Italy Investor Visa: Thresholds, Tax Rules, Family Inclusion
Última actualización: May 23, 2026
Italy's Investor Visa (sometimes called the Italian Golden Visa) is a residence permit for non-EU nationals who commit capital to the Italian economy through one of four government-approved routes, ranging from €250,000 in an innovative startup up to €2,000,000 in government bonds. It grants two years of residence (renewable for three more), free movement within the Schengen Area, and access to Italy's flat tax regime for new residents, which was raised to €300,000 per year under the 2026 Budget Law.
Last updated: May 23, 2026
How the Italy Investor Visa Works
The program is based on Article 26-bis of the Consolidated Immigration Act (Legislative Decree No. 286/1998) and was launched in 2017. It is administered by the Investor Visa for Italy Committee (IV4I) under the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, with applications filed through the official portal investorvisa.mise.gov.it.
Unlike some EU residence-by-investment schemes, the Italian program does not require you to transfer the qualifying capital before approval. Instead, you obtain a Nulla Osta (pre-approval certificate), apply for the entry visa at an Italian consulate, enter Italy, and then have three months from arrival to actually complete the investment or donation. If you fail to make the investment in time, the residence permit is revoked.
The visa does not require you to live in Italy full-time, but maintaining the investment is mandatory for the entire validity of the permit. Real estate purchases do not qualify under this program. You must choose one of the four official routes below.
Investment Thresholds and Qualifying Routes
There are four qualifying options. You commit to one route in your initial application, and the funds must remain in place for as long as you hold the investor residence permit.
Route | Minimum Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Innovative startup | €250,000 | Must be registered in Italy's special startup section under Article 25 of Decree-Law 179/2012; incorporated within the last 5 years; under €5M annual revenue |
Italian limited company | €500,000 | Established Italian S.r.l. or S.p.A. with ordinary operations |
Philanthropic donation | €1,000,000 | One-off donation to a public-interest project (culture, research, immigration, environment, heritage) |
Italian government bonds | €2,000,000 | Securities issued by the Italian Government, held for at least 2 years |
The startup and company routes are the most commonly used because they offer the lowest entry point and allow you to keep economic upside on the investment. The government bond route is the most passive but ties up the largest sum at sovereign-bond yields. The philanthropic donation is non-recoverable.
Note that the program is currently suspended for Russian and Belarusian citizens. The Committee Chairman's order of 14 July 2023, aligned with EU Recommendation C(2022) 2028, halted those applications, and the March 2024 extension also blocks non-EU nationals holding dual passports that include Russian or Belarusian citizenship.
Family Inclusion: Who You Can Bring
One of the program's strengths is its family reunification scope. Eligible dependents under the investor permit include:
- Spouse or registered civil partner
- Minor children (including adopted)
- Adult children who are dependent due to health conditions preventing self-sufficiency
- Dependent parents who have no other means of support in their home country
Family members receive residence permits tied to the main applicant's status and enjoy the same rights to work, study, and access public healthcare through the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN) once registered. Children may enroll in Italian public schools or universities on the same terms as residents. If you are considering university for older children, see our guide on studying at Sapienza University of Rome and scholarships for international students in Italy.
Family members must apply for family reunification visas at the Italian consulate in their country of residence after the principal applicant secures the entry visa, or simultaneously where the consulate permits.
Tax Implications: The €300,000 Flat Tax and Other Regimes
For most high-net-worth applicants, the real attraction of moving residence to Italy is the new-residents flat tax regime under Article 24-bis TUIR. The 2026 Budget Law, approved on 30 December 2025, made two important changes:
- The annual flat tax on all foreign-sourced income was raised from €200,000 to €300,000 for individuals transferring tax residence to Italy from 1 January 2026 onward.
- The flat tax for qualifying family members increased from €25,000 to €50,000 per person per year.
The regime grandfathers earlier opt-ins: those who became Italian tax residents in 2024 continue paying €100,000, and those who opted in during 2025 continue at €200,000. Once you opt in at a given rate, you keep that rate for the duration of the regime, which can last up to 15 years.
Eligibility for the flat tax requires that the applicant has not been an Italian tax resident for at least 9 of the previous 10 tax years. Under the regime, foreign-sourced income (dividends, capital gains, rental income from abroad, business profits outside Italy) is covered by the lump sum. Italian-sourced income is taxed separately at ordinary IRPEF rates, which range from 23% to 43%.
A separate 7% flat tax on foreign pension income is available to retirees who relocate to qualifying municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants in southern Italy (Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia). That regime lasts 10 years and is not compatible with the 24-bis regime.
Italian Ministry of Finance data showed roughly 2,730 enrollees in the flat tax regime between 2017 and 2022, with an estimated additional 1,200 in 2023. For the latest enrollment numbers, check Agenzia delle Entrate publications directly.
