Changing employer while an Italian work residence permit is being renewed: the checks that matter

A foreign national in Italy may receive a new job offer while an application to renew a work-based residence permit is pending. Two questions must be kept separate: whether the person can continue to work during the pending application, and what an employer must do when beginning a new employment relationship. The renewal receipt is relevant, but it does not replace every assessment required by immigration and employment law.

Check the type of permit and the renewal application

Article 5(9-bis) of Legislative Decree No. 286/1998 regulates temporary lawful stay and work pending the issue or renewal of a work residence permit, where the stated requirements are met. These include the timing of the application and possession of a receipt confirming its submission. The employer and worker should check the precise category of permit and whether the public security authority has issued any notification of obstacles to its issue or renewal.

Collect a clear documentary record

Retain the previous residence permit, the renewal receipt, identification documents, relevant official communications, and records of the proposed employment. Confirm that names, dates and permit identifiers match. If the Questura has requested supplementary documentation, preserve evidence of the reply and its filing date. An incomplete or inconsistent record can create avoidable difficulties even where the legal conditions are otherwise satisfied.

Employment formalities remain separate

A new employment relationship generally entails obligations under labour law, including the applicable mandatory employment notifications. The fact that a renewal is pending does not remove these responsibilities. Equally, employers should not automatically treat an expired plastic residence card as conclusive proof that the worker has no right to work: the receipt, application timing and the applicable legal framework must be assessed together.

What if the Questura takes too long?

Keep a chronology of the filing date, appointments and requests for documents. A focused written request for information is often more useful than repeated informal contacts. If an adverse decision is issued, obtain its full text and assess the relevant remedy and deadline without assuming that every residence-related dispute follows the same procedure.

Practical distinction

The possibility of working during renewal must not be confused with unrestricted international travel or an automatic change of residence-permit category. Those issues require separate checks. Where the worker's previous status, the timing of the application or an administrative notice is unclear, individualized legal advice is preferable to reliance on general statements.

Primary legal source: Italian Legislative Decree No. 286/1998, Article 5, especially paragraph 9-bis.

Avv. Fabio Loscerbo
Lawyer admitted to practise before the Italian Court of Cassation
Registered in the Italian Chamber of Deputies' Register of Interest Representatives in the field of Immigration
Registered interest representative in the European Union Transparency Register, No. 280782895721-36, in the field of Migration and Asylum
ORCID: 0009-0004-7030-0428
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the author's direction, review and editorial responsibility.