JOB
YOUR RIGHTS
Foreign workers are treated equally and enjoy full equality of rights with Italian workers: “The Italian Republic, in implementation of ILO Convention No. 143 of 24 June 1975, ratified by Law No. 158 of 10 April 1981, guarantees all foreign workers legally residing in its territory and their families equal treatment and full equality of rights with respect to Italian workers” (Art. 2, paragraph 3, Legislative Decree No. 286/1998 and subsequent amendments).
In this section you will find practical information on job guidance services in Sardinia, opportunities, and tools to help you enter the labour market.
You will have access in the job market:
1. from abroad, within the framework of the entry quotas established annually by the “decreti flussi” - flow decrees - (except for some cases in which entry is allowed out of quota), by applying for a visa and then for a subordinate employment or self-employed work permit (Art. 4 and 21-26 of T.U.I. - Consolidated Immigration Act)
2. directly in Italy, if you already have a regular residence permit that allows you to work, and certain requirements provided for by law
PLEASE NOTE:
- Most residence permits allow work and access to active labour policy services and measures (except short or specific kinds of permits such as: minor age, tourism, business, justice, religious reasons, pending citizenship or pending stateless status).
- Asylum seekers can work 60 days after submitting their application for international protection.
- Some permits can also be converted into work permits (as indicated in the T.U.I. - Consolidated Immigration Act, art. 6, par. 1 and 1-bis): study/training, special protection, calamity, elective residence, acquisition of citizenship and stateless status, sporting activity, artistic work, religious reasons, minor assistance, medical treatment (art. 19, par. 2, letter d-bis T.U.I.), subsidiary protection, special cases, acts of particular civic value.
For information visit Residence Permit conversion
The Italian Embassy/Consulate in your country of origin or permanent residence can give you specific information on the procedures and requirements for obtaining a visa for salaried or self-employed work in Italy.
For more information on work permits, you can consult a legal adviser, an immigration office, or the police headquarters (Questura)* or see Helpful Contacts *.
For information on how to apply for/renew your residence permit for employment or self-employment go to *Residence permit*.
MINORS AND WORK
Foreign minors legally residing in Italy may work in accordance with the rules in force for the employment of minors in Italy.
The minimum age for employment is the moment when the minor has completed the period of mandatory education, and in any case cannot be before 16 years of age (Law no. 296/2006, Law no. 977/1967).
In exceptional cases, minors aged 15 years are eligible for apprenticeship contracts (Legislative Decree 81/2015, Art. 43 par. 2).
In any other cases, minors under 16 years of age may only carry out part-time jobs in a cultural, artistic, sporting, advertising, or entertainment context, provided this is decided together with their parents or guardians.
Unaccompanied minors with a minor permit are not allowed to work.
JOB SEARCH
Useful information and services
If you are legally residing and looking for a job, you can apply to
1. Job centres (CPI)
2. Informagiovani and Informa & Orienta (youth guidance services)
3. Private employment agencies
1. Job Centres (CPI)
What are CPIs? The Job Centres (CPI) are the territorial offices of ASPAL - the Sardinian Agency for Active Employment Policies - established by Regional Law 9/2016.
What services do they offer?
DID (Declaration of Immediate Availability for Work) and professional and personal data sheet
Career information and guidance
Curriculum vitae (CV) preparation and job counselling
Liaising between companies looking for employees and job seekers
Support in finding internships and other training and work opportunities, including the “Garanzia Giovani” programme
Information and guidance on business start-up
EURES (European Employment Services) European Job Mobility Support Service.
PLEASE NOTE: Language and cultural mediation supporting foreign users is available at the CPIs.
What documents do you need to register with the CPI?
-Valid residence permit, or slip proving the ongoing process of first issue or renewal/conversion. For asylum seekers: permit for asylum application
-Tax code (asylum seekers can use the numerical type they’ve been assigned)
-Identification document: identity card, passport, driving licence (for asylum seekers a permit for asylum application is acceptable)
What is a DID (Declaration of Immediate Availability for Work)? *
If you are unemployed (also in case of termination of employment) you can apply online or directly to the CPI for a DID, under the same conditions and requirements as Italian citizens.
With the DID you formally declare your state of unemployment and your immediate availability for work and for participating in the active labour policy measures agreed with the Job Centre.
You also need a DID to apply for income support measures and in the case of employment, together with your personal and professional data sheet.
