Italian Digital Nomad Visa – Step by Step Guide

Are you dreaming of living and working remotely in Italy, surrounded by stunning landscapes, rich history, and delicious cuisine? Look no further than the Italian Digital Nomad Visa! This exciting new program allows remote workers to stay in Italy for up to a year, experiencing all the country has to offer while still earning a living.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through the process of obtaining your Italian Digital Nomad Visa, from eligibility requirements to application tips and everything in between. Whether you’re a freelancer, entrepreneur, or remote employee, Italy is waiting for you with open arms. Let’s get started!

What is the Italian Digital Nomad Visa and what are the requirements and process to apply for it?

Early in 2022, the Italian government passed a bill establishing the Digital Nomad Visa and assigned a different government branch the task of issuing the regulations necessary to put the visa into effect. The administration finally released the eagerly anticipated regulations more than two years after the original legislation. Thus, it is possible to apply for the Italian Digital Nomad Visa starting of April 5, 2024. The new visa is intended for remote workers who are paid by their employers as well as independent contractors and self-employed digital nomads.

Requirements and Process of the Italian Digital Nomad Visa

1. Who is eligible: highly-skilled people (see #3 below) who work through remote technology either as a freelancer or as an employee on the payroll of a business based either in Italy or outside of Italy.
2. Digital nomads and remote workers: the regulations, for the purposes of this visa, refer to freelancers as “digital nomads” whereas they refer to employees as “remote workers”. The requirements to apply for and get the visa are almost identical for the two categories, with a few exceptions, described below as applicable.
3. Skills and Education: applicants must prove they have a university or college degree (minimum 3 years) from an accredited institution, an accredited professional license, or accredited superior professional experience.
4. Work Experience: Applicants must document at least six months of experience in the industry in which they intend to work remotely.
5. Work contract: remote workers must provide evidence of an existing employment contract, or a binding employment offer, requiring the employee to possess skills consistent with a higher level of education as defined above. The regulation does not say anything about proof of contracts for digital nomads. However, it is possible the Italian Consulate will ask for engagement letters, retainers, or other evidence of contracts between the freelancer and his/her clients with respect to the required skills work.
6. Criminal background affidavit: remote workers must file an affidavit with the Italian Consulate signed by their employer stating they have not been convicted of specific immigration crimes within the past five years. The regulation does not provide any information about a criminal background check with respect to the applicant himself/herself. Therefore, we do not expect Italian Consulates to ask for it. However, we have seen that some consulates require it for some types of visas although the respective regulations did not list it as a requirement. Therefore, it is possible some Consulates might ask for the applicant’s background check as well.
7. Annual Income: applicants must prove to have an annual income of EUR 28,000 or more. The law does not require the applicant to prove that such income is generated through his/her freelance or remote working employment. Therefore, it can be income from any source, for example, rental income, corporate dividends, royalties, etc. However, each Italian Consulate might apply its own interpretation about qualifying sources of income and might require a higher amount as well. Check-in advance the approach of your specific Italian Consulate and options to structure your application to meet the locally applied interpretation.
8. Housing: applicants must provide evidence of a place to stay in Italy. For example, you can provide a certified copy of your property purchase contract, property gift transfer, life interest entitlement (usufrutto), or lease agreement. Bear in mind that an accepted purchase offer or preliminary purchase contract or compromesso are not sufficient to meet the housing requirement.
9. Health Insurance: The Italian government provides a universal healthcare system that covers Italian residents, regardless of nationality. However, Italian Digital Nomad Visa applicants must provide evidence that they have coverage of medical treatment and hospitalization for the duration of stay, in the form of medical insurance or by signing up with the Italian National Health Service (EUR 2,000 per year). A private medical insurance usually costs EUR 350-EUR 700 per year. The coverage of private medical insurance is limited to its terms, hence its cost is lower than the amount required for the registration with the National Health Service, which provides unlimited coverage. If you wish to get private medical insurance meeting the visa requirements, we will gladly assist you in getting an eligible policy. Premiums depend on age and coverage. For example, you can find insurance policies with annual premiums as low as EUR 350 per person to access the full Italian healthcare system. Private insurance upgrades are also available (prices range based on terms and conditions). For example, you can get private insurance for EUR 1,500 per family per year, in addition to the cost of basic coverage. Here are the minimum medical insurance coverage requirements for the Italian Digital Nomad Visa:

• Event: medical expenses (e.g., prescriptions, doctor visits, hospitalization, ambulance transportation);
• Coverage: at least EUR 30,000 per person per year;
• Territory: applicable in all European Union member States;
• Duration: 1 year.

