Frequently asked questions about doing business in Italy
Q: I work as a tourist guide in Germany. Can I provide my services in Italy on a temporary and occasional basis?
A: In Italy the activity of tourist guide requires a professional qualification.
For regulated professions, the activity may be performed in Italy on a temporary and occasional basis, as services provision under directive 2005/36/EC, by professionals who can lawfully practice the same activity in the Member State where they are established and who hold the relevant professional qualification or who can prove they have pursued the activity concerned for at least two years during the previous ten years.
According to article 10 of Decreto legislativo n. 206/2007, which implements in Italy directive 2005/36/CE on mutual recognition of professional qualifications, for the exercise of a regulated profession as service provision (on a temporary and occasional basis), when the service provider first moves from one Member State to Italy, he shall inform the competent authority in a written declaration to be made in advance, describing the activity he intends to perform and including the details of any insurance cover or other means of personal or collective protection with regard to professional liability. Such declaration shall be renewed once a year if the service provider intends to provide temporary or occasional services in that Member State during that year.
For the first provision of services the declaration shall accompanied by the following documents:
(a) proof of the nationality of the service provider;
(b) an attestation certifying that the holder is legally established in a Member State for the purpose of pursuing the activity concerned and that he is not prohibited from practicing, even temporarily, at the moment of delivering the attestation;
(c) evidence of professional qualifications.
If the profession is regulated in the Member State of establishment, there is no need to prove that the service provider has pursued the activity in question for at least two years during the previous ten years.
For more information, see Services which require a professional qualification
