Per la libertà di movimento, per i diritti di cittadinanza

Trained nurses – How do they convert study visas to residence papers allowing labouring?

Hello! I first of all mean to compliment you on your involvement and on the help you give to migrant citizens.
I am a non-EU citizen and I work in a private health centre just outside Padova, I am a male nurse. I graduated this year and I part-time work since I still hold a student visa, which has been recently renewed.
I applied to Padova’s Labour Department (DPL) to have my visa converted into residence papers allowing to labour. I was initially told that this procedure would take about one month, then some days ago DPL told me conversion will take about three/four months.
Then I referred to police and I was told that the only way of having residence papers allowing to labour issued is to newly entering Italy. Another strange situation I happened to meet is that I went to temp labour agencies to look for employment and they told me that my papers could be converted in one month time. I hope you can help me in solving this matter.
Thank you very much and best regards.

*** First of all: all student visa holders can part-time work, they cannot work more than 1040 hours a year. Anyway the fact that they work does not entitle them to stay in Italy once studies are over. Even if students can work during their schooling in Italy, the fact that they work does not make their stay lawful once schooling is completed.

Answer – Once a foreign student finishes studying in Italy, his/her study visa cannot be renewed because he/she has a job. The person that wrote to us works as a nurse and this is respectful of law, once his actual papers are over he cannot keep working if he does not convert the study visa before.
In Italy, foreign workers can have residence papers only through quotas: they need to apply to an entry visa from their home country after in Italy an employer is authorised to employ them from abroad.
The question we received seems to be saying that this interested person applied to 2005 quotas late. We shall try to study the suggestion this person received from police.
Trained nurses can apply to residence papers any time during the year. Bossi-Fini law introduced art. 27 paragraph r bis: this states that trained nurses stand aside the system of quotas. Rules for the enforcement of the law art. 40 paragraph 1 provides for that trained nurses can sign an open end contract and that their residence papers are liable to extension right here in Italy.
In addition to this art. 49 paragraph 21 expressively provides for that trained nurses can stay in Italy, extend their papers length any time and change as employer as well – they just cannot change kind of employment.
This is the easiest procedure we can suggest, nurses of course need to be offered employment in both public and private structures. Eventual employers have to ask for authorization to employment (on basis of art. 27) and the answer should immediately be positive because employing trained nurses does not depend on quotas.
Once authorization is issued, employees need to go to their country of origin (with no hurry) and ask to have an entry visa newly issued. Change in employers are allowed, too.

There’s another opportunity: having student visas turned into labour residence papers.
Conversion can happen in Italy only if quotas are available, which nowadays is not possible.
The person that wrote to us could wait for next flows decree to come – at the sole condition that his study permit is still valid – and have his employer apply to the decree. If conversion occurs, residence papers will allow to any kind of employment and not only as a nurse.