10. Digital Nomad Visa Duration: The digital nomad and remote worker visa is valid for one year. However, once in Italy, you can renew your immigration permit. Below more information about the renewal process.
11. Where To Apply for an Italian Digital Nomad Visa: You must apply at the Italian Consulate which is competent for the geographical area where you have your home (residency). Check this link to see which Italian Consulate is responsible for your residency at the time of application. You cannot apply from Italy except in some limited cases, for example if you already have a qualifying Italian immigration permit (permesso di soggiorno).
12. Digital Nomad Visa Application Form: Before going to the Italian Consulate, obtain the visa application form. Beware that each Consular office might have its own unique application form. For a point of reference, find here the form for the Italian Consulate in New York. Please refer to the Italian Consulate for your specific location and use their provided form. Be sure to complete the form with your full name as it appears on your passport. Once the visa application form is complete, do not sign it as you must sign it before an Italian Consular Visa Officer (more information below). However, some Italian Consulates might accept filing via mail (usually USPS only) after you sign the application in front of a U.S. notary public.
13. Italian Consulate Appointment: Set up an appointment with the Italian Consulate ahead of time. Often the Italian Consulate’s schedule is busy and they might book appointments for the Italian Digital Nomad Visa 2 to 4 months in the future. Usually, no appointment is required if your Italian Consulate is accepting filing by mail.
14. Photos: Two recent passport-size photographs on white background, full face and front view. Scanned or photocopied photos will NOT be accepted.
15. Passport: Along with the application form, also a valid passport with an expiration date at least three months after the end of requested visa period. Make sure the passport has at least one completely blank page (without stamps) to apply the visa sticker when issued.
16. Travel Ticket: Although it is not required to have a flight ticket to Italy at the time you submit the Italian Digital Nomad Visa application, if you have it, you can file it. If you have not finalized your travel arrangements at the time of filing, you can simply indicate on the visa application your expected departure date.
17. Visa Application Fee: EUR 116 per person. Some Consulates accept cash and even local currency. In most cases, they ask for a Money Order, payable to the Consulate of Italy, with the applicant’s name and address on the money order. Italian Consulates around the world update their websites quarterly with the equivalent converted amount in local currency as per the applicable currency exchange rate. Check on the website of your competent Italian Consulate for the applicable fee in local currency right before submitting the Italian Digital Nomad Visa application form.

Digital Nomad Visa Specifications and Registration in Italy

Visa Issue Timing: If your paperwork is in order, you might expect the visa within 30 to 90 days. The maximum term in which the Consulate must respond under the law is 90 days. In some cases recently, we have seen visas issued also on the same day of the application, although it is not common. Please bear in mind that during the entire process, from filing the visa application to when the visa is issued, the applicants’ passports must be left with the Consulate.

Visa Duration: The Digital Nomad Visa will show an issue date, a starting date and an expiration date. The visa start date will likely be the same or close to your departure date, if you filed a travel ticket along with your visa application. The expiration date of an Italian Digital Nomad visa is 365 days after the starting date. If you must postpone your departure, you can do so, as long as you enter Italy before the visa expiration date. No further notice to the Consulate is required. However, we recommend entering Italy and starting the Permit to Stay process within the first six months after the visa start date.

