Digital Nomad & Residency · Italy
Italy digital nomad visa & residency (2026)
Italy shaded by its digital nomad & residency status
Italy operates a dedicated long-stay (Type D) visa and residence permit for 'digital nomads and remote workers,' in force since the implementing decree of 29 February 2024. It targets highly qualified non-EU nationals who work either self-employed (digital nomads) or for a non-Italian employer (remote workers) using technological tools, and is issued outside the Decreto Flussi quotas. Italy also runs a separate Investor Visa ('golden visa') residency-by-investment program for relocators with capital to deploy.
Key points
A specific 'visto per nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto' (national Type D visa) and matching 'digital nomad – remote worker' residence permit were created by the 29 February 2024 ministerial decree, distinguishing two categories: self-employed digital nomads and salaried remote workers for a foreign employer.
Applicants must be non-EU 'highly qualified' workers (per Art. 27-quater of Legislative Decree 286/98), holding a higher-education degree/professional qualification or equivalent experience, plus at least six months of prior experience as a digital nomad/remote worker in the relevant field.
Minimum annual income from lawful sources of at least three times the healthcare-exemption threshold (around €28,000 in 2025), valid health insurance for the full stay, and documented accommodation are required; remote workers must also show an employment/collaboration contract.
The visa and residence permit are valid for up to one year and renewable if requirements remain met. The permit must be requested at the competent Questura within 8 working days of entry; the route bypasses the Decreto Flussi quotas and does not require a Nulla Osta.
The separate 'Investor Visa for Italy' grants residency to non-EU investors: minimum €250,000 in an innovative startup, €500,000 in an Italian company, €2 million in government bonds, or €1 million philanthropic donation; it gives a 2-year permit renewable for 3 years and is administered via the MIMIT online portal.
Beyond the nomad and investor visas, Italy offers an Italia Startup Visa for founders of innovative startups and self-employment/elective-residence routes, providing additional pathways for relocators not working remotely for a foreign employer.
Timeline - major decisions & events
Italy's substitute flat tax on foreign income for wealthy individuals relocating their tax residency rises from €200,000 to €300,000 per year, continuing the upward trajectory from the original €100,000 (2017) and €200,000 (2024). It shapes the tax incentive that draws high-income relocators alongside the visa routes.
PwC Tax Summaries ↗The Interministerial Decree of 29 February 2024 (Interior, Foreign Affairs, Tourism, Labour) is published in the Official Gazette (n. 79), finally making Italy's digital nomad/remote worker visa applicable — setting income (~€28,000), health insurance, housing, qualification and 6-months-experience requirements for a renewable one-year permit.
Gazzetta Ufficiale ↗Legislative Decree 152/2023 transposes EU Directive 2021/1883, broadening the pool of eligible highly qualified non-EU workers, easing admission criteria and EU mobility, and amending Art. 27-quater of the Immigration Act — a key non-quota route adjacent to the digital nomad scheme.
European Commission ↗A DPCM published in the Official Gazette programs 452,000 legal entries of non-EU workers over 2023-2025, the largest multi-year quota in years and the main channel for ordinary (non-remote) labour migration that sits alongside the quota-exempt digital nomad route.
Ministero del Lavoro ↗Converting the 'Sostegni-ter' decree, Article 6-quinquies of Law n. 25/2022 amends the Consolidated Immigration Act to establish a visa/residence path for non-EU highly qualified remote workers and digital nomads — the legal foundation, though it remained inoperative pending the 2024 implementing decree.
Gazzetta Ufficiale ↗The 2017 Budget Law (Law 232/2016) introduced Art. 24-bis (the €100,000 substitute flat tax for new residents) and Art. 26-bis of the Immigration Act (the 'Investor Visa for Italy'), creating Italy's residency-by-investment and high-net-worth relocation framework.
MISE Investor Visa for Italy ↗Ministerial Decree n. 850 of 11 May 2011 catalogues Italy's national visa types, formalizing the Elective Residence Visa for self-sufficient foreigners with stable passive income who wish to reside in Italy without working — long the main residency option before the digital nomad route existed.
Consolato Generale d'Italia (esteri.it) ↗The Testo Unico sull'Immigrazione establishes the foundational legal framework governing all non-EU entry, residence permits and work authorization in Italy — the base law (notably Art. 27 and quota system) that every subsequent visa route, including the digital nomad visa, amends or builds upon.
Normattiva ↗Italy - other topics
Last verified 5/23/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →