The Italian Parliament has recently adopted a rule whereby non-EU yacht crew arriving in Italy will be able to obtain a long-term work visa for up to 365 days.
Over the past few months, yacht crew entering Italy have been experiencing extreme difficulties to be ‘stamped out’ to board their vessels. This was due to the strict application of a February 2020 decision of the European Court of Justice by Italian port authorities.
This ruling has particularly applied to non-EU resident crew on short-stay visas or British crew who are only allowed in the EU for 90 days, within a 180-day period. Non-EU crew who travel individually to vessels and are stamped in have been finding it difficult to work on vessels for multiple months during the winter as it is resulting in them overstaying their visa or tourist-allowance period.
This new move will allow for a smoother and more efficient process for yacht crew entering Italy by giving yacht crew an option of obtaining a long-term work visa. The details of the visa issuance procedures are still being developed.
Successful government relations actions were negotiated by a number of yachting and cruising organisations, including Genova for Yachting, Federagenti, Confindustria Nautica, Assarmatori and Confitarma.
Article from Yachting-Pages.com
