Mexican trying to move to Italy, Digital Marketing experience

"I know that there might be vacancies for my expertise, unfortunately I know that I wont be able to get anything from here,  Any tips that you can give me to reach my dream of living in Italy?"


Ciao!
You didn't mention your nationality, are you Mexican or US? More importantly, is your first language Spanish, English, or are you 100% perfectly bi-lingual?
I've posted on this forum a couple of times before, and I don't want to sound like a recording, but over my years in Italy, Americans (or any NON-EU) who work here fall into three basic categories. 1) they exploit their English language skills in one way or another (teaching, translating, nanny, etc); 2) they are able to do their US job remotely from a laptop/internet/cell phone; 3) they were transferred to Italy by the US company (or government agency) that they work for.  I've met dozens (maybe hundreds?) of US expats in Italy and I've yet to meet one that didn't fall into one of these categories.  I'm sure that they exist, but they're obviously an obscure minority.
So if you don't already fall into #3, you'll have to make 1 or 2 work.  Then when you've been over here for a while, made some face to face connections, mastered the language to 99% fluency, you'll be able to start looking for something that's more closely related to your field.
The point is, the dream of living in Italy is VERY reachable.  What's unlikely is the dream of living in Italy AND finding a job in your exact field.  The PhD is actually beside the point.  I know several highly qualified native Italians with PhDs who are waiting tables in Rome. It's a tough economy in Italy right now and foreigners are obviously at the very back of the line. Especially if you are young and without a lot of workplace experience.

I am mexican with good language skills, I speak fluent English and Spanish (obviously) intermediate Italian (70%) and some slovak. I am currently looking for the option number 2 (being able to do my work remotely) or to get a student visa that gives me the time to make more connections there and possibly land a job later. I have taught spanish in the past but I am not so sure how difficult is to find a job in this field considering the number of spanish people in the country.

In the case that I could get my income from abroad (example: working online)  do you know what are the requirements to get a visa that allow me to legally stay in Italy?

I have 7 years of working experience, currently woking for a multinational italian company, however it is very hard (almost impossible) to ask for a transfer right now due to the economic situation but the name of the company in my CV wont hurt when I will look for a job there.

I am aware that finding a job in my field will take me long time but I dont mind doing other jobs in the meanwhile.

Thanks a lot for your help,

B

Hi again,

There are many types of visas, more than you'd imagine.  If you do get a student visa, then the school will walk you through the process.  If you want to get an elective residence visa, it's actually quite easy (at least for US citizens--not sure about in Mexico). I got mine from the consulate in Miami and it took about two weeks. The only catch is that you have to demonstrate the ability to be financially self-sufficient, which in their minds should be at least 10-12K dollars a year. You have to show them at least six month of bank statements that proves that you have enough money to NOT be a burden on the public systems in Italy. You also have to show that you've got healthcare coverage, and a place to stay in Italy--which can just be a sworn letter from a friend or something.  Other than that, you just need a valid passport, 2 extra passport photos, and the application fee (I think it was about $98 when I applied two years ago).  You can find more info this series of 3 posts pertaining to the Permesso di Soggiorno, which is the document that gives you legal residence in Italy:
http://rickzullo.com/permesso-di-soggiorno-3/
In other words, the visa gets you in the country, the permesso allows you to stay for up to 2 years at a time.  Ciao!