Getting an Italian Work Permit Just Got Easier – Or Did It?

While it’s still no piece of cake to get a permit to live in Italy if you’re a non-EU citizen, there have been some efforts made recently to make the process smoother. Once upon a time, you needed to get or renew your Permesso di Soggiorno (permit to stay) by going to the Questura and having at the ready documentation of employment and a rental agreement or proof of home ownership.

Nowadays, thanks to the Prodi government, you can get a packet of forms called, amusingly, “Il Kit” – which is available at every single post office in the country – and return the completed forms to the post offices which have people on staff to process them (that’s 5,332 post offices, according to Emma Bird). That certainly does make it sound easier to get the proper paperwork. Now all we have to do is find the proper job.

Stop the presses!

Emma now says that things aren’t as rosy as they originally appeared… And what’s worse, the transaction, which used to be free, now costs money…