Digital Nomad & Residency · Italy
Italy digital nomad visa: income, cost & requirements (2026)
Italy shaded by its digital nomad & residency status
Digital nomad visa in Italy: dedicated visa.
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.
The Italy digital nomad visa
Italy's digital nomad visa lets remote workers live in Italy while working for an employer or clients based abroad.
- Visa
- digital nomad visa
- Issued by
- an Italian consulate
- Income requirement
- at least €28,000 per year (about €2,333/month)
- Duration
- 1 year, renewable annually; permanent residence possible after 5 years
- Cost
- consular visa and residence-permit fees
- Tax
- you may become an Italian tax resident if you stay 183+ days
Visa rules and thresholds change often; confirm the current figures with the official source before applying.
Italy digital nomad visa: FAQ
Yes. Italy offers the digital nomad visa, issued by an Italian consulate, for remote workers earning income from outside Italy.
At least €28,000 per year (about €2,333/month).
1 year, renewable annually; permanent residence possible after 5 years.
Consular visa and residence-permit fees.
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.
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