How to submit the DID online https://www.anpal.gov.it/come-fare-per (in Italian)
For support and further information ask the CPI or contact a tax assistance center (CAF) or welfare centre (Patronato). See Helpful contacts
2. Informagiovani e Informa & Orienta
These are active information points in the municipalities, mainly targeting younger people, providing advice and guidance, also signalling opportunities to young or aspiring entrepreneurs.
3. Private employment agencies
These agencies are acknowledged by ANPAL (the National Agency for Active Employment Policies), and they help match job offers from companies with job seekers. Registering with employment agencies is useful for seeking a job that suits your skills and receiving information on active opportunities that fit your
For more information and contacts visit Helpful contacts
Search for jobs, training, and internships
- Subscribe to the ASPAL newsletter, and keep up to date on the ASPAL Facebook and Instagram profiles https://www.aspalsardegna.it/ (in Italian)
- For further information and updates on services and opportunities in Sardinia, please visit SardegnaLavoro website: http://www.sardegnalavoro.it/ (in Italian)
https://servizi.sardegnalavoro.it/borsalavoro/Cittadino_RicercaOfferte.aspx (in Italian)
Find job offers on Sarda lavoro: https://sardalavoro.it/ (in Italian)
- Find and post job offers on Subito.it : https://www.subito.it/ (in Italian)
- Find job offers on Facebook searching “job offers”
- Create your Europass CV online https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv
Find out more about the “Garanzia Giovani” programme and Sardinian Job Meeting initiatives.
“Garanzia Giovani” Programme
http://www.sardegnalavoro.it/garanzia-giovani (in Italian)
“Garanzia Giovani” is a programme promoted by the European Union and aimed at legally resident EU citizens or non-EU foreigners aged between 15 and 29, resident in Italy, unemployed and not enrolled in education or training (Axis 1) or unemployed between 15 and 35, enrolled in education and training (Axis 1BIS).
The programme aims at helping young people access the labour market by signposting training, work, apprenticeship, and internship opportunities.
If you are interested and wish to enrol in the programme, please contact your nearest Job Centre (CPI). Helpful Contacts
Sardinian Job Meeting
Every year ASPAL organises the International Job Meeting, an event focused on matching labour supply and demand. During the event, you can sign up for a job interview with companies looking for staff, participate in conferences, seminars, workshops, information-exhibition areas, and other interesting activities related to the world of employment.
http://www.sardegnalavoro.it/borsa-lavoro/sardinian-job-day (in Italian)
https://servizi.sardegnalavoro.it/internationaljobmeeting/home.aspx (in Italian)
INTERNSHIP
An extracurricular internship - a training and orientation internship or work placement/reintegration internship - is a period of training and practice in a company, which is not part of a study programme (in that case, it is a curricular internship).
It allows you to acquire practice as well as professional knowledge and skills in a certain field, valuable for entering the world of employment.
The internship is not a real employment relationship.
In fact, it provides no real pay but an “allowance.”
It can be a good opportunity for those, like young people, who are entering the world of employment for the first time or who wish to acquire specific skills in the field to enter a certain job sector.
Age: The minimum age limit for the internship is 16 years and you must have completed your mandatory education in accordance with current legislation.
In some cases, internships may also be set up for unaccompanied foreign minors who cannot prove that they have completed their compulsory schooling in their country of origin or in Italy, as long as they are attending a school course aimed at obtaining a middle school certificate and are registered with the Job Centre. .
APPRENTICESHIP
Apprenticeship is an open-ended employment contract aimed at training and employing young people aged between 15 and 29.
The apprentice receives not only remuneration but also specific vocational training.
Types of apprenticeship:
1. Apprenticeship for vocational qualification and certificate, age 15-25 (also valid for the purposes of mandatory education and training) (see Education and Training section)
2. Professional apprenticeship (age 18-29)
3. Higher education and research internships (age 18-29)
For information and details visit the Job Centre (CPI)
http://www.regione.sardegna.it/apprendistato/ (in Italian)
Sardegna Lavoro website
https://www.sardegnalavoro.it/formazione/apprendistato (in Italian)
SURFACING AND REGULARISATION OF WORK RELATIONS
For information on regularising your employment status (“surfacing”), visit: https://www.interno.gov.it/it/speciali/emersione-dei-rapporti-lavoro (in Italian)
For support and further information consult a legal adviser, a lawyer, a welfare centre (Patronato), or an immigration service helpdesk.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND BUSINESS CREATION
In addition to work under an employer, legally residing foreigners are entitled to be self-employed in various sectors and to set up their own businesses.
What is self-employment?
