Question on living in Italy, maybe citizenship.

[Palergi]

For a person who is not from a country in the EU, and has no Italian ancestry, how hard is it to get a work permit? And maybe Italian citizenship down the road? I would like to work in Italy but it sounds like it is complicated and may cost a lot to do. Would it be easier to just go to Tunisia and board a boat and come over instead, I see this in the news a lot and they are never turned away, this is a serious question. I value my time and money and between the two options, it seems like the latter is more effective at this current time.

[mler]

To live and work in Italy, you will need a work visa and something called a permesso di soggiorno, which gives you the right to stay. If you have a job already, your company can sponsor you, but without that, it is more difficult. I suggest you do a Google search on Italian work visas and the permesso. There is much information available online.

The Tunisia suggestion is rather silly, IMHO. Firstly, it’s dangerous, and secondly, if you do manage to arrive, you will still need a work visa in order to get a job. I would think it is a lot easier (and safer) to get to Italy by plane. And by the way, the job market in Italy is not very strong so unless you have some specialized skills, you may find that getting a job is difficult.

Should you obtain a work visa and manage to live and work in Italy for ten years, you will be eligible to naturalize.