Finding a Job in Italy

Helpful Pages

  • Finding a job in Italy can be especially difficult. Because of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Italy and the U.S. government, military dependents can only work for the U.S. government aka “on post”.  This also means you cannot sell products from home like Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Scentsy, jewelry, etc.
  • The SOFA agreement does not allow you to run a business that makes any kind of profit. You can only be reimbursed for the resources/supplies you use. For example you could bake a cake and only charge for the cost of making the cake (ingredients, cake stand, serving tray, etc.). Or you could color hair and only charge for the cost of the hair color chemicals, foil, gloves, etc.
  • Any payment for your time, labor, or expertise would be considered profit and would require a valid work visa and permit.
  • A work visa and permit are not required to operate a website or blog that does not generate a profit through either monetary compensation, advertising revenue, or barter/exchange.
  • Swapping services, such as trading babysitting for tutoring, falls under Italian rules for barter or
    exchange. Italian law requires that a Value Added Tax (VAT) be imposed on the exchange of goods and
    services.
  • According to one blog post, SOFA makes it so that a certain percentage of jobs on base must be filled by local nationals and the rest can be filled by Americans. To make getting a job on post even more difficult, many of the American positions are civilian sponsored jobs (people who are shipped over from the U.S. and have all the benefits the military members have).
  • If you did decide to work within the Italian economy, you would have to obtain a work visa, give up you SOFA privileges, and pay Italian taxes. Not to mention you would probably need to be fluent in Italian. SOFA privileges you would lose include things like shopping on post, use of the post office, gym, and gas coupons.

Resources for Finding a Job in Italy

  • USA Jobs – federal civil service and non-appropriate funds jobs
    • Army Civilian Services – it usually refers you back to USA Jobs, you can also visit your on base ACS Employment Readiness program for additional information and opportunities.
    • Federal Government Jobs – again, it usually links back to USA Jobs
    • Civilian Medical Jobs – they post very few overseas positions, so you might be better off checking USA Jobs

Volunteer

  • If you can’t find a job on base, then there are plenty of volunteer opportunities that you can use to keep busy, build up your resume, and help close employment gaps.
  • Army Volunteer Corps – Family Readiness Group, church, American Red Cross, teaching, coaching, BOSS, Library
  • Vicenza Thrift Shop

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