New Zealand citizen with Italian residency working across EU

[dearley]

I am a NZ citizen travelling on a NZ passport, living in Italy and married to an Italian. I have Italian Permesso di Soggiorno and will submit my Italian citizenship application in February 2010 (can only be done after 2 years of marriage). I also have an Italian Identity Card however it cannot be used for travel, ie: I must always travel with my passport, which I do anyway.
I run my own business consultancy and have both UK Ltd and Italian companies. I lived in the UK prior to Italy and had a UK Ancestry visa (since expired). Any business travel to the EU was short and did not require additional visas. I already know NZ citizens and passport holders do not need visas (visitor or work) for many european countries as I've been travelling and away from NZ for many years.

My question is does my Italian Permesso di Soggiorno allow me to work across the EU without work visas per country? Can I still travel freely without visas for business meetings and short business stays? In which EU countries do I have to have a work permit regardless of anything I already have? My travel could be for one or a few days only or I may need to be at my destination for a week or more at a time.

I know this will all change once I have my Italian citizenship and passport but until then I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing.

Thanks for your help, Deanne

[Wanderer]

You need visas/work permits.

Also u need a work permit (tier 1 actually) if u intend to work in UK, a visit visa waiver is not enough. You might get away with a business visa for short trips for meetings etc. that fine line between business and work!

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

dearley,

You have a lot of good questions!

A lot depends on how you have organized things.

First off, on any trip you make to an EU member state with your wife, you can work without restriction and for money. She has to be with you, and you should carry your marriage certificate.

But lets assume she is busy with other things in Italy.

If you are being paid in Italy through your Italian company, you have more options. I suspect you can not work directly for your UK company. Your UK company can pay dividends (if you get a profit) to any owner, whether yourself directly or your Italian company.

Entry into another EU country for a business trip is usually pretty easy. Important is that you are not going to be an employee in the country you are entering. I suspect you would asked a lot of questions if you said you were entering the UK to "work", but have few problems if you were there for a meeting with clients.

[dearley]

Thank you for your response today. It's helped a lot.
I'm sure my Italian husband would love it if I dragged him all over the EU so I can work without restriction
Unfortunately we have to assume he is definitely busy working in Italy and I'm the one that's off galavanting around.
The majority of my invoicing is done out of my UK company and the Italian company behaves like a management company. BUT having said that I can invoice out of my Italian company if I want to. At the moment I choose not to as the tax is higher for annual earnings over a certain level.

I would definitely not be entering another EU country to be an employee within it and when travelling to the UK it's mainly for client meetings. So it seems that so long as I'm travelling on a business trip rather than to 'work' for an extended period I'm generally OK.

So thanks again for your assistance. I feel a little more at ease now.

Regards, Deanne

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

I would suggest you talk with an accountant about how to structure the companies. A very good accountant would be able to advise you on how to structure it and what is straight forward and legal.

I suspect, but by no means am sure, that something like the following might be possible: You are employed by and own the italian company. Your Italian company can either do work for the UK company, or own all the shares of it. Your UK company then gets contracts to do work in the UK or elsewhere in Europe. Italian company bills the UK company for your work and gets a dividend on it's ownership share of the UK company.

A lot depends on the different tax rates in different countries and on dividends vs. income. And on ownership requirements.

It may be easiest to just work totally out of the Italian entity... who knows.

[dearley]

Thanks for the additional information and link.
When setting up the Italian company my Italian accountant spent time with my UK one so everything is in good order regarding both operations and how they operate.

Once again thanks for your valuable input.

Deanne

PS: My husband said he's ready to go anywhere I do on business

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

PS: My husband said he's ready to go anywhere I do on business :)

That is devotion!

[dearley]

Hello again
I hope you can help with another question on this subject, this time specifically regarding Switzerland.
There is an opportunity to do some business in Switzerland. This would involve being on-site at the client for anything from 2 to 6 weeks at a time. It does not involve immigration to Switzerland. All social security and tax etc are covered by my company in an EU state.

Having read a lot of information on the internet including that at Switzerland's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs website I need clarification. I know New Zealand passports holders do not need a visa for visits of up to 90 days for the Schengen States for touristic or business purposes. Does this mean I can freely do business in Switzerland without a work visa so long as:
a) one single visit is no greater than 90 days
b) the swiss company is a client not an employer
c) all social security and tax etc is covered by my Italian or UK company

Is there any limit to the number of business visits I can make in a 12 month period?

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. Deanne

[Ben]

If you want to work or be self-employed in either the UK or Switzerland, either of the following must be true:

• You must be resident in the UK or Switzerland (as relevant) where your Italian spouse is also resident.
• You must have permission from the relevant authority in the UK or Switzerland (as relevant).

The concession to New Zealand citizens which allows visa-free entry to these countries for short visits is not, in itself, conveyance of a right to work or to be self-employed in these countries.

[Obie]

Perhaps you might qualify for a Van der Elst visa, which will allow you to work in Switzerland and provide service, provided the company you have in Italy and UK , is registered with the Swiss confideration, prior to you entry into Switzerland.

This provision originated from this EU ruling