Italy's integration agreement for new non EU hires

A non EU worker over 16 entering Italy for the first time and applying for a permit of at least one year signs an integration agreement with the State (DPR 179/2011). Without it the Questura does not issue the permit, and losing all credits leads to revocation and expulsion.

The employer's risk: revocation and expulsion

For an HR office the integration agreement is part of the employment file, even though the employer is not a party to it. Article 4-bis paragraph 2 of D.Lgs. 286/1998 provides that losing all credits under the agreement leads to revocation of the residence permit and expulsion. The employment relationship ends with the residence title that supports it.

The consequence appears late, at the check of the agreement, when the company has already paid for selection, entry and training. The employer has an interest in knowing the obligations the worker accepted and in not standing in the way of meeting them.

Scope of the obligation and exemptions from revocation

Article 1 paragraph 2 of DPR 179/2011 sets three cumulative conditions: age over 16, first entry into Italy, and a permit application whose requested validity is one year or longer. A worker hired on a nulla osta for open ended or annual subordinate employment normally meets that definition.

The revocation rule for lost credits does not apply to every permit holder. Article 4-bis paragraph 2 leaves several categories outside it.

The table shows why the worker's position changes with the title held. An employee who later obtains a family permit or an EU long term residence permit moves outside the revocation rule of article 4-bis.

Where the signature sits in the permit calendar

The agreement comes at the start of the residence path. Signing it is a precondition for the Questura to issue the permit, under article 4-bis paragraph 2. In the calendar of a hire from abroad it therefore falls after entry on the nulla osta and before the residence permit is handed over.

Two practical points follow for the company. The first is scheduling: the worker has to be free to attend the Prefecture for the signature on the same days as the other entry appointments, and shifts need to be planned around it. The second is the period after: the obligations accepted under the agreement run while the employment is under way, and the agreed working hours need to leave room for them.

The procedure and costs of the work permit are covered in the piece on the work residence permit, and the housing required for the contratto di soggiorno in the piece on the housing suitability certificate. Open roles are on the job board.

The sources to keep on file

The rules come from two legal texts. DPR 179/2011, the regulation on the integration agreement between the foreign national and the State, was published in Gazzetta Ufficiale no. 263 of 11 November 2011 and entered into force on 10 March 2012. Article 4-bis of D.Lgs. 286/1998 sets the link between the agreement, the issue of the permit and revocation.

The employee file should hold a copy of the signed agreement and the signature date, next to the nulla osta, the contratto di soggiorno and the permit. The text of the regulation is published on Normattiva.