Permit to Stay (permesso di soggiorno): Within eight days of your arrival in Italy (and before your visa expiration date) you must apply for a Permit to Stay (“Permesso di Soggiorno”). The Permit to Stay for an Italian Digital Nomad and Remote Worker Visa usually is issued for one or two full years starting from the date of your filing your Permit to Stay application with the Italian post office, regardless of the visa expiration date. In order to continue to live in Italy past the Permit to Stay expiration date, you will be required to renew it at the latest 60 days before its expiration. After renewing it for five years and meeting the applicable requirements (e.g., evidence of filing Italian taxes), you can apply for a long-term Permit to Stay. Check here to see what an Italian Permit to Stay looks like.

Registered Residency: After you complete the immigration registration and obtain your Permit to Stay, you can file an application to become an Italian registered resident with the Italian Municipality where you are going to live.

Family reunification: Family members are eligible to join of people holding a Digital Nomad and Remote Worker immigration permit receiving a family reason permit of equal duration.

Social Security: Bilateral social security agreements apply. Meaning, if the digital nomad’s country of origin has a bilateral agreement with Italy about social security contributions, which for example allows the worker to continue to make social security payments in their country of origin while working in Italy, he/she would be exempted from paying social security in Italy. Otherwise, Italian legislation on pension and insurance coverage during the stay in Italy would apply.

Tax code (Codice Fiscale): Pursuant to the regulations, upon permit issuance, the immigration office will communicate to the digital nomad and remote worker the tax code (codice fiscale) automatically generated the Italian Tax office. However, in our opinion it would be virtually impossible for a person to apply for the digital nomad visa or the digital nomad immigration permit (permesso di soggiorno) without having already obtained an Italian tax code (codice fiscale), because you are required to have a tax code (codice fiscale) in order to comply with some of the mandatory requirements based above. For example, you need a tax code to buy a property, to lease an apartment, to get medical coverage, being it via a private health insurance or through registration with the Italian National Health Service, etc. There will probably be situations where an applicant might be able to get to the permit issuance without a tax code. For example, if they get a European private health insurance, not issued in Italy, or if they have an alternative form of housing that does not require contract registration with the Italian tax authorities. But we expect these to be rather rare situations. Therefore, you might want to start looking into your tax code as a first step to pursue this visa. Here is more information about it and how to get it for free.

VAT Account (Business Tax ID): Self-employed workers will apply for a VAT number (business tax ID) directly at the local tax office once in Italy. It is also possible to delegate a third party to apply remotely. We assist self-employed workers setting up their Italian business tax compliance formalities.

When should I start planning for a Digital Nomad Visa?

We suggest accounting for a minimum of 4-5 months for the entire process (that includes the 3 months, by law, that the consulate has to get back to you about whether your visa has been approved or not).

Let’s do the math: 

• For example, it is April and you are aiming to move to Italy in October.
• That means that in June you should be making your appointment with the Italian Consulate and starting to gather the required documents to submit (getting the appointment can be a challenge, in and of itself).
• But what about the Italian typical August business “break”, when most work in the government grinds to a halt?
• So let’s add another month for buffer and say you should start the process in May.

Is this kind of roadmap on the consulates’ websites?  No, but this is what we know from our extensive experience in working on thousands of applications with consulates around the world.  It’s not just knowing the law, but the experience that informs the kind of guidance our team can provide.

How to choose between Italian visas if you are eligible for more than one? What are the tax implications? What tax planning strategies are available to make the transition more tax efficient? What are the estate planning consequences and how can I keep control over my tax and estate planning under the Digital Nomad Visa?

These are some of the questions we are working on and for which we plan to provide more information on this page in the coming days. If you are ready to move forward, contact us to effectively prepare your next steps. Our team of immigration, tax, and estate lawyers will review your specific case circumstances and will provide you with the most comprehensive and holistic advice to pursue your goals.

We assist non-EU citizens with immigration and visa matters, tax and estate planning. We offer comprehensive services tailored to the needs of each case. Our services include advice on immigration law, cross-border implications related to dual residency, change of residency, visa application, permit to stay processing, residency application, tax planning, avoidance of dual taxation, cross-border wills, etc.

Source / Article credit – www.studiolegalemetta.com