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Question for Motherof8

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newfhugger
  4/8/2005 12:30 EST

Hi Again,

Hope you don´t mind my picking your brain a bit. It is very helpful for me to connect with someone who is up on the current entry visa process.

If you don´t mind, I have a couple of questions that could be very helpful for me.

1. In another thread, you listed the process for obtaining a Nulla Osta for lavoro autonomo. You did not mention the need to present a work contract. In the past, I did have to present a work contract and the contracting company in Italia had to provide all kinds of financial data to verify that they could afford to pay me. Is this really no longer required for lavoro autonomo?

2. You also mentioned in that other thread that the process is easier now. What changes did you have in mind when you said that?

Thanks for your assistance.
Bryan

motherof8
  4/11/2005 12:50 EST

Bryan,
OK, I have some good and some bad news. First I just spoke with my husband and he said that yes he did have to take his contract of employment with him to his appointment for the Nulla Osta, but he did not have to provide any financial documents from the employer. He did have to open a bank account there with E1500 and take his bank statement with him as well. It seems that it is easier to get the Nulla Osta now. But....I was finally able to speak to a real live person at the LA consulate late last week and was not encouraged by what I was told. She informed me that everything for the visa process has changed and they do not know what the changes are yet, only that it is more difficult and that it takes a least a month to get the lavoro autonomo visa. She said she would call me in two weeks to give me more information. Mind you that this is AFTER I have already gathered and translated all of the documents listed on their website and have the movers coming in a week and a half!!! ARGGG! Our plan was to send our things early since it takes 6 weeks to ship. I only pray that we have our visa by the time our goods get to Italy! I will keep you updated every time I get new information.
Motherof8

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newfhugger
  4/12/2005 02:59 EST

Dear Motherof8,

Thank you for keeping me informed of your progress.

I think that you will find that the only constant in this process is this statement from the LA consulate..."everything for the visa process has changed and they do not know what the changes are yet."

It is a constantly changing process and the consulates never seem to know what the new changes are...just that they cannot do anything until the changes are interpreted and passed down...but by the time that happens, there are new changes to wait for...a never-ending circle.

I would recommend that you be incredibly careful with moving your things. I was in the same condition, thinking that all was working fine...nulla osta in hand. (And, as you know, about $2000 spent on the process of translating, Apostille's and certifying all of my educational records.) My goods ended up being stored in the shipper's warehouse for 8 months until I finally gave up and had them shipped here to Costa Rica instead. Sure glad I refused to let them send them until I had my entry visa stamp.

Another thing to consider. You will be able to pick up your household goods in Italy without paying import taxes, BUT only if you can produce a permesso di soggiorno. This is not as easy as it sounds...depending on which part of Italy you go to.

For example, I arrived in Milano and stayed there for a few months before being sent to Palermo for my actual assignment. The questura in Milano gave me my permesso in about a week. BUT....I was in Palermo for more than 6 months before I got one there. And that was only after providing a lot of free service for the second in command in the questura.

The questura will give you a reciept when you request the permesso and the reciept is good if the police stop you before the permesso is actually processed. But I'm not sure if that receipt is sufficient to convince shippers not to charge taxes???

Bottom line...be very careful. If you're not a member of www.informer.it I would highly recommend it. They are about as current as it is possible to be on the most current law changes.

"En bocca al lupo" and please keep me informed on your progress.

Bryan

nitelite
  6/6/2005 22:33 EST

Thank you both for providing insightful information on these tasks. Even in the US, these regulations are subject to change, and not everyone is updated as quickly as everyone else. For instance, I applied for my green card after marrying an American in 1999, and recieved the card 2 weeks ago - 6 years later! The INS here changed to the BCIS after 9/11, and I am just grateful that they didn't forget about me!

motherof8
  8/25/2005 10:31 EST

Motherof8 is now in Italy after much paperwork and headaches! We have been here now for almost 3 months. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I thought for sure we would not receive our visas, but we learned something VERY VALUABLE!! Always go into the Consulate office, go through the list of required items directly with them, clarify everything, and then when all your documents are complete, go again into the consulate and review all of the documents with someone to make sure they are all in order. I cannot stress enought the importance of this. We tried to do it through phone calls and through the mail. Nothing, I mean nothing happened until we went there in person. There is something about them seeing a live person that makes them want to help you. Over the phone they told us there was no way we would get the visa, but when my husband finally flew to CA and went in personally and put on a sad face, they were able to give us the visa in TWO DAYS!!!! Not only his work visa, but the family visa as well.
Our next hurdle is changing our 18 year old son's tourist visa into a family visa. The goverment here has been giving us problems because of his age. He is handicapped so we have had to gather many medical documents and have had to have him seem by doctors here in Italy. We hope to have this done next week. Wish us luck! I would be happy to share any information about the entire visa process. Just ask.
By the way, I now enjoy a very wonderful friendship with someone I met on this site. We live only 18 minutes apart from each other.
I love Italy!! I just need to learn the language!

newfhugger
  8/26/2005 09:51 EST

Congratulations on your persistence.

I received my visa also and will be leaving in a couple of weeks.

Newfhugger

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nitelite
  9/14/2005 20:06 EST

Good job you guys!!

I'm very happy that you are acheiving what you set out to do - something I think most of the people on these boards is hoping for. Also, thanks to everyone for being open to questions and offering advice on tasks - greatly appreciated!!

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