Self-employment refers, for example, to anyone wishing to exercise an industrial, professional, craft or commercial activity in Italy, whether already legally resident in the territory or arriving from abroad.
The self-employed worker may perform a work or provide a service, on their own account, based on their specific professional skills and qualifications.
In general, anyone wishing to enter Italy from abroad to work as a self-employed person must contact the Italian diplomatic or consular representation of their country of origin and prove that they meet certain requirements, such as:
adequate resources to carry out the activity to be undertaken in Italy as well as accommodation
authorisation from the local police (Questura) to carry out that activity
requirements for enrolment in professional bodies and registers, if required
Anyone carrying out activities on a self-employed basis, such as freelancers or companies, because they are not paid as employees, are required to obtain a VAT number in order to fulfil their tax obligations. The VAT number is obtained from the Internal Revenue Service.
For information you can contact a welfare centre (Patronato), a tax centre (CAF), trade associations or a private accountant, at your own expense.
BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
1. Business support and guidance
If you have a business idea or you are running your own business, you can turn to trade associations that provide guidance and support at several levels, as well as targeted training courses and other useful services for starting and running a business.
Trade associations represent and protect the interests of specific production categories, i.e., all persons (natural or legal) carrying out certain economic activities.
These associations, each specialised in specific sectors, have an excellent knowledge of their area, and are staffed by professionals who can provide valuable support at several levels, including taxation.
Find out about the main trade associations in the Helpful Contacts section
2. “Italia StartUp VISA” Programme
If you plan to enter from abroad and start a business in Italy, the Italy Start-Up VISA Programme, launched by the Ministry of Economic Development, is aimed at non-EU entrepreneurs who intend to create an innovative start-up in Italy, through a new simplified procedure for granting visas for self-employment.
Programme website: italiastartupvisa.mise.gov.it (in Italian)
For further information, please write to: info.italiastartupvisa@mise.gov.it
3. Facilities and incentives for businesses:
https://www.sardegnaimpresa.eu/it/agevolazioni (in Italian)
http://www.regione.sardegna.it/servizi/imprese/incentivi.html (In Italian)
https://bandi.contributiregione.it/regione/sardegna (in Italian)
Self-employment and recognition of qualifications
1. Recognition of qualifications of refugees and holders of international protection
In accordance with the provisions of the Lisbon Convention, Italy has adapted its legislation on the recognition of refugee qualifications (paragraph 3 bis of Art. 26 of Legislative Decree 251/2007)
«In order to recognise professional qualifications, degrees, certificates and other qualifications obtained abroad by holders of refugee status or of subsidiary protection status, the authorities concerned shall identify suitable assessment, validation and accreditation systems which enable qualifications to be recognised in accordance with Article 49 of Presidential Decree No. 394 of 31 August 1999, even in the absence of certification issued by the State in which the qualification was obtained, if the applicant demonstrates that they are unable to obtain such certification.»
For information on recognition of qualifications visit the CIMEA website http://www.cimea.it/en/servizi/procedure-di-riconoscimento-dei-titoli/riconoscimento-titoli-dei-rifugiati.aspx
Visit the ENIC-NARIC website for information on the recognition of qualifications in the European Union
https://www.enic-naric.net/recognise-qualifications-held-by-refugees.aspx
Visit the “European qualification passport for refugees” – EQPR website Recognition of Refugees qualifications – A pilot project
Visit MERIC-net (Mediterranean Network of National Information Centres on the Recognition of Qualifications) website: http://www.cimea.it/it/progetti-in-evidenza/meric-net/meric-project.aspx
2. For general information on the recognition of professional qualifications obtained abroad, visit http://www.cimea.it/it/servizi/procedure-di-riconoscimento-dei-titoli/riconoscimento-professionale.aspx
SUPPORT AND PAPERWORK ASSISTANCE
Welfare centres (Patronato), tax centres (CAF) and trade unions provide advice to workers and unemployed people and deal with employment, social security, and tax matters, such as:
- information on employment contracts and workers’ rights
- 730 tax form 730 e ISEE (Indicator of Equivalent Economic Situation) statement
- information on the tax system and VAT registration
- application for unemployment benefit (NASPI)
- other social security practices and benefits from INPS/INAIL
Trade unions, in particular, represent and protect workers’ rights, offer advice, and also assist workers in disputes with their employers.
Most services are free of charge.
Alternatively, you can hire a professional (“commercialista” - accountant) at your own expense.
For further information visit the Helpful Contacts section.
