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Moving to Italy: Which Visa You Need, and the Income It Takes

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Moving to Italy: Which Visa You Need, and the Income It Takes

The short answer: with an EU passport you need no visa, and you register at your town hall if you stay longer than three months. With any other passport you need a long-stay visa from an Italian consulate before you move, and the right one depends on where your money comes from. A pension or investments point to elective residence, at about €31,000 a year per person. Remote work points to the digital nomad visa, at about €25,000 to €28,000 a year. Without a visa you can stay 90 days in any 180, and that is a visit, not a move.

The town hall in Alba. Whatever your passport, the paperwork ends at a door like this one.

We read everything below on the official pages on November 3, 2026: the Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the state police and the consulates themselves. The list is at the end. This is information, not legal advice. Figures change and consulates differ, so the page of the consulate that covers where you live is the last word.

Start with your passport

EU citizens need no visa and no permit. A stay under three months needs no paperwork at all. To stay longer you register at the anagrafe, the register office of your town hall, and you show what you live on: a job, self-employment, or, for anyone else, enough money and health insurance. After five continuous years you can ask for permanent residence. Citizens of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are treated the same way.

Everyone else, British citizens included, can stay 90 days in any 180 if their passport lets them in without a visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System has recorded those days at the border since April 10, 2026, so the count is no longer a matter of passport stamps, and days anywhere else in the Schengen area count toward the same 90. A travel authorization called ETIAS is on the way too. None of this lets you live here. For that you need a long-stay national visa, issued by the Italian consulate in the country where you live, before you travel.

Then follow the money

Where your money comes from The visa What the consulates ask for
A pension, rents, investments Elective residence About €31,000 a year per person, none of it from work, and a home already lined up
Remote work for clients or an employer abroad Digital nomad or remote worker About €25,000 to €28,000 a year from that work, skilled work, health insurance, a home already lined up
A job with an Italian employer Work Your employer gets clearance first, often inside yearly quotas
Your own business, or freelancing in Italy Self-employment Clearance from the police, a Chamber of Commerce declaration, a home
A large investment Investor €250,000 to €2 million, depending on what you put it into
A spouse or close family member who is Italian or an EU citizen Family reasons Proof of the relationship

Elective residence: living on what you already have

This is the visa for people who do not need to work in Italy, and it comes with one hard rule: you cannot. New York's consulate puts it in capitals. Its page says the visa "does not allow any work activities in Italy", and money from any job, remote work included, does not count toward the income.

The income. There is no single national figure. New York says "typically around €31,000 per person", Boston more than €31,000 a year per applicant, Vancouver €31,000 per person after tax, and Toronto about €32,000, which it calls "a minimum economic starting value". So €31,000 is the floor to plan on, and more is safer. A spouse and children can be included if the money covers them, and consulates count that differently: New York says about €31,000 per person, while Vancouver adds 20% for a spouse and 5% for each child. For a couple, that is anywhere from about €37,200 to €62,000. They are looking for steady income, not a sum in the bank.

What counts. A pension or annuity, rental income, and other steady income that does not depend on your working, in your own name, shown with bank letters and your last two years of tax returns.

The home. New York wants a purchase or a lease covering the whole period, in your name and registered with the tax agency, before you apply.

That last line changes the order of everything. You need a home in a specific town before you can ask for the visa, so you choose the town first, and from abroad. How we would choose one is the rest of this section of the site. Each town page also says whether the town qualifies for the 7% tax on foreign pensions.

Even a complete file is not a promise. New York's page says so in as many words: submitting every document does not guarantee a visa.

Digital nomad and remote worker: bringing your work with you

This one has existed since April 2024. It is for non-EU citizens in skilled work that can be done entirely remotely, either freelance or as an employee of a company abroad.

The income. The rule is three times the income level that exempts you from health care charges, and consulates print that differently: €24,789 in New York, dated 2024; €25,500 in Seoul and Bogotá; €28,000 in Buenos Aires. It has to come from the work you will do from Italy, and New York rules out a pension, rents or shares.

