
c) looking after all the legal and fiscal duties connected to the presence of a foreign company in Italy.

After that, the due documentation will be submitted to the competent Italian Consulate, so that the applicant will be able to apply there for the entry visa. The Italian Consulate will issue a employment visa, allowing the Non-EU citizen to enter in Italy and to apply for the residency permit.

In this further step the activities to be carried out will be as follows:

a) drafting of the applications required for the issuing of the residency permit;

b) finding a suitable lodging in Italy.

The foreseen timing for the completion of the whole procedure will be six-seven
months.

Once the applicant has obtained the first residency permit (whose length is connected
to the length of the employment contract granted by the foreign company: usually 1 or
2 years), he has the right to obtain its renewal.
After 5 years of residency permit, the applicant has the right to apply for a “long duration residency permit”, which, unlike the “basic” one, does not need to be renewed.