Italy residence permit through a representative office of a foreign company: manager status under Article 27, outside quotas and without investment

A representative office (ufficio di rappresentanza) is not a separate legal entity and carries on no commercial activity: it promotes the company, gathers information and prepares deals. It is registered as a local unit in the REA for EUR 30 and files no accounts. A branch (sede secondaria) and an Italian company do business and pay tax in Italy. For a permit under Article 27(1)(a) a representative office is enough.

The company's principal place of business must be in a WTO member state. India (member since 1995), the UAE (1996), Kazakhstan, Russia, Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine qualify. Belarus, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are only observers, so their companies do not qualify under this ground; for them we look at other routes.

There is no investment contribution. You need to show that the company genuinely operates (register extract, accounts), that the office is open and registered, that the manager receives a salary not below the collective agreement and has housing. The costs are the office, salary, contributions and taxes.

A manager (dirigente) or an employee with specialist knowledge the office needs, employed in the same sector for at least 6 months before the transfer. That can be the owner, if employed by the company in a position, or a hired manager. The family comes through reunification.

Registering the office with translations and legalisation usually takes a few weeks. The regulations set no statutory term for issuing the nulla osta in this category; once issued, it is valid for 120 days. The permit is issued within 90 days of filing at the Questura. A realistic path from the first meeting to the permit is several months and depends on the workload of the Prefettura and the consulate. We do not promise 'within a month'.

An employment permit on an open-ended contract is issued for up to 2 years, on a fixed-term contract for up to 1 year. It is renewed while the same employment relationship continues and contributions are paid. The total temporary assignment, including extensions, is no more than 5 years. After 5 years of legal residence the EU long-term permit becomes available.

The permit under Article 27(1)(a) is tied to the specific employment relationship with your company. Changing employer or moving to self-employment means changing the ground of the permit — possible, but a separate procedure. Family members with family permits work without restriction.

If the office carries on only preparatory and auxiliary activities — promotion, gathering information, displaying goods — no permanent establishment arises under Article 162 of the Income Tax Code and the company pays no Italian corporate tax. The manager's salary is subject to Italian income tax and contributions. As soon as the office starts selling or signing contracts, it becomes a permanent establishment.

Spending more than 183 days a year in Italy makes you tax resident, declaring worldwide income with relief under the India–Italy or UAE–Italy double tax treaty where applicable. Preferential regimes for relocating workers were moved into the new consolidated tax code in 2026 (Legislative Decree 117/2026); we check the conditions and rates on the filing date and do not promise 'half the tax' in advance.

The employer requests the nulla osta from the Sportello Unico at the Prefettura for the place of work in Italy. The visa is issued by the Italian consulate for your place of legal residence: in India the Embassy in New Delhi or the Consulates General in Mumbai and Kolkata; in the UAE the Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General in Dubai. Police certificates come from your countries of residence; Indian documents carry an MEA apostille, UAE documents are legalised through the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

10 years of legal residence (Law 91/1992, Article 9), Italian at B1, and a procedure of up to 24 months, extendable to 36. Italy does not require renunciation, but India does not allow dual citizenship, so an Italian passport means surrendering the Indian one. After 5 years the EU long-term permit is available, which no longer depends on the assignment — and it is residence, so the Indian passport stays.

Parents — yes, under Article 29: no other children in the country of origin, or the parent is over 65 and the other children cannot support them for serious health reasons. Adult children — only with total incapacity for health reasons. For a spouse, adult children and parents the law since 2026 requires 2 years of the applicant's continuous legal residence (Article 28(1-bis)); minor children do not wait.

To EUR 7,101.12 a year add EUR 3,550.56 per relative: spouse — EUR 10,651.68; spouse and one child — EUR 14,202.24; spouse and two children — EUR 17,752.80. With two or more children under 14 the minimum is EUR 14,202.24. Income is proven by the main applicant, and the salary under the Italian contract counts. Plus housing to standard and a permit for each person (EUR 126.46 for a 2-year card).

Yes. If the application is refused through the fault of our team or an error in building the case, we refund the company's service fee less a minimal retention for costs actually incurred. Refund terms, the payment schedule and the rules on retaining service costs are fixed in the contract before work begins. Before we start, we check your documents and risk history free of charge and tell you about any risks in advance.