Focus On Lavoratori UE

EU citizens who intend to reside and work in Italy are not subject to the provisions of the so-called Consolidated Text on Immigration.

In accordance with the principle of free movement and the right of establishment, EU citizens have the freedom to move, reside and establish themselves in Italy to work, in accordance with the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 30 of 6 February 2007: this Decree implements the Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.

With this Directive, a single legislative text was adopted on the rights of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, removing the previous differentiation between employed, self-employed, students and other persons (see Art. 21 TFEU - Treaty on the Functioning of the EU).

EU citizens and their family members have the right to engage in any economic activities whether self-employed or employed, except for those activities reserved for Italian citizens by law (Article 19(1) - in accordance with the Treaties of the European Union and the Community legislation in force. 

Extra-curricular traineeships may also be activated in favour of EU citizens.

Moreover, every EU citizen residing in the national territory has the right to be treated on an equal footing with Italians within the scope of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, according to Legislative Decree No. 30/2007.

The benefit of this right is extended to family members who are not nationals of a Member State and who hold the right of residence or the right of permanent stay (art. 19, par. 2).

EU citizens have the right to reside in the national territory for a period not exceeding three months, without any conditions or formalities, except for the possession of a valid identity document or passport according to the law of their State of nationality.
The same provisions shall also apply to family members, holding a valid passport, who are not nationals of a member state accompanying or joining the Union citizen. (art. 6, commi 1 e 2, del D.Lgs. n. 30/2007).

The right to stay for a period longer than 3 months is provided when the EU citizen (Art. 7, para. 1):

• is employed or self-employed in the State;

• has sufficient economic resources for himself and his family members, so as not to be a burden on the host country’s social assistance system, and comprehensive sickness insurance covered;

• is a student enrolled at a public or private accredited school to attend a study course as main activity and has sufficient economic resources for himself and his family members not to become a burden on Italy’s social assistance system during his stay, and has health insurance or another suitable qualification covering all risks on national territory;

The right to reside beyond three months is extended to family members who are not nationals of a Member State when they accompany or join the Union citizen on national territory, as described above (Art. 7, § 2).

In addition, a European Union citizen who is already employed or self-employed in the national territory retains the right to reside (Art. 7, § 3) when:

•    temporarily unable to work due to illness or accident;
•    if they are in a documented involuntary unemployment status after having worked for more than 1 year in the national territory and is registered at the Employment Centre, or has issued the declaration of his/her immediate availability for work;
•    if they are in documented involuntary unemployment status at the end of a fixed-term employment contract of less than one year or has been in such a status during the first 12 months of residence in the national territory and is registered at the Employment Centre or issued the declaration of his/her immediate availability for work. In this case, they shall retain the status of employee for one year;
•    they attend a vocational training course, unless the person concerned in involuntarily unemployed, the training must be related to their previous occupation for worker status to be retained.
The EU citizen is entitled to permanent residence if they have lived legally in the national territory State for a continuous period of 5 years. even in the absence of the conditions required by Articles 7, 11, 12 and 13 (Art. 14) This also applies to their accompanying family members.

Finally, regarding transnational posting, the EU citizen is subdued to a particular regulation set by EU Directive no. 957 of 2018, as transposed by Legislative Decree no. 122/2020, which reformed the previous regulations set out in Legislative Decree no. 136/2016. 

For all information, you can refer to the portal on Transnational Posting, as well as the dedicated page on the institutional website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies.  

To access the online communication go to Servizi Lavoro.