Visa
If you are a non-EU citizen, you need a visa to move to Italy.
We provide assistance in applying for a visa, be it an elective residence visa, investor visa, study visa, work visa, or any other kind of visa. Our services span from an informative consultation, where we explain the administrative process step by step, to full support throughout the process.
The most popular visas to move to Italy are:
Elective residence visa
This visa is for people who can prove that they have enough passive income to support themselves in Italy without working.
According to the law, passive income can be made of pensions (pensioni), annuities (vitalizi) or other sources other than employed work. Rentals, dividends, any kind of investment with a good return would also work. Savings can be produced to add up to the global wealth and contribute to give an idea of the applicant’s financial situation; however, savings alone are unfortunately not enough to obtain this visa.
The financial means must be stable, regular and continuous, and must be presumed to last in the future. Pensions paid by a government or well-established private bodies are acceptable as they can guarantee stability and consistency for years to come.
The amount of passive income required is at least €31.000/year p.p.
Another important requirement to obtain the elective residence visa is to have a place to stay in Italy, be it a rented property or an owned property; to prove that, the applicant needs to submit a registered rental contract or the title deeds with their application. In this regard, it becomes relevant the location the applicant has chosen to live. If they choose to live in an expensive area like Rome or Milan, they might need a higher income than if they chose to live in a more affordable town, and that is taken into consideration in the decision-making process.
Other requirements may be set by each Consulate.
Last, but not least, it’s important to bear in mind that, once moved to Italy, as a general rule, any resident in Italy is obligated to pay taxes in Italy on all their worldwide income and assets. Bilateral treaties avoid the double taxation, hence it is advisable to check in advance with a tax consultant what taxes will have to be paid once moved to Italy. If you receive a pension, you may also want to consider moving to southern Italy where you might be eligible for the 7% flat tax for pensioners on all your incomes produced abroad.
Our assistance includes a thorough review of the application and advice to maximise the chances to obtain the visa, with special attention to the financial means required. We can also assist with the accommodation requirement and to secure a registered rental contract in Italy. Do not hesitate to contact us for an informative consultation or full support throughout the application process.
Investor visa
The Investor visa is a type of visa issued to people who make an investment or a donation in Italy and grants the applicant the right to reside in Italy for two years. The permit can then be renewed for a further three years.
The investment or the donation must be equivalent or superior to the following amounts and can only fall into one of the following categories:
a. €250.000 invested in an innovative start-up company;
b. €500.000 invested in a company already operating in Italy;
c. €2.000.000 invested in Italian government bonds;
d. €1.000.000 donated to a philanthropic project.
Our assistance includes guidance from the very early steps of the process, a review of the application, and advice to maximise the chances to obtain the visa, with special attention to the investment or donation required. Do not hesitate to contact us for an informative consultation or full support throughout the application process.
Digital nomad visa
The Decreto which set the requirements and the rules to apply for the digital nomad visa to Italy has been officially published on the 4th April 2024 and is in force from the 5th April 2024.
This is a very brief overview of the Decreto.
The applicant
1. Must be a non-EU citizen
2. Must be a high skilled worker as per art. 27-quater c.1 TUI: the applicant must have at least a three years university degree or equivalent, or a professional licence, or some years of professional experience in the field they intend to keep working.
3. Must be a digital nomad, i.e. someone who carries out self-employed work through the use of technological tools that allow to work remotely
OR must be a remote worker, i.e. someone who, through the use of technological tools that allow remote working, carries out subordinate work or collaboration activities. The employer/purchaser can be an entity/company based out of Italy.
Digital nomad visas are issued out of the quota flussi.
Requirements to obtain this visa are:
1. Having an income, from legit sources, which is the triple of the actual minimum income which exempts from the health contributions.
2. Having a health insurance valid in Italy for all the time spent in Italy (since the visa, and the associated permit of stay, is issued for one year, the health insurance must be valid for at least one year).
3. Having an accommodation in Italy (a registered rental contract or property title deed will work).
4. The applicant must prove to have at least six months of experience in the same kind of job it will be performed in Italy as digital nomad or remote worker.
5. Having a work contract or a collaboration contract, if the applicant is a remote worker.
6. If the applicant is a remote worker, they need to submit a declaration from the employer stating that the employer has not been convicted for specific immigration crimes in the last five years.
No preliminary authorisation to work – nulla osta – is required.
The application must be submitted to the local Italian Consulate serving the area the applicant lives in.
Once the applicant enters Italy with their visa, they must apply for the permesso di soggiorno to the local Questura within eight days.
The permit is issued for no more than one year and can be renewed, if the requirements are still fulfilled.
Once the permit has been issued, this can be revoked even before its natural expiry date, if the requirements to obtain it are no more fulfilled, or if fiscal and contribution laws are not respected.
Family members can apply for family reunification.
The digital nomad or remote worker will have to pay social security contributions according to the Italian law, unless there are specific bilateral agreements between Italy and their home countries.
The digital nomad or the remote worker will be issued a fiscal code by the Questura when applying for the permit of stay; the digital nomad will also need to open a Partita Iva (tax ID for self-employer).
The issue of the permit of stay will be communicated by the Questura to the Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian tax-man) to check that the permit holder will pay the appropriate taxes in Italy. In case of non-observance of the relevant tax rules, the Agenzia delle Entrate will inform the Questura.
Do not hesitate to contact us for an informative consultation or for full support throughout the application process.
Study visa
This visa is for people who wish to study in Italy, they need to enrol in a course of study approved by the Italian government and prove that they can support themselves for the whole duration of the course. Once enrolled in the course of study, which sometimes requires the entirety of the course fees to be paid in advance, they can apply for the study visa at their local Italian consulate.
Our assistance includes a thorough review of the application, advice to maximise the chances to obtain the visa and a check that all requirements are fulfilled.
Do not hesitate to contact us for an informative consultation or for full support throughout the application process.
Work visa
This visa is for people who wish to work in Italy.
In order to obtain the work visa, the applicant must have first secured a job in Italy. The employer in Italy will have to do some paperwork and obtain a nulla osta from Italian authorities. Once the nulla osta is secured, the applicant can apply for the work visa at their local Italian consulate.
If the applicant is self-employed, they need to obtain the nulla osta themselves from Italian authorities. After obtaining the nulla osta, they can apply for the work visa at their local Italian consulate.
In both cases, the process to obtain a work visa is quite convoluted. In order to grant the nulla osta Italian authorities can require quite a number of documents according to the kind of work the applicant would do in Italy. Also, the Italian government limits the number of workers who can enter Italy (decreto flussi), and this number is quite low.
If the applicant has special skills and qualifications and is employed by a company based in Italy, they may apply for a “blu card”, which is a particular kind of work visa not subject to the decreto flussi.
Do not hesitate to contact us for an informative consultation or for full support throughout the application process.