Obtaining a residence permit in Italy when opening a representative office of a Russian company

If a Russian company opens a representative office in Italy, the head of such a unit can obtain a residence permit in Italy with the right to carry out work activities (including gaining access to the national medical healthcare system). Also, family members of the head of the representative office (spouse, children, parents) can receive a residence permit.

There are a number of advantages in obtaining a residence permit on this basis:

· no need to apply for a labor quota to enter Italy;
· no need to pass an Italian language proficiency exam;
· there are no requirements for the head of the representative office to have special competencies/education;
· no restrictions on time spent in Italy;
· the procedure for submitting documents and subsequent renewal of a residence permit is relatively simple.
The residence permit that the head of the representative office receives is temporary and must be renewed annually. After 5 years of having this document, it is possible to obtain a permanent residence permit, and after another 5 years (10 years in total), it is possible to submit a request for Italian citizenship.

The procedure for the representative office of a Russian company in Italy takes from 3 to 5 months and consists of several stages:

· Registration of a representative office;
· Registration of an agreement with the head of the representative office at the Italian Labor Inspectorate;
· Obtaining permission to enter Italy;
· Obtaining a visa at the Italian Consulate (in Moscow);
· Obtaining a residence permit in Italy;
· Start of activity

The status of the head of a representative office is partly similar to a Russian individual entrepreneur (individual entrepreneur) – the head is not an employee of the company, but provides services for managing the division, issuing invoices to the company for his services.

1. Registration