Immigration: intra-corporate transfer

Italian companies (so-called 'host entities') that have headquarters, branches, or representative offices located in a non-EU country, or are themselves headquarters, branches, or representative offices of foreign companies, or are in any case associated with companies located in non-EU countries because they belong to the same group of companies (within the meaning of Article 2359 of the Italian Civil Code), usually make reference to ICT. In addition to that for the application of this provision, the host entity must require the employment of a non-EU national employed within the same group of undertakings (as above delined) from at least three uninterrupted months immediately prior to the transfer. On this point, Article 27-quinquies, paragraph 1, defines intra-corporate transfer as: the “temporary secondment of a third-country national from an undertaking established in a third-Country, and to which the third-country national is bound by a work contract prior to and during the transfer lasting at least trhee months, to an entity belonging to the undertaking or to the same group of undertakings which is established in Italy” (Art. 27-quinquies, paragraph 1, Italian Consolidated Act on Immigration).

As for the subjective requirements, intra-corporate transferees should encompass only: managers, specialists and trainee employees. Depending on the subjective profile varies the maximum duration of the transfer.

Trainee employee means a person with a university degree who is transferred to a host entity for career development purposes or in order to obtain training in business techniques or methods, and is paid during the transfer.

Specialists, to whom Art. 27-quinquies makes reference to, are employees working within the group of undertakings possessing specialised knowledge essential to the host entity's areas of activity, techniques or management. In assessing such knowledge, account shall be taken not only of knowledge specific to the host entity, but also of whether the person has a high level of qualification including adequate professional experience referring to a type of work or activity requiring specific technical knowledge, including possible membership of an accredited profession. This profile used to be governed at art. 27 par. 1 lett. g) of the Italian Consolidated Act on Immigration. 

The transfer’s duration can reach up to maximum three years for specialists and managers, and up to one year for trainees.

The return of the employee to it’s Country or to a different one at the end of the transfer is particularly relevant among this type of permit.  It is to be considered in fact that:

• application for renewal of the ICT permit can be submitted, in cases of extension of the transfer period, within the maximum duration of the tranfer as stated by the law for each subjective profile;
• at the end of the authorized intra-corporate transfer period, the employee must return its entity or to an undertaking of the same group;
• Between the end of the maximum duration of the intra-corporate transfer and the submission of another possible application to enter Italy for the same foreign worker, at least three months must elapse.

The procedure, from an administrative point of view, moves from the exclusively telematic request for the entry authorization for the intra-corporate transfer made by the Italian host entity.

The application is completed by connecting to the immigration section of the Interior Ministry’s website, which can be accessed with one's SPID credentials. The form to be completed, associated to the ICT permit called “entry authorization to work in special cases (art. 27 legislative decree no. 286/98) - request for entry authorization to intra-corporate transfer for the posting of executives, specialised workers or workers in training”.

Upon rejection, the request must indicate the following elements:

• evidence that the host entity and the undertaking established in a third country belong to the same undertaking or group of undertakings;

• evidence of employment with the same undertaking or with an undertaking belonging to the same group for a minimum period of three uninterrupted months immediately preceding the date of transfer;

• the duration of the transfer and indication of the address of the host entity;

• the status of manager, skilled worker or trainee held by the worker in the host entity;
• professional characteristics and experience owned by the foreign worker (whether or not he/she has a high qualification, adequate professional experience for activities requiring specific knowledge, whether or not he/she belongs to a professional register, whether or not he/she has recognised professional qualifications for regulated professions pursuant to Legislative Decree 206/2007);
• the qualification held by the foreign worker (university degree for trainee workers);

• the salary, other working and employment conditions that will apply during the transfer;

• the return of the employee, at the end of the transfer, to an entity belonging to the same undertaking or to an undertaking of the same group established in a third country;

• identification of a valid passport or equivalent document;

• for trainees, the individual training plan reporting also duration, training objectives and conditions of training;

• a commitment to fulfil social security and welfare obligations under Italian law, unless there are social security agreements with the country of origin;
• copy of the ID of the legal representative of the applicant host entity (if foreigner also copy of residence permit);

Once the request has been completed and sent, it is made available to the offices involved, first and foremost the Single Desk for Immigration (Italian Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione, herein also indicated as SUI), set up at the prefecture of the province where the host entity is based. Appropriate checks and effective inspections made by the SUI (concerning the regularity, completeness and suitability of the documentation submitted by the applicant) must be carried out within 45 days from the submission of the request. Provided the outcome of the verification is positive, the SUI issues the entry authorization, which is then forwarded to the relevant consular offices to issue the visa. Once holding a visa, the foreign worker may legally travel to Italy. From his arrival, the employee has eight days to declare his presence at the Single Desk for Immigration of the Prefecture that issued the entry authorization for the purpose of issuing the residence permit. At the same time is also completed the additional needed documentation which the employee must send to the competent police headquaters at an authorised post office (i.e. marked 'Sportello Amico').  Within 45 days, the police superintendent issues the intra-corporate transferee residence permit to the employee.

ICT residence permit holders may also apply for family reunification (in application of Article 29 of the Italian Consolidated Immigration Act). In this case, family members are issued a residence permit for family reasons of the same duration as the ICT residence permit.

In transposition of the EU Directive, Legislative Decree 253/2016, also introduced within the Italian Immigration TU Article 27-sexies entitled 'Foreigners in possession of a residence permit for intra-corporate ICT transfer issued by another Member State'.

Like the EU Blue Card (regulated in Italy by Article 27-quater of the Immigration Consolidation Act), the holder of an ICT residence permit is allowed to move and work between Member States. To be more specific, the holder of an ICT permit may be transferred, for short or long periods, to host entities established in EU Member States to work there, regardless of which EU state issued the permit.

Short-term mobility is defined as that covering a period of no more than 90 days, distributed over a period of 180 days; in this case, the permit does not require an entry authorization request from the host entity placed in Italy. Moreover, the foreign employee, holder of a valid ICT residence permit issued by another EU Member State, does not need to apply for a visa to enter Italy.

Long-term mobility means a temporary posting of more than 90 days, in which case the host entity in Italy must apply to the Italian authorities requesting the entry authorization.

A few further features:

• the request can be made even if the employee has already entered Italy, as long as it is made within 90 days of the worker's entry into the country (an entry visa is not required).
• Within eight working days of the issue of the entry authorzation, the employee must state his presence to the immigration office that issued the entry authorization for the purpose of issuing a residency permit, which will be marked 'mobile ICT'.
• Pending the issue of the entry authorization and the delivery of the 'mobile ICT' residence permit, the employee is allowed to work in Italy (provided that the ICT intra-corporate transfer residence permit issued by another EU Member State is valid).

Lastly, it should be noted that the 'mobile ICT' also guarantees family reunification for the same duration as the applicant's ICT permit.