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INVESTOR VISA ITALY
POINTS OF VIEW
Gabriele Lanzi:
New developments on Italian visa for foreign investors
Interview by Edoardo Bonatti
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Gabriele Lanzi is a member of the Senate of the Republic for the Five Star
Movement, elected following the 2018 general election. Before his political
involvement, he worked in the ceramics sector for a long time. In 1994, he
was appointed Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
INVESTORVISA – Senator, this is your first parliamentary appointment.
What was your approach to the Senate and what do you think you have
brought from your previous experiences to the institution?
LANZI – The sum of my life experiences, accumulated during forty-three years
of work, is what I bring to the Parliament. Essential expertise built with effort
and that brought me great professional satisfaction. My career in the ceramics
sector allowed me to gain an in-depth knowledge of the sector, which is a
central part, both on the internal market and on the global one, of the Italian
industrial reality. I entered the Parliament with the humility of someone who
is always trying to increase their knowledge but with the firm conviction of
having broad enough shoulders, forged by many years of work.
The work of the 10th Permanent Commission (Industry, Commerce,
Tourism) involves different subjects, however closely intertwined
between themselves. With which of these domains have you engaged
the most, and to what extent?
I have been dealing with many themes and topics associated with the 10th
Commission. Obviously, given the background developed in my previous work,
I am closely following the subjects of foreign trade and of investment attraction.
However, I did not limit myself to those because I entered the Parliament to
address issues relating to the circular economy in its most varied connotations.
For this reason, I follow issues linked to the recycling industry and the End of
Waste, the state of SIN’s (Sites of National Interest) reclamation and
denuclearization efforts, renewable energy and, in particular, the electrification
of the automotive sector.
In November, you presented a parliamentary question about the
procedure to obtain a visa to enter Italy as non-European investor or
entrepreneur. The Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ricardo Antonio
Merlo hypothesized, on that occasion, the use of “white lists” to further
streamline visa procedures: have there been developments in this regard
or further contacts with the Ministry on this matter?
We are still interested in what emerged from my question, and I have a con-
stant dialogue and excellent relations with our government representatives at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are sure that “white lists” may be a very use-
ful tool if used correctly and, above all, if they are regularly updated. Even the
best tool, if not constantly up to date, ends up becoming an obstacle to the goal
I intended to reach when asking my question: the attraction of foreign capitals
and investments. It is for this reason that I hope that the Ministry is always
checking the use of this tool, collecting reliable data on its actual usefulness
and on what it can be done to improve it.
You are the first signatory of the 1056 Bill, “Amendments to article 26-bis
of the 25 July 1998 legislative decree, n. 286, on the subject of the entry
and stay for investors”, to propose a better formulation of the regulation
concerning the entry and stay of non-EU investors. How could this
initiative be included in the broader framework of government policies
aimed at attracting foreign investment in the country?
What the Vice Premier and Economic Development Minister, Luigi Di Maio, is
doing to build bridges with all the major global players is under everyone’s
eyes. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Xi Jinping’s China
and subsequent talks with Donald Trump’s United States show that Italy is a
major player in the global market and that it is our priority to interact equally
with the great markets that drive our exports. My bill is part of this macro-
economic planning framework by adding a small but substantial piece. The
marketing effort carried out by the Government to attract large foreign capitals
would be partly vitiated by bureaucratic constraints persisting inside our
national borders that do nothing but frighten foreign investors. As members
of Parliament, I believe that our task is precisely this: act decisively and
de-bureaucratize the state system by streamlining all these gargantuan
apparatus of laws, by now obsolete, born in the First Republic.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with China is a matter
of current relevance. Do you expect the Government to conclude similar