Programme overview
The Investor Visa for Italy (“Italy Golden Visa”), administered by the Ministry of Enterprise & Made in Italy through the dedicated investorvisa.mise.gov.it portal, was established in 2017 to attract capital into Italian startups, listed companies, government bonds and philanthropic projects. It grants a two-year visa, renewable for a further three years on maintained investment — a five-year cumulative residency permit. There is no physical-presence requirement to maintain the permit. The principal can include spouse, minor children, dependent adult children and dependent parents through family reunification.
The strategic value of Italy in 2026 is not the visa itself — it is the visa paired with the lump-sum tax regime. Italy’s non-dom regime, introduced in 2017 by Article 24-bis of the TUIR, charges a flat annual tax (originally €100,000, doubled to €200,000 for new tax-residents from 10 August 2024 by Law Decree 113/2024) on all foreign-source income for up to fifteen years. Family members can be added at €25,000 each. The combination — Italian residency without forced tax residency, plus a €200K-cap-on-the-world tax regime if the principal does choose to relocate — is unmatched in the EU for capital-rich families with significant offshore income streams.
Two important caveats. First, naturalisation requires ten years of legal residence under the general rule (four years for EU citizens). The investor visa gives the residency right but does not shorten the clock; the ten-year clock requires substantive physical presence and Italian tax residency. Second, Italy’s separate citizenship-by-descent (jure sanguinis) route was sharply narrowed by Decree-Law 36/2025 (converted into Law 74/2025), which closed the great-grandparent line for all claims not already lodged or appointment-confirmed before 27 March 2025 — relevant for principals exploring the Italian-ancestry route in parallel.
Investment routes
Innovative startups (€250,000)
Equity investment of at least €250,000 in an Italian innovative startup registered in the dedicated MISE section. The lowest entry point and the most-used route since launch — particularly for principals already comfortable with venture-style risk. Funds must be transferred in full, debt-free, within three months of entering Italy on the visa.
Italian companies (€500,000)
Equity investment of at least €500,000 in shares of an Italian limited company, listed or unlisted, in normal operating activity. Suits principals with sector knowledge in Italian targets — fashion, food, manufacturing, hospitality, tech.
Philanthropic donation (€1,000,000)
Non-refundable donation of at least €1,000,000 to a project of public interest in culture, education, immigration management, scientific research, or cultural/natural heritage preservation. Capital is consumed. Suits principals who specifically want a philanthropic anchor in Italy and who are prioritising the tax regime over capital preservation.
Italian government bonds (€2,000,000)
Acquisition of at least €2,000,000 in Italian government bonds (BTPs), held for the full residency period. Mechanically simple; capital-intensive; modest yield. Used by principals who want zero operational footprint and who already manage substantial fixed-income allocations.
Tax architecture
The default Italian position. Italian tax residency triggers at 183 days of physical presence in a calendar year, registration with the Anagrafe (resident registry), or where Italy is the habitual abode or centre of economic interests. Worldwide income is taxed at progressive national rates of 23–43%, plus regional surtax (1.23–3.33%) and municipal surtax (up to 0.9%). Capital gains face a 26% flat rate on most financial instruments.
The lump-sum / non-dom regime — Article 24-bis. Italy’s flagship regime for inbound HNWIs charges a single flat annual tax of €200,000 (for tax-residents who establish residency from 10 August 2024) covering all foreign-source income for up to fifteen years. Family members can be added at €25,000 each. There is no requirement to declare foreign income or assets, and the regime exempts foreign assets from the IVAFE wealth tax. Critically, principals who established Italian tax residency before 10 August 2024 keep the original €100,000 figure for the remainder of their fifteen-year window.
A further reported increase to €300,000 has circulated; it is not currently in force as a confirmed law for new entrants beyond the August 2024 doubling. Treat any €300K figure as a forward-policy risk and verify at the time of any client commitment.
Property, wealth, inheritance. Italian-resident property pays IMU (municipal property tax). The lump-sum regime exempts foreign assets from the IVIE foreign-property and IVAFE foreign-financial-assets wealth taxes. Italian inheritance is light by EU standards: 4% to spouse and direct line above a €1M per-beneficiary exemption, 6% to siblings above €100K, 8% to others.
The non-dom requalification rules. Eligibility for Article 24-bis requires that the applicant has not been Italian tax-resident in nine of the previous ten years. The election is made on the first Italian tax return; Article 24-bis can be revoked at any time but cannot be re-elected.
What it gets you
- Schengen mobility. 90-in-180 day visa-free movement across the Schengen area on the Italian residency permit.
- The non-dom regime. Up to fifteen years of foreign-income coverage at a €200K annual flat — uniquely valuable for principals with substantial offshore income streams.
- Family reunification. Spouse, minor children, dependent adult children and dependent parents on a single file.
- EU education access. Children may enrol at Italian and EU public universities at resident-fee rates.
- Healthcare access. Optional enrolment in the SSN public system on payment of the annual health-services fee; private cover is the working norm.
- Dual citizenship permitted. Italy allows dual nationality without restriction.
- Naturalisation pathway. Eligible to apply for Italian (EU) citizenship after ten years of legal residence — but only with substantive physical presence and Italian tax residency over that period.
Our role on an Italian file
An Italian file is two parallel tracks: the investor visa, and the lump-sum tax election. We run both as a single instruction.
- Pre-engagement diagnostic — investor visa fit (which of the four routes), and a parallel non-dom feasibility assessment that prices the €200K election against the family’s actual foreign-income profile.
- Codice fiscale issuance, Italian bank account opening, and Nulla Osta application to the MIMIT secretariat through investorvisa.mise.gov.it.
- Visa stamp at the Italian consulate in the principal’s country of residence, entry into Italy, and completion of the investment within the three-month window.
- Permesso di Soggiorno issuance at the local Questura and Anagrafe registration where tax residency is to be established.
- Article 24-bis ruling and election — coordinated with our Milan and Rome tax counsel, including pre-clearance of any sensitive foreign income streams.
- Annual renewal calendaring, naturalisation-clock tracking (with realistic counsel on the substantive-presence requirement), and ongoing tax-residency planning across the fifteen-year non-dom window.