digital nomad visa — remote work
Can you work remotely while on holiday in Italy?
How much “remote work” is allowed if you do not have a work visa?
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Abstract: the digital nomad visa is not operative yet in Italy and the self employment visa is subject to a very limited number of quotas and extremely difficult to obtain. People travelling without a work visa can do some remote work on condition that the activities carried out while in Italy account for less than (i) 5% of their regular working time and/or less than (ii) 5% of their overall remuneration.
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On March 28, 2022 Italy has introduced in its law — with great resonance — a specific visa for digital nomads and remote workers. The law provides, however, that the requirements and conditions for the issuance of these visas should be established with a further Decree that was to be issued within 30 days, i.e end of April 202, but 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒏𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑵𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒅 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅.
The new law has only established some general principles, Digital Nomads:
(i) shall not need to apply for a work permit in Italy before applying for the visa at the Consulate; however
(ii) shall need to submit a comprehensive health insurance, covering all risks in Italy; and
(iii) shall most likely need to prove to have done their job for a significant amount of time as well as to prove a a minimum income requirement and submit their latest tax returns, as it is requested fro self employment visas;
(iii) last, shall need comply with Italian tax and social security obligations.
“𝔄𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔬𝔫 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔥𝔬𝔭𝔢, 𝔶𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢” (*)
In other words, similar to what happens for the self-employment visa — Italian Consulates shall be given almost total discretion on the issuance of the visas. This will most likely create confusion, because each Consulate shall use different criteria to assess the applications and grant/deny the visa.
(*) from Inferno, Divina Commedia — Dante Alighieri, AD 1555
Do you need a work visa to work remotely in Italy?
Italy does not have any specific provision regarding ‘remote working’ carried out by foreign visitors. The website of Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has an online questionnaire to be used by foreigners willing to enter Italy.
Il visto per l’Italia (esteri.it)
For both stays of less or more than 90 days, if you select ‘work’ as reasons of stay (and there is no difference if the work is for local or foreign clients) the answer is always that a work visa is required.
From a strict legal point of view — even though the individual would be working for clients outside Italy — they would still work and if they have entered Italy without a work visa (for tourism or business), they would violate the scope of their visa/scope of entry (if they are a non-visa national).
See: Visa options for individuals non sponsored by a company
Can you do some remote work while on holiday?
Taking as reference the EU Practical Guide on the Applicable Legislation In The EU, EEA and in Switzerland, the following criteria could be take in account to determine when the activities” can be considered marginal and ancillary activities that are insignificant in terms of time and economic return, thus not considered as “work”.
Marginal activities are activities that are permanent but insignificant in terms of time and economic return. It is suggested that, as an indicator,
activities accounting for less than 5% of the worker’s regular working time and/or less than 5% of his/her overall remuneration
should be regarded as marginal activities. Also the nature of the activities, such as activities that are of a supporting nature, that lack independence, that are performed from home or in the service of the main activity, can be an indicator that they concern marginal activities.
Conclusion
For stays up to 90 days:
(i) visa nationals (eg, citizens of countries that do not have a visa waiver agreement with Italy, such as China, India, etc.) will need a business visa which allows stays of maximum 90 days any 180 days periods, irrespective of the duration of the visa;
(ii) non visa nationals (eg, citizens of countries such as USA, Canada, Japan, Australia) can enter without a visa and are subject to same limitation of maximum 90 days any 180 days periods;
both can do some remote work on condition that the activities carried out while in Italy account for less than (i) 5% of their regular working time and/or less than (ii) 5% of their overall remuneration.
For stays more that 90 days:
both visa nationals and non visa nationals (irrespective of the purpose of their stay) will need a Schengen long term visa (type D). See also the EU Visa Policy.
How do you count your Schengen 90 days?
Disclaimer:
- the rules indicated in the EU Practical Guide on the Applicable Legislation In The EU, EEA and in Switzerland apply to EU nationals, who have the right to move freely within the European Union;
- non EU nationals who are travelling and/or who have the residency and right to work in one EU country can be subject to different rules and each EU Member State apply different provisions and criteria;
- The information provided on this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice and are for general informational purposes;
- readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.
