So you want to get yourself a slice of that La Dolce Vita and move to Italy? What’s not to love – the beautiful weather, the food, the people?
There’s a reason that so many people visit and relocate to Italy every year, and from all over the world. So, how hard is it to move to Italy, and can you make it a reality?
How hard is it to move to Italy? It depends on where you’re coming from. Moving to Italy from within the EU is easy thanks to freedom of movement, with no visa required. Moving from the US is difficult: short stays are simple, but long-term residency means strict visas, quotas, and heavy paperwork.
Is it Hard to Move to Italy?
Let’s break it down by where you’re moving from, since that’s what makes the biggest difference. Below we’ll look at moving to Italy from within Europe versus from America.
Moving to Italy from within Europe
If you’re moving to Italy from within Europe, specifically the European Union (EU) zone, it’s pretty easy to move to Italy. The freedom of movement within the EU means that if you’re a citizen of any country within the EU, you can live and work in any of the other countries in the EU without having to get a visa.
That’s right, no red tape, just grab your passport and your belongings and turn up.
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Is it Easy to Move to Italy from America?
Now, if you’re trying to move to Italy from the US, you’re going to have to jump through a lot more hoops. It’s actually super easy to move to Italy for three months or below through a Schengen visa, which is the most common tourist visa in Europe.
It’s worth noting that you’re not strictly allowed to work on this visa, so it’s more like a sabbatical or extended vacation than an actual move to Italy.
If you’re a student, you can apply to study in Italy and get a special student visa that allows you to stay for the duration of your course. This is one of the easiest ways to move to Italy for an extended period of time without having to deal with a ton of bureaucracy.
There are plenty of other visas that you can apply for to move to Italy for a limited time, including:
- Work visas
- Investor visas
- Start-up visas
- Digital nomad visas
- Retirement visas
All of these are temporary visas that help you to build up the number of years that you need to live in Italy for before you can apply for permanent residency. The requirement for this is that you have to live in Italy, uninterrupted for five years.
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Then you can apply for a permanent residency card which gives you benefits similar to locals, including EU freedom of movement and state benefits.
Buying a house in Italy as an American is startlingly easy, given how hard it is to get a visa. As there is a mutual agreement in place between the US and Italy, it means that citizens of either country can buy property in each other’s country with the same taxes, fees, and rates as locals.
This means if an American bought a house in Italy, they’d go through the same process and pay the same fees as an Italian who would buy a house in Italy.
The red tape and bureaucracy around temporary visas for Americans means that it is very hard to move to Italy on a permanent or long-term basis.
Unless you run your own business, can get your Italian company to sponsor your visa, or are retiring in the sunshine, it’s pretty impossible to rack up enough uninterrupted living years in Italy to get a permanent residency card.
If you’re looking to get Italian citizenship, you either need to have Italian descent – in which case you’re eligible for dual nationality – or you need to marry an Italian citizen. This isn’t a short-term Green Card situation either.
To be eligible for citizenship, you’ll have to be married to an Italian for at least three years, or if you have children with an Italian citizen, you have to be married for at least 18 months.
Either way, it’s not exactly a walk in the park to move to Italy as an American. Hard does not mean impossible though. My step-by-step guide to moving to Italy as an American walks through each visa option and what it actually takes to qualify.
If you’re coming from within the European Union, however, it’s an entirely different ballpark.
If the process feels overwhelming, our trusted partner Mazzeschi Legal Counsels has helped many expats successfully move to Italy. If you decide to get in touch with them, be sure to mention “Wander Onwards” so they know I sent you their way! You can also contact them directly via this form.
Digital Nomad Visa in Italy
Finally, in April of 2024, Italy launched its digital nomad visa. This is one that many of us have been waiting for over the past few years.
Designed for non-EU citizens, the Italy digital nomad visa actually has relatively low-income allowances compared to other European nations.
The requirements so far are:
- An annual income of at least €28,000
- Proof that you’ve worked as a digital nomad or remote worker for at least the last six months
- Health insurance
- Proof of accommodation for the duration of your stay
- No criminal convictions in the last five years
If those income thresholds are the thing standing in your way, it’s still possible to move to Italy with no money saved, it just changes which route you take.
As with most digital nomad visas, the Italian digital nomad visa is set to last one year and costs €116 to apply.
It seems like the most important requirement in terms of financial investment is health insurance. You can sign up with the Italian National Health Service for an annual payment of €2,000, or you can find your own (often more expensive) private plan instead.
The healthcare fees, together with the visa fee, rental deposits, first month’s rent, and flights are obviously a large initial outlay, but with the lower income requirement and lower cost of living in Italy, this should be recouped pretty easily, especially if you’re on a US remote working wage.
For the full picture of what you’ll spend before and after the move, here’s how much it actually costs to move to Italy from the US.
FAQs
Much easier. EU freedom of movement means citizens of any EU country can live and work in Italy without a visa at all. Americans need a long-term visa, a residence permit, and five uninterrupted years in the country before permanent residency becomes an option.
A student visa is usually the least painful route for a longer stay. It’s tied to the duration of your course and involves far less bureaucracy than work or investor visas. For stays under three months, the Schengen tourist allowance requires no application at all.
No. The 90 day Schengen allowance does not permit you to work. It functions more like an extended vacation or sabbatical than a real move. If you intend to earn income while in Italy, you need a visa that specifically authorizes work.
At least €28,000 per year, plus proof you’ve worked remotely for the previous six months. You’ll also need health insurance, which runs about €2,000 annually through the Italian National Health Service, along with proof of accommodation and a clean criminal record.
Permanent residency requires five uninterrupted years of living in Italy, and most American-eligible visas are temporary. Unless you run your own business, get sponsored by an Italian employer, or qualify for a retirement visa, stringing together five continuous years is genuinely tough.
Surprisingly, yes. A mutual agreement between the US and Italy lets Americans buy property on the same terms as Italian citizens, with the same taxes and fees. Owning a home in Italy does not grant you the right to live there, though.
Read More About Italy:
- 70+ Perfect One-Word Captions About Italy for Instagram
- How to Move to Italy Without Money
- The Cost of a Move from the USA to Italy
- Can US Citizens Move to Italy?
- Things to Do in Rome in 4 Days
- Unique Italian Instagram Bios
Vanessa Wachtmeister is a travel tech professional and the creator of the wealth & wanderlust platform, Wander Onwards. Vanessa is originally from Los Angeles, California, she is a proud Chicana, and she has been living abroad for the last 9 years. Today, she helps people pursue financial and location independence through her ‘Move Abroad’ Master Class, financial literacy digital products, and career workshops.