The experience. At least six months in the field, plus one of these: a university degree, a higher professional qualification with five years of documented experience, or, for IT managers and specialists, three years of experience out of the last seven. A regulated profession needs an attestation from the Italian authority.

If you are an employee, you also need a contract paying at least the Italian collective agreement for the job, and not less than ISTAT's median salary.

The rest. Health insurance for the whole stay (New York wants at least €30,000 of cover), and a home in your name for the whole period. Hotels and staying with someone do not count. The permit runs one year and can be renewed while you keep the work, the home and the insurance. A spouse and children under 18 can join you.

Ask an accountant before you go. Living here can make you tax resident here, and then your income is an Italian tax question.

The other routes, briefly

A job with an Italian employer. The employer, not you, asks the immigration desk for clearance (the nulla osta), and you apply for the visa once you have it. Many of these places depend on the yearly quotas of the decreto flussi.

Your own business or a profession. Consulates word this one differently, so read yours closely. London's list, which it says is being updated, asks for clearance from the police issued in the last 90 days, a declaration from the Chamber of Commerce or your professional order showing three times the annual social allowance, income over €8,500 last year, and a home. Inside the quotas, only five groups qualify: entrepreneurs investing at least €500,000 and creating three jobs, people in regulated or officially recognized professions, certain company directors, well-known artists, and founders of innovative startups. An ordinary small business may not fit.

An investment. London lists €2 million in Italian government bonds, €500,000 in shares or bonds of an Italian company, €250,000 if that company is an innovative startup, or €1 million for a project of public interest. A home is not on the list.

Family. If your spouse or close family member is Italian or from the EU, London says you do not need clearance first, and you apply for a family visa. If your family member is a non-EU resident of Italy, you need the clearance. Consulates' lists differ on the details, so read yours.

An Italian ancestor. The rules narrowed in 2025. If you were born abroad and hold another citizenship, you now generally need a parent or grandparent who held only Italian citizenship, or a parent who, already Italian, lived in Italy for two continuous years before you were born. Applications filed by March 27, 2025 stay under the old rules. Your consulate has the exact wording.

When you land

  1. Within eight working days, apply for your permit, the permesso di soggiorno. Sundays and holidays do not count. You apply at the police headquarters, the Questura, of your province, or for many permits with a kit from a post office. The Foreign Ministry warns that not applying can get you expelled, so plan for it in your first week.
  2. Register as a resident at your town hall, the same anagrafe EU citizens use.
  3. Get your tax code, the codice fiscale, from the tax agency if you do not have one yet. You will need it for almost everything.
  4. Sort out health care. Some permits bring you into the national health service, and others leave you to insure yourself. How healthcare works in Italy goes through it.
  5. Renew in time. Ask at least 60 days before the permit runs out.

For what the year will cost once you are here, see what it costs to live in Italy. And if you would rather talk the town through before you sign a lease, the moving year is a call with us and a written review of up to five towns on your shortlist.

Frequently asked questions

How much income do I need to retire to Italy?

For elective residence, consulates ask for about €31,000 a year per person, from a pension, rents or investments and not from work. Toronto says about €32,000 and calls that a starting value, so more is safer. Your consulate decides.

Can I work on an elective residence visa?

No, and that includes remote work for a company abroad. If you plan to work, look at the digital nomad visa instead.

Can I come as a visitor and apply for a long-stay visa in Italy?

The visa comes from the Italian consulate in the country where you live, before you travel. Plan to apply from home.

Does buying a house in Italy get me a visa?

No. None of the visas here is given for owning a home, and a home is not on the investor visa's list. A purchase can meet the housing requirement for elective residence, and you still have to meet the income.

What income do I need for the digital nomad visa?

Three times the level that exempts you from Italian health care charges, printed as anything from €24,789 to €28,000 a year depending on the consulate. New York says it must come from the work you will do from Italy, so a pension does not count there.

Do British citizens need a visa to move to Italy?

Yes. British citizens have counted as non-EU since Brexit, so the 90 days in any 180 applies, and a move needs a long-stay visa like anyone else's.

How long do I have to apply for a residence permit?

Eight working days from arrival, not counting Sundays and holidays.

Where this comes from

Read on November 3, 2026.

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