Italy | Immigration | New rules for the EU Blue Card

Introduction

The 2nd of November, was published on the Gazzetta Ufficiale (Year 164 – Number 256) the LEGISLATIVE DECREE No. 152 of 18 October 2023, implementing the Directive (EU) 2021/1883 of the European Parliament and Council of 20 October 2021 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment and repealing Council Directive 2009/50/EC.

New developments

The most important novelty is without a doubt the widening of the number of persons entitled to apply for the EU Blue Card and, in particular, in paragraph 1 of Article 27-quater, foreign workers are considered highly qualified if they are in possess of:

•  three years Diploma (3 years)
• post-secondary professional qualification of at least 3 years or corresponding to at least level 6 of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF and EQF)
•  an attested higher professional qualification of at least 5 years professional experience of a level comparable to university degrees
• an attested higher professional qualification of at least 3 years professional experience (acquired within the previous 7 years) for managers and specialists in the field of IT and communication

It is worth noting that Bill No. 53 sent to the Senate Presidency on 18 July 2023 referred to a two-year degree and a post- secondary professional qualification of at least two years or corresponding to level 5 of the NQF. This change in the approval of the amended text of Article 27-quater reduces, even slightly, the qualified subjects and also the opportunities of the applicant companies, which in any case no longer have at their disposal only what the previous regulation limited to the holder of a ‘higher education qualification of at least three years’ duration’.

Other significant innovations can be found in the minimum working conditions to be guaranteed by the employer in a binding proposal containing, in addition to and in place of the current legal text, and in particular:

• the proposed employment contract must have a duration of at least 6 months (instead of 12 in the previous article)
• The amount of the annual remuneration must not be lower than the minimum amounts provided for by the applicable CCNL. This amount must in any case not be less than the average gross annual salary as recorded by ISTAT.

The possession of a higher professional qualification falling within level 1 (legislators, entrepreneurs and senior management), level 2 (intellectual, scientific and highly specialised professions) or level 3 (technical professions) of the ISTAT classification of CP 2011 professions is confirmed.

The widening of the number of qualified persons also involves opening it up to holders of residence permits who were previously excluded, including beneficiaries of international protection, seasonal workers, workers holding ICT permits and family members of EU citizens pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 30/2007. In addition, the procedure is facilitated for foreign citizens already in possession of another ‘highly qualified’ qualification, who do not have to produce documentation on the requisites indicated in paragraph 1.

The other changes introduced by Legislative Decree no. 152 of 18 October 2023 are:

• Reduction to 12 months of the time frame of the bond that the foreign worker has with the Blue Card applicant and this gives him/her the possibility of accessing the labour market
•  The employment relationship can be interrupted and the worker registered on the employment lists
•  The possibility for family members for whom reunification has been requested to convert the residence permit in family reason into a residence permit for subordinate work, self-employment or study, as well as the possibility of the simultaneous issue of a highly qualified residence permit.

One of the most important innovations worth mentioning is that provided in the new paragraph 17 where the principle of mobility is introduced for EU Blue Card holders issued by another Member State who can now enter and stay in Italy to work for a maximum period of 90 in a 180-day period.

In addition, the holder of an EU Blue Card who has been residing for at least 12 months in another Member State and who wants to work in Italy for a period of more than 90 days, can enter Italy without a visa and a Nulla Osta. The period of stay in another Member State is reduced to 6 months in the event that he has moved from a second Member State to which he had already moved for the same purposes. In this case, the employer must apply for Nulla Osta within 1 month from the entry into Italy of the foreign national in possession of an EU Blue Card issued by another Member State.

Furthermore, the possibility is renewed for employers to sign a Protocollo d’intesa (special agreement) with the Ministry of the Interior, which replaces the Nulla Osta with a notification of the proposed contract of stay for subordinate work, with the aim of speeding up and simplifying the entry procedures for foreign workers.

The entry into force is scheduled for 17 November 2023, but it will certainly be necessary to wait for a Ministerial Circular to clarify above all the provisions of paragraph 1, i.e. to give indications on how to demonstrate the requirement of ‘highly qualified’ foreign workers, given the extension of the number of persons entitled to apply for the EU Blue Card.

Contact us

Should you have further questions on this update, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:

Giovanni Maria Guidone
Italy Immigration Lead
E: giovanni.maria.guidone@vialto.com
T: +39 331 6710635
A: Milan, Italy

Further information on Vialto Partners can be found on our website: www.vialtopartners.com