Applying for German Blue Card to Transfer to Italy

Hi All,

I'm a British citizen and I've been living in Germany for approximately 5 years. I arrived before Brexit was finalised and I have an Artikel 50 EUV permit valid until 2029.

My wife (Italian) and I, both living and working in Germany, wish to relocate to Italy as soon as possible.

I am eligible to apply for a European Blue Card in Germany and in theory I could transfer this to "another European member state", in this case Italy if I have lived in the issuing country for at least 18 months. What is not clear to me is that does this 18 month period begin when I arrived in Germany or when I receive the blue card.

If anyone has any experience with this or advice, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

D

p.s.

Not going directly via Blue Card in Italy since process will take almost a year due to bureaucracy, faster in Germany.

I do not yet have Italian citizenship as I still need to obtain B1 certificate for Italian language, even then it can take 2-3 year to gain citizenship.