Question: I’ve been a legal resident in Italy for five years. I’d like to apply for the EC long-term residence permit (Carta di Soggiorno). I’ve heard that there is an income requirement for this. Is it true?

Answer: It is true, in order for you to apply for the EC long-term residence permit you must meet determined requirements and one of them is to have an income not lower than the social benefit allowance. 

The income requirement is much higher if one is applying for the EC long-term residence permit also for the family members. The minimum income required must be multiplied by half for each family member. In case of two or three minor children under the age of 14, the income required must not be lower than double the amount of social benefit allowance.

The general income of all family members living with the applicant are taken into consideration. Having in mind that the social benefit allowance for 2010 is 5.349,89 Euros, if you are applying for the EC long-term residence permit only for yourself, then you must have an annual income of at least 5.349,89 Euros. But if you are applying for EC long-term residence permit  for yourself and one family member, then your income must be at least 8.024,83 Euros. If you are applying for EC long-term residence permit for two family members (or two or more children under the age of 14), your income must be at least 10.699,78 Euros.

You must have an income of least 13.374,72 Euros in order to apply for the EC long-term residence permit for three family members, and 16.049 Euros for four family members.

Be reminded that the income required to be issued the EC long-term residence permit  is the same one required for family reunification.

Apart from the income requirement, for you to be issued the EC long-term residence permit, you must also have a valid Permit of Stay (or have applied for renewal of your permit). You must have been a legal resident for at least five years, be a holder of a long term Permit of Stay (excluding Permits of Stay for studies, professional training, humanitarian reasons, subsidiary social protection, for asylum and for application for asylum).

You must not have been given a criminal sentence in Italy and not be considered a threat to public order and social security.

To apply for the EC long-term residence permit, it is necessary to use appropriate forms available at the designated post offices and to send the application from those designated post offices.

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Question: Hi, I was regularised as a domestic worker last year. I’ve now found a new employer willing to hire me. Can I change jobs? How do I go about it?

Answer: Yes, you can change jobs. Once you’ve received your Permit of Stay for subordinate work, you are no longer tied to the employer who applied for your regularization.

According to Italian Law, the Permit of Stay for subordinate work issued to a domestic worker allows the holder to do any type of work. The holder can in fact do either subordinate work or self-employed work. If the holder does self-employed work, he/she will have to apply for the conversion of the permit into one for self-employment at the time of renewal of the permit.

Your new employer must notify the Employment Centre (Centro per L’Impiego) of your hiring and must send the Residency contract (contratto di soggiorno - modello Q) through a registered mail with return receipt to the Immigrations Office at the Prefecture in the Province where the employer is a resident or in the province where the company has its headquarters.

The notification must be done within 5 days of hiring.

The form must be duly filled in. You’ll be asked information about the new job you are going to do such as the type of collective contract to be applied. You can find the form and types of contracts on this link: http://www.lavoro.gov.it/Lavoro/md/AreaSociale/Immigrazione/modellicontrattisoggiorno.htm).

The name of the employer and of the worker, and the employer’s address must be indicated on the return postal receipt.

Please note that at the time of applying for renewal of your permit, you’ll have to indicate the name of your employer and new contractual conditions.

In order to avoid delay in the processing of your application, it is wise to include in the application kit all the documents regarding the new job, proof of accommodation and a copy of the new Residency contract.

By Mariangela Lioy

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Question: I’m a Nigerian living in Rome with a valid Permit of Stay for subordinate work. I regularised my status in the country in 2007 through the Quota Agreement (Decreto flussi). My child, who is ten years old, has been living with me for one year now but he doesn’t have the Permit of Stay. How can I regularise his status?

Answer: According to Article 19 of Law 286/98, a minor child (under the age of 18) cannot be expelled from Italy unless under exceptional circumstances. The minor child has a right to the Permit of Stay for minor age (permesso di soggiorno per minore età).

In case the minor child lives with a parent who is in the country legally, he/she is entitled to the Permit of Stay for family reasons if the parent meets the requirements for family reunification.

If the minor child is under the age of 14, the parent must apply for his inclusion in the parent’s Permit of Stay. This is done using the application kit available at the authorised post offices. After filling in the application kit, the parent and the child must go to the post office together to hand it over to the post office officer together with all the other required documents.

But if the child is older than 14 years of age, he must go together with the parent to the Immigrations Office at the Provincial Police Headquarters (Questura) to apply for the Permit of Stay for family reasons.

By Mascia Salvatore    

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Question: Hi! I’m a Polish woman married to a Kenyan man who is living in Italy illegally. We prepared the documents to apply for his Permit of Stay but at the police station (Questura) we were told that he can’t be issued the permit. They said that he must first return to Kenya and apply for family visa.
I’d like to find out if this is true. Isn’t there a way he can be issued the Permit of Stay without having to return to Kenya? Thanks.

Answer: Unfortunately, after marriage, for your husband to be issued the EC long-term residence permit for EU family members (family members of EU citizens are entitled to this permit), he must go back to Kenya, apply for family visa and re-enter Italy legally.

According to Legislative Decree number 30 of 2007, as a family member of a European Union citizen, your husband will be issued this visa free of charge and his application will be processed faster than those other applicants who are not family members of EU citizens. Thanks.

By www.theafricanews.com

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