Document Checklist
The Investor Visa Committee requires a Nulla Osta application package before you can approach the consulate. Required documents typically include:
- Valid passport with at least 2 years of remaining validity
- Detailed CV and professional profile
- Proof of funds: bank statements covering the qualifying amount, traceable to legitimate sources
- Source-of-funds declaration with supporting documents (tax returns, sale contracts, inheritance papers, etc.)
- Description of the planned investment, including the target company, fund, or bond issue
- Letter from the receiving Italian entity (for company or startup routes) or the receiving public body (for the philanthropic route) confirming willingness to accept the investment
- Police clearance certificates from every country where you have lived for more than 6 months during the past 10 years
- Sworn declaration that funds are available and will be transferred within 3 months of arrival
- Proof of accommodation in Italy (rental contract, hotel booking, or property deed for personal use)
- Health insurance covering Italian territory until SSN registration
All non-Italian documents must be translated into Italian by a sworn translator and legalized via apostille (for Hague Convention countries) or consular legalization.
Application Steps and Processing Time
The process unfolds in clearly defined phases:
- Nulla Osta application through investorvisa.mise.gov.it. The IV4I Committee must respond within 30 days. If they request additional documents, you have 30 days to provide them.
- Entry visa application at the Italian consulate in your country of residence. You have 6 months from Nulla Osta issuance to apply. Since January 2025, biometric data collection is mandatory and requires in-person consulate attendance.
- Entry into Italy on the investor visa (valid for one entry).
- Permesso di soggiorno application at the local Questura within 8 days of arrival. This produces the 2-year residence card.
- Investment execution within 3 months of arrival. Proof of completed investment must be submitted to the IV4I Committee.
- Renewal for an additional 3 years, applied for at least 60 days before the permit expires, with a fresh Nulla Osta confirming the investment has been maintained.
Total end-to-end processing typically runs 90 to 120 days from a complete application to entry visa issuance, though delays at consulates with limited appointment availability can extend this. There is no published official fee schedule from the IV4I itself; consulate visa fees and the permesso di soggiorno issuance fees through the Questura and Polizia di Stato are separate from the qualifying investment. Check the Polizia di Stato portal and your local Questura for the current permesso di soggiorno costs.
Path to Permanent Residence and Citizenship
The investor permit counts toward long-term residence and naturalization timelines:
- EU long-term resident status can be requested after 5 years of continuous legal residence in Italy, subject to language and income requirements.
- Italian citizenship by naturalization is available after 10 years of continuous legal residence, with B1-level Italian, clean criminal record, and demonstrated tax compliance.
Residents who hold the investor visa primarily for tax-residence purposes and spend limited time in Italy should be aware that long-term residence and citizenship both require genuine continuous presence, not just a paper permit. If you have Italian ancestry, a separate route may apply: see dual citizenship between Italy and the US for how that interacts with relocation plans.
Common Pitfalls
Applicants and their advisors regularly run into the same issues:
- Treating real estate as qualifying capital. It is not. Buying a villa in Tuscany does not satisfy any of the four routes.
- Missing the 3-month investment deadline. Funds must actually be deployed, not just transferred to an Italian bank account. Wire transfer timing and KYC reviews at Italian banks can eat weeks.
- Underestimating source-of-funds scrutiny. The Committee requires a clean, documented chain for the entire qualifying amount. Crypto holdings, opaque trust distributions, and cash gifts often trigger requests for further documentation.
- Police clearance gaps. Applicants who have lived in 4 or 5 countries over the past decade frequently miss one certificate. All must be apostilled and translated.
- Confusing residence with tax residence. Holding the permit does not automatically make you an Italian tax resident. To opt into the 24-bis flat tax, you must actually transfer your tax residence, typically by spending more than 183 days a year in Italy or establishing your center of vital interests there.
- Renewal complacency. Failure to maintain the investment, even briefly, can void the renewal. Selling startup shares, redeeming bonds early, or letting the company exit the special startup register all create problems.
FAQs
Can I apply from inside Italy? No. The Nulla Osta and visa must be obtained before entry. You cannot convert a tourist Schengen stamp into an investor permit on Italian soil.
Do I need to speak Italian to qualify? No, there is no language requirement for the initial investor visa or its renewal. Italian at B1 is only required if you later pursue citizenship by naturalization.
Does the visa allow Schengen travel? Yes. The Italian residence permit grants visa-free travel across the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
Can I work in Italy on this visa? Yes. The investor permit allows employment, self-employment, and directorship roles in Italian companies.
What happens if I sell my investment early? The residence permit is revoked. You must maintain the qualifying investment for as long as you hold the permit. After obtaining EU long-term resident status at year 5, the investment requirement no longer ties to your status.
Is the program open to all nationalities? Yes, with the exception of Russian and Belarusian citizens (and dual nationals holding those passports), for whom the program has been suspended since July 2023.
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