Visas and residency in Italy

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Expertly Checked by Christopher Nye on 15th October, 2024

You don’t need to be a resident of Italy to buy a property in Italy. However, you will need to consider you visa and residency options if you plan to live in Italy full-time.

On this page, we will outline the legalities of living in Italy as an EU and non-EU citizen to help you get an accurate idea of your visa and residency options.

EU citizens in Italy

As a citizen of a European Union (EU) member state, you have the right to live in Italy. However, you will be required to register your presence with the local authorities in Italy if living there for more than three months.

Stays under three months

For stays under three months, EU citizens are not required to register their presence to the local authorities, but it is recommended. This is to avoid having to prove your length of stay later on. The Declaration of Presence form can be downloaded here.

Stays exceeding three months

EU nationals who move to Italy, for any of the above reasons, who plan to stay for more than three months are expected to register their presence at their local authority office in Italy, known as the Comune-Ufficio Anagrafe.

EU citizens must apply for residency within eight days of arriving and will be asked for proof of address, sufficient financial means and health insurance. If approved, a certificate of registration will be issued. This replaces the residence permit card for EU citizens.

The registration certificate has a validity of five years. You can also apply for an Italian Identity Card at the same time, known as the Carta d’Identità, which will be posted to your home address.

Non-EU family members of EU citizens

EU citizens can also extend their legal rights to their legal partner and family (dependent children, grandchildren and parents), however, if your family member comes from a country that would normally require a visa to visit the EU (i.e. USA, UK or Canada), they will need to apply for the relevant visa.

You can find more information about the rights of EU citizens and their family members here.

Non-EU citizens in Italy

As a non-EU resident, you can reside in Italy for up to 90 days in every 180 days. After that, you will need a valid visa and residency card.

Please note: The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI, or Farnesina) has a handy calculator on their website that you can use to find out what permits you need, according to your nationality, country of residence, the reason for your stay, and the duration of your visit. Once you own property in Italy, don’t forget to check the requirements for any visitors you may receive too.

Long-stay visa options for non-EU citizens

There are a number of different visa options for non-EU citizens who wish to stay in Italy for longer than three months. The suitability is based upon what you plan to do in Italy, whether you have sufficient financial means to support yourself and/or if you’re working.

Elective residency visa

Suitable for: Those with financial independence that does not come from paid employment. This can include rental property income, pensions, investment funds, royalties, shareholdings in a company, savings. As a result, the elective residency visa is the most common among non-EU retirees in Italy.

Eligibility: To be eligible for the elective residency visa, you must be able to provide:

proof of residence,
a passport-size photograph on a white background
a valid passport whose expiry date is three months longer than that of the visa requested and has two free pages that are blank on both sides,
documented financial resources to prove that you can support yourself financially without working (usually around €31,000 if you’re living alone and €38,000 if you’re a married couple, plus an extra 20% for each dependent),
documents relating to accommodation in Italy to be chosen as residence, owned, or rented, with a registered lease or deed,
a letter explaining your reason for moving to Italy,
a one-way travel reservation,
marriage/birth certificates if applying with dependent spouse or children, and
proof of health insurance

Validity: Once approved, your elective residence visa will be valid for two years. After this time, you can choose to renew it further. Once you’ve lived in Italy for five years with this visa, you will be eligible to apply for permanent residency.

Italy family visa

If a member of your family (such as your spouse, child, or dependent parent) is an Italian citizen or a non-EU citizen with an Italian permit of stay, then you’ll be eligible for an Italian family visa. To obtain this visa, you’ll need to provide proof of relationship to the person, such as through a birth or marriage certificate. If you’ll be joining your child in Italy, then they must be unmarried and under the age of 18, or dependent on yourself.

Italy student visa

If you are a non-EU student looking to move to Italy for the purpose of studying, then you will need to obtain a student visa. There are two options depending on your length of stay:

Type C — short-stay visa or travel visa intended for a period of no more than 90 days, or
Type D — long-stay visa intended for a period of more than 90 days

When applying for a student visa, you should provide a letter of acceptance from the Italian institute you’ll be studying at, proof of accommodation, sufficient financial means, and health insurance.

Italy work visa

As a non-EU citizen, you will need a work permit to work in Italy. Italy grants work permits on a quota-based system which states the number of non-EEA workers, including those from the UK, who are permitted to work for Italian companies. There are also exemptions to these quotas for certain categories of workers, so it’s worth speaking to a trusted visa specialist to see if a work visa is an option for you.

Eligibility: You must have a job and be able to provide a signed employment contract before you apply for an Italian work visa. The good news is that your employer will do most of the application for you. They will apply for a work permit and, once granted, you’ll have six months to apply for a work visa with your nearest Italian consulate or embassy.

Validity: How long your work permit lasts will depend on your individual employment and quota limits.

