Residency requirements in Italy

As an overseas buyer, purchasing a property does not grant residency in Italy. Should you wish to make the home you buy in Italy your permanent residence, you will have to apply for a visa and then residency.

Italy does not have a “golden visa”, residency-by-investment scheme that includes residential property, unlike Spain and Greece.

How to gain residency as an EU citizen

If you’re from the EU, you do not need a visa to reside in Italy, however you will have to apply for residency if you wish to stay there for three months or more.

You will need to register with the local register office (anagrafe).

To apply for residency, you will need to visit the Patrionati office at your local commune and take your application and relevant documents with you. (See essential documents below)

You can also get an application kit from the post office, which includes two forms, instructions and an envelope.

Top tip: Photocopy your application before sending off, just in case.

How to gain residency as a non-EU citizen

For those from outside the EU, you’ll be classed as a third-country national and will therefore need to apply for a visa and then apply for temporary residency to be allowed to stay longer than 90 days in every 180. You can apply for permanent residency after living in Italy continuously for five years.

Step 1: Visa application

As a non-EU citizen, you will need a visa to stay in Italy for more than 90 days. Since 2020, this includes those from the UK as the nation is no longer part of the EU. The type of visa you need depends on your purpose of stay, such as work, study or retirement.

Step 2: Residency permit

Once you have your visa and arrive in Italy, you must apply for a temporary residency permit (Permesso di Soggiorno) within eight days. Once approved, this permit allows you to stay in Italy legally for the duration specified by your visa.

Step 3: Registration

After obtaining your residence permit, you will be required to register with the local register office (anagrafe) of the municipality where you will be living.

Essential documents when applying for residency in Italy

You will need to supply the following:

• Your passport
• Four passport sized photos
• Your Codice Fiscale. This number is issued by the Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian Revenue Agency) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Italy. You can find your local revenue office here. You will need to fill in a form and show your passport.
• If you aren’t working, you will need to provide proof that you have sufficient funds to support you, such as a bank statement. They consider sufficient funds to be the Italian minimum annual social security allowance at that time. If you have an income, you must be able to provide proof.
• A private health insurance policy which is valid for at least one year.
• If you have bought a property to live in, take your deeds along. You will be registering that you are changing your primary address to this property. They’ll look at the size of the property to calculate what to charge you for TARI. This is the Italian tax that covers the cost of collecting and disposing of local waste.
• The office staff will help with filling in the relevant forms and photocopying documents. You will be asked to pay for a revenue stamp and charged an administration fee. The amount will vary from place to place, as will the time it takes for them to issue you with your residency permit.
• Non-EU family members of EU citizens will also need to show an EC Long-Term Residence Permit (carta di soggiorno).

The council will then check that you are really living in the property. A policeman will be sent round unannounced to check you are there. This could be at any time of day. Their visit is usually quite brief, and they’ll often only come in for around five minutes, have a chat, and ask you to sign a form.

You may then be able to collect your Carta d’identità at the office you made the application at. Some offices will choose to send it by registered post. The card should be one of the new Carta d’Identità Elettronica. This is credit-card sized, but not all areas have the means to issue them yet so you may get a paper style one. If you’ve ever noticed Italians going through customs, they use this within the EU instead of a passport.

How to apply for a residency permit

If you’re coming from outside the EU, for instance from the UK, you must apply for an Italian Residence Permit (Permesso di Soggiorno) within eight days of travelling to Italy (if you intend to stay long term). The process for applying for a temporary Italian residence permit is as follows:

You must submit your application to an authorised post office (Sportello Amico), using the relevant kit available in the post office.

There are authorised institutions and municipal offices that will provide you with information and assistance free of charge. When the form is sent, the post office will issue a receipt bearing two personal identification codes (user ID and password) which you can use to follow the state of the application on the Immigration Portal.

You will be given an appointment to go to the police headquarters (Questura). You should take all the originals of your documents and be prepared to have your fingerprints taken.

The Questura will notify you when your Residence Permit card will be issued.

[H2] What are the benefits of having a residence permit in Italy? 

While it is a legal requirement, there are many benefits to obtaining a residence permit for Italy:

• You pay less purchase tax when you buy your home. In fact, you pay less if you agree that you will be applying for residency within 18 months. On a second home or luxury property you would be paying 9%. On your main residence you pay just 2% of the cadastral value of the property.
• You only pay council tax (IMU/Tasi) on your primary residence if it is classed as luxury.
• You can enroll in the health service and benefit from the same healthcare as Italian citizens. When you register you receive a document called the Tesserino sanitario personale (Italian Health Insurance Card). Many public healthcare services are then free, or you pay a reduced fee — for example, when you are referred to a specialist.
• The electric provider (Enel) will charge you a reduced rate.

The Identity card (Carta d’identità) is very useful. You can show it instead of your passport when you are out and about in Italy. Indeed, when you do need to establish your identity, Italians will breathe a sigh of relief when you produce a Carta d’identità and codice fiscale!

A note on I.D. and documentation

Italian residents, including expats, are legally obliged to always carry photographic identification around with them. So, it’s best to get into the habit of doing if you’re moving to Italy. Most people opt to carry their residency card. If you can drive, you will need to have this, along with your license, registration, and proof of insurance, inside your vehicle.

Once you have become resident in Italy, you should exchange your overseas driving license for an Italian one. Previously this was just a simple exchange for UK citizens, but post-Brexit you might be asked to take an Italian driving test — in Italian! To check the rules or convert your UK license, visit your nearest Ufficio Provinciale della Motorizzazione Civile or Automobile Club Italiano.

When are you a tax resident in Italy?

Whatever your nationality, according to Italian tax code, you are considered a tax resident in Italy if:

• you have a permanent home or principal place to stay in in Italy, where you spend most of your time,
• you spend more than 183 days (half a year) in Italy during the year, or more time in Italy than any other country,
• you are employed, or carry out an occupation, in Italy, or
• your centre of economic interest is Italy.