With a sunny and warm weather that spreads throughout the year, and with beautiful views and attractive cities, Italy stands out as one of the top touristic destinations in Europe. Due to the development of technology, numerous foreigners who choose to travel many months in a year can also work while being away from home or from they place of work.
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| What is a digital nomad in Italy? | A digital nomad is a foreigner who is not a tax resident of Italy and who carries out business activites related to his/her country through the usage of modern means of communication, while living in Italy. |
|
Who can apply for the digital nomad program? |
The digital nomad in Italy is a program that will be launched soon and it is addressed to highly qualified persons and freelancers who are citizens/residents of countries outside EU. The decree referring to the digital nomad program was approved on 22 March 2022. |
|
Applying for a residence permit (yes/no) |
Yes (for stays longer than 3 months). |
| Visa validity | 1 year |
| Renewal possible (yes/no) |
Yes |
| Family members allowed to migrate with the visa holder |
Close family members, such as the spouse/partner and children |
| Performing work activities taxed in Italy |
A digital nomad in Italy can carry out taxable activites in the home country. |
| Other visa options for digital nomads |
– the tourist visa, – the study visa, – other visas that are not specifically created for employment in Italy, – the self-employed visa, for those who are remote workers and want to move their tax residency in Italy |
| Reasons to apply for the self-employed visa |
– long validity, – tax advantages, – the possibility to renew the document, – the right to bring close family members in Italy |
| Validity of the self-employed visa | 2 years |
| Financial funds requirement |
Applicants must have minimum EUR 8,500 in order to be eligible. |
| Tax advantages of the self-employed visa |
Persons who will move their tax residency in Italy as remote workers will benefit from a tax deduction of 70% on their global income. |
| Processing time for the self-employed visa |
Approximately 2 months |
| Health insurance requirement (yes/no) |
Yes |
| Yearly quota for the self-employed visa | 500 visas per year |
This type of activity, where leisure is mixed with work, while traveling, is known as digital nomad. A digital nomad in Italy can be any person who can develop his or her work activities away from the office and who uses the time spent in Italy to travel while working. Because of this, the immigration rules in numerous countries started to modify and to create a suitable visa for such persons.
In Italy, there isn’t a digital nomad program, but foreigners can obtain various visas to be used as a way to gain the right to live in this country for a limited period of time while being a digital nomad. In this article, our immigration lawyer in Italywill present how you can migrate here as a digital nomad.
Table of Contents
What is the main Italian digital nomad visa?
As said above, Italy does not specifically apply a digital nomad program, through which foreigners can obtain a visa for this particular purpose. From the beginning, we mention that immigration In Italy is bound by the issuance of a visa only for persons who are citizens of countries outside the European Union (EU).
As a member state of the EU, Italy grants the right to EU citizens to free movement, which implies that such citizens do not have to apply for a digital nomad visa in Italy (or for any other type of visa) when arriving here. The necessity of having a visa is imposed to third country nationals, which refer to most of the states outside the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA).
Thus, persons who are from outside these regions will be required to apply for a suitable visa, depending on their duration of stay. Please mind that visas are separated between visas for short-term stays or for long-term stays (but not permanent). A short-term stay is defined as any arrival in this country for a period of 90 days in 180 days and in most of the cases, foreigners will apply for a tourist visa, as this is a common way to arrive here for short-term periods of time.
This visa has very few implications for the holder, as this does not create the obligation to apply for a residence permit, nor to register with the local institutions for tax purposes and for other reasons. This is why it can be the ideal way to arrive as a digital nomad in Italy under this visa.
For those who want to relocate to Italy for a longer period of time, there is the possibility to apply for the self-employed visa, which grants the right to live here for a period of up to two years. However, different formalities have to be completed by the holder of the visa, and our immigration lawyer in Italy can present more details about it.
Below, you can watch a video that presents how to obtain a digital nomad visa in Italy:
Why apply for a self-employed visa in Italy as a digital nomad?
The self-employed visa can have numerous advantages – one can immigrate to Italyfor a longer period of time compared to other visas, and there are also very generous tax advantages. There were recent modifications of the law, in the context of the pandemic, and the advantages created under this visa were not specifically made for digital nomads, but for remote workers, but digital nomads are a category of remote workers and they can benefit from the advantages of this visa in certain situations.
The self-employed visa can be used as an Italian digital nomad visa in the situation in which a foreigner decides to move his or her tax residency in this country for the period for which the visa is granted or for a longer period (even permanently) if the foreigner decides to stay here for more time. The following apply:
- the applicants must make the proof of having sufficient financial funds in order to receive the visa, and the minimum amount is of EUR 8,500;
- the number of such visas can be capped – in 2020, the government issued only 500 visas;
- there is an important tax break obtained by self-employed remote workers, applicable starting with 1 January 2020;
- successful applicants can obtain a 70% tax exemption on their worldwide income if they register their residence in Italy;
- the tax exemption is granted for a period of 5 years.
If you need more details on how to apply for this visa in order to use it as a digital nomad visa in Italy, we invite you to contact our lawyer. Our immigration lawyer in Italy can present other tax advantages you can obtain and the main tax obligations you will have once you are relocated here.
Our lawyers can advise foreigners who apply for this program in other immigration matter after the relocation to Italy. Please mind that if you are interested in obtaining citizenship in Italy, the digital nomad program does not provide an advantage in this sense.
This is because the foreigner must first become a permanent resident and for this, other visa options have to be explored (those that allow permanent residency).
Thus, foreigners who want to move to Italy for the purpose of becoming permanent residents and later on, citizens, will have to explore the legal pathways that can allow them this opportunity.
This can be achieved through work visas, family reunification visas and other programs, which can be presented by our team of immigration lawyers. In general, permanent residency can be obtained after 5 years of uninterrupted stay in the country.