Self-employment visa

If you plan to be self-employed or work freelance once in Italy, you may be able to obtain a self-employment visa. Before you apply for the visa, you will need to get a Nulla Osta from your local Immigration Desk, as well as get the necessary authorization and documentation to grant you permission to perform your specific self-employed activity in Italy.

Once you have these, you can apply for the self-employment visa at the Italian consulate or embassy in the UK. With your self-employment visa, you can then apply for a residence permit to live and work in Italy.

Digital nomad visa and remote worker visa

At the beginning of 2022, the Italian Government announced that they would be introducing a new visa which will allow company-employed and self-employed people to work from home in Italy.

Digital nomad visa

This new visa was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in remote working. It will allow non-EU citizens to move to Italy and work remotely with a foreign company — so, in theory, you could still work for your UK-based employer after you relocate to Italy.

Suitable for: According to the Consolato Generale d’Italia, the digital nomad visa is suitable for self-employed, highly skilled workers in the tech sector. They can be an autonomous worker using hi-tech tools to create and promote digital contents or be a highly skilled independent professional using digital technology to carry out their activities.

Remote worker visa

Suitable for: The ‘subordinate work/remote worker visa is suitable for subordinate workers who use digital tools to work for their employer from abroad or from a place different to their employers’ head office.

Investor visa

Suitable for: Those investing between €500,000 and €2,000,000 in an Italian company or a minimum of €250,000 in an Italian start-up company.

While similar to the golden visa, this residency by investment scheme does not allow for real estate investment.

To qualify for an investor visa, you’ll need to gain a Nulla Osta, which is a certificate of no impediment from the Italian Government. To get this you’ll need:

your passport,
a CV showing your academic and professional experience and qualifications,
documents proving that you have the financial resources to invest (such as bank statements) — you should be able to prove that these funds are transferable with a letter from your bank,
a description of the nature of your investment and your past experience as an investor,
a signed Declaration of Commitment to using the funds, and
a clean criminal record.

Once you’ve received your Nulla Osta, you’ll need to take this to your nearest Italian Embassy or Consulate, along with:

your passport,
proof of accommodation in Italy,
proof of residence in the UK,
proof of income, and
a passport-size picture of yourself.

Validity: Once you’ve been granted an investor visa, it will be valid for two years. During this time, you will be able to request a residence permit. This permit is also valid for two years and you can choose to renew it for a further three years after this time.

Working holiday visa

Italy currently has agreements with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Korea to allow people between the ages of 18 and 30 to undertake a working holiday programme. At the moment the UK has no such agreement.

How to apply for a visa and residence permit

Once you have found the right visa type for you, you will need to download and complete the correct application form, then schedule an appointment at your local Italian embassy or consulate. Non-EU citizens must apply for Italian visas in their country of residence. For example, there are two Italian consulates in the UK, one in London and another in Edinburgh.

At the appointment, you will be required to provide a number of supporting documents to submit with your application.

You will need to provide:

The correct visa application form (completed)
Proof of health insurance (for example, the Schengen visa requires a minimum coverage of €30,0000 for emergencies)
Vaid passport (must be valid for three months after the date you plan to leave Italy)
Two recent passport-sized photos
Proof of accommodation or address
Proof of financial means
Proof of paid visa fee
For employees: contract, last six months’ bank statements, leave permission from employer, income tax return
For self-employed: a copy of your business license, company bank statement, income tax return
For students: proof of enrolment, no objection letter from the school or university
For retirees: last six months of pension statements

If applying for a family reunification visa, you may also be required to show proof of familial ties. E.g. marriage certificates and birth certificates, along with the EU citizen’s valid passport.

To ensure you are fully prepared and have all the documents you need to supply at your visa appointment, speak to a visa specialist today.

Enquire now: We recommend c_legal for all your visa and residency needs in Italy

Once you’ve attended the appointment, you will have to wait for processing. You will be notified in due course once a decision has been made.

Getting your residence permit

Once you have a long-term visa, you have eight days from arriving in Italy to apply for a residence permit. You can get an application at your local post office, which will provide you with a kit containing the application form, alternatively you can apply in person at your local Comuni, Patronati or Immigration Desk (Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione)

To obtain the residence permit, you will need:

An application form
Your valid passport and any relevant travel documents (E.g. visa)
A photocopy of your passport and any relevant travel documents
Four recent and identical passport-sized photographs
€14.63 for the electronic revenue stamp
Documents supporting your request for this residence permit.

The validity of your residence permit matches your visa. Please note, only those planning to stay in Italy for three months are required to apply for a residence permit.

Visa fees in Italy

You may notice that you’ll need to pay a fee to apply for a visa. This is for the administrative costs of processing the visa application. Fees for a long-stay visa for Italy are currently €116, plus a service charge to VFS Global. Applications can be made up to six months before your travel dates. They also state that it can take up to 90 days for a national visa to be processed.

Once you’ve been granted a long-stay visa, you will then need to apply for a residence permit. This is because the visa allows you to enter the country upon arrival, while the residence permit enables you to live in Italy for the duration of your stay.