Does Italy have a digital nomad visa?

Yes — "Digital nomad and remote worker visa (nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto)": initial 12 months, renewable, income requirement 28,000 EUR/year.

How can a remote worker legally stay in Italy?

Digital nomad and remote worker visa (nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto) (Digital nomad visa); Self-employment visa (lavoro autonomo) — inside the decreto flussi quota (Freelance permit); Elective residence visa (residenza elettiva) (Temporary residence); EU/EEA/Swiss freedom of movement — registration with the comune (Visa-free stay).

ITEntry · residence · long-term status

Legal ways to live in Italy.

Italy currently offers 4 active paths relevant to remote workers, including a digital nomad visa (income requirement 28,000 EUR/year). Conditions below come from official immigration sources — filter by your citizenship.

Verified Jul 28, 2026

4 legalization paths · 9 sources · official immigration sources only

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4 legalization paths

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A compact map of every documented option for Italy. Start with eligibility and duration, then open the full conditions below.

01EU/EEA/Swiss freedom of movement — registration with the comuneGetting in · Visa-free stayWho qualifiesEU citizensDuration3 mo +→ PR path
02Digital nomad and remote worker visa (nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto)Staying long-term · Digital nomad visaWho qualifiesAll except EU citizensDuration1 yr +→ PR path
03Self-employment visa (lavoro autonomo) — inside the decreto flussi quotaStaying long-term · Freelance permitWho qualifiesAll except EU citizensDuration2 yrs +→ PR path
04Elective residence visa (residenza elettiva)Staying long-term · Temporary residenceWho qualifiesAll except EU citizensDuration1 yr +→ PR path

Getting in

Who can enter Italy and on what terms — visa-free windows and entry visas.

01Getting in

Visa-free stayactive

EU/EEA/Swiss freedom of movement — registration with the comune

For: EU citizens

it-eu-freedom-of-movement

Duration: 3 months, renewable
Path to PR: Yes
Family: Included
Income requirement: 5,062 EUR/year

Requirements (4)

01The first three months need no formality at all beyond a valid identity document
02Beyond three months, register with the comune (iscrizione anagrafica) as a worker, self-employed person, student, or as a person with sufficient resources
03Non-working registrants must document sufficient resources (from €5,061.68 a year) and health cover so as not to burden public assistance
04The comune issues an attestation of registration immediately on request

What this route means

How the income test is measured

Resources considered sufficient for registration: €5,061.68 for the applicant alone or with one family member, €10,123.36 with two or three, €15,185.04 with four or more. Workers and self-employed people register on the basis of their activity and are not asked to meet this threshold

Tax implications:

Free movement says nothing about tax: crossing 183 days of presence makes you an Italian tax resident on worldwide income. An EU citizen may open a VAT number and use the regime forfettario on exactly the same terms as an Italian.

Important context

By far the simplest route into Italy, and the reason the visa questions on this page only concern non-EU citizens. Five years of continuous legal residence gives the permanent right of residence. The resource thresholds are low by design — they exist to stop welfare tourism, not to filter out remote workers, and anyone registering as self-employed is assessed on the activity instead.

Staying long-term

Grounds for residence — business, employment, special programs — with the conditions to qualify.

02Staying long-term

Digital nomad visaactive

Digital nomad and remote worker visa (nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto)

For: All except EU citizens

it-digital-nomad-visa

Duration: 1 year, renewable
Path to PR: Yes
Family: Included
Income requirement: 28,000 EUR/year

Requirements (8)

01Highly qualified work carried out remotely — self-employed (nomade digitale) or as an employee/collaborator of a company that may be based outside Italy (lavoratore da remoto)
02Qualification meeting art. 27-quater of the immigration act (the EU Blue Card standard: a degree of at least three years, or an equivalent recognised professional qualification)
03At least six months of prior experience in the activity to be carried out
04Annual income from lawful sources of at least three times the healthcare cost-sharing exemption threshold (≈ €28,000)
05Health insurance covering medical care and hospitalisation, valid in Italy for the whole stay
06Documented accommodation arrangements in Italy
07For remote employees only: an employment or collaboration contract, or a binding offer, apostilled and translated
08Apply for the residence permit at the questura of the province of residence within eight working days of entering Italy

What this route means

How the income test is measured

At least three times the minimum income level for exemption from healthcare cost-sharing, which Italian consulates publish as €28,000 a year (art. 3(1)(a) of the decree of 29 February 2024)

Tax implications:

Staying beyond 183 days in a calendar year makes you an Italian tax resident on worldwide income. The permit is explicitly revoked if national tax and social-contribution rules are not respected, so registering for tax and INPS is part of keeping it. Freelancers who register a VAT number typically land in the regime forfettario; new residents may instead qualify for the impatriati 50% exemption.

Important context

Granted outside the decreto-flussi quotas and without a nulla osta, which is what makes it genuinely usable — the ordinary self-employment route depends on a quota that is exhausted within hours. The permit lasts up to one year and renews annually while the conditions hold; family members can join under the ordinary family-reunification rules. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need none of this.

03Staying long-term

Freelance permitactive

Self-employment visa (lavoro autonomo) — inside the decreto flussi quota

For: All except EU citizens

it-lavoro-autonomo-visa

Duration: 2 years, renewable
Path to PR: Yes
Family: Included

Requirements (4)

01A place inside the annual decreto flussi quota — for 2026 the whole country has 650 self-employment entries, against 76,200 for non-seasonal employment and 88,000 seasonal
02Pre-compile the application on the Interior Ministry's ALI portal ahead of the click-day (precompilation for the 2026-2028 cycle opened on 23 October 2025)
03Obtain the entry visa at the consulate, then request the residence permit at the questura after arriving in Italy
04The residence permit for self-employment may not exceed two years (art. 5 of the immigration act)

04Staying long-term

Temporary residenceactive

Elective residence visa (residenza elettiva)

For: All except EU citizens

it-elective-residence-visa

Duration: 1 year, renewable
Path to PR: Yes
Family: Included
Income requirement: 31,000 EUR/year

Requirements (4)

01Substantial and stable passive income — pension, annuity, income from property or from stable economic and commercial activities
02The income may not come from any form of employment, and no work activity of any kind is permitted in Italy under this visa
03A purchase or lease contract for a home in Italy covering the whole period requested, registered with the Italian tax authorities and in the applicant's name
04Request the residence permit at the questura after entering Italy

What this route means

How the income test is measured

Around €31,000 a year per person of passive income, as published by Italian consulates; the statutory test is at least three times the amount in table A of the Interior Ministry directive of 1 March 2000, which consulates apply as roughly €2,600 a month per adult

Tax implications:

Living in Italy for more than 183 days a year makes you an Italian tax resident on worldwide income, including the foreign pensions or annuities that qualified you for the visa. Since no work is allowed, none of the freelancer regimes apply.

Important context

Designed for retirees and people living off capital, not for remote workers: consulates read the no-work rule strictly, and remote employment or freelancing for foreign clients does not qualify — that is precisely the gap the 2024 digital-nomad decree was written to fill. The required income figure is set by each consulate around the statutory multiple, so check the exact amount with the consulate handling your application.

Italy

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