Updated August 11, 2026

IT-FI

Residency on passive income

Residency in Italyon income

A status for those moving to Italy and living on a pension, rental income or dividends. No investment and no quotas: a steady income and a home in the country are enough. After five years European Union long-term residency opens up.

Go through your situation

The conditions are checked against the consular requirements of the Italian Foreign Ministry
Working since 2004
We run the visa, the permesso di soggiorno and the renewal

An Italian residence card under the residenza elettiva visa

from €31,000 a yearThe income guide

No investmentNo capital is required

Permanent residence after 5 yearsEU long-term status

01 / About the program

How the residenza elettiva works

This is a national visa for those who want to live in Italy on their own means. The consulate issues the visa and after entry the residence permit — the permesso di soggiorno — is arranged. No investment is required, but the requirements as to income and housing are strict, and the decision is taken by the particular consulate.

The income must be passive

A pension, rental income, dividends, income from property or from a stable economic activity. A salary and employment income are not accepted as a source — that runs directly against the point of the visa.

You cannot work in Italy

The visa gives no right to employment in the country, either as an employee or as a self-employed person. That limit applies for as long as the status rests on this ground.

Housing is evidenced before filing

A lease registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate tax authority, or an ownership document, is required. Without housing the application is not considered.

The threshold is set by the consulate

There is no single rule in the law. The practical guide is around €31,000 a year per person, and for a family the sum is higher. The specific requirement is checked with the consulate for your place of residence before filing.

02 / What you get

What the status gives you

Life in Italy

The right to live in the country, to enter and leave freely and to move around Schengen for up to 90 days in every 180.

A status for the family

A spouse and minor children are arranged together with the applicant or through family reunification. The income requirement rises accordingly.

Medicine and schools

A resident may register with the national health system on a voluntary basis, and children study in state schools.

The road to permanent residence

After five years of lawful residence European Union long-term residency opens up, subject to the requirements as to income and knowledge of the language.

Property as a ground

A house you have bought covers the housing requirement at the same time. Buying property does not in itself give the visa — it evidences the place of residence.

Tax regimes

For new tax residents Italy offers special regimes, a flat tax on foreign income among them. Whether they apply is worked out separately, before the move.

A preliminary assessment

Calculate the budget for your family

Set out who is applying with you. With the calculation you get the full Italian picture: your consulate’s requirements, the budget for the move, the timeline by stage and a plan of action.

Who is applying for the residence permit?

Get the calculation

about a minuteno calls and no obligationsconfidential

The full calculation for your family composition
The timeline for each stage of the process
A plan of action: where to start

An Italian residence card and a set of residenza elettiva documents

03 / Why people apply

Why people arrange the residenza elettiva

This visa is taken by those who have already decided to live in Italy: pensioners, people living on their assets and families for whom school, medicine and simply being in the country matter.

A move with no investment

The programme requires no investment. It is enough to evidence that you can support yourself without working in Italy.

Life in Europe

Italy offers medicine, infrastructure and climate with relatively calm requirements of the applicant — provided you genuinely move.

Education for the children

State schools and universities at resident rates. For families that is a frequent reason for enquiries.

Tax planning

The special regimes for new residents make a move a working planning instrument — but only together with a tax adviser.

Your own house in Italy

Many come with a house already bought: it covers the housing requirement and makes the file more convincing.

A path to permanent residence

Five years of residence open up the long-term status, and ten the right to apply for citizenship under the general qualifying period.

04 / Travel

Where you can travel on the residence permit

The permesso di soggiorno gives the right to live in Italy and travel around Schengen, but no right to work and it does not replace an EU passport.

Mode 01

Italy without limits

Residence, entry and exit for the whole term of the residence permit. The status assumes you live in the country.

Mode 02

Schengen, 90 days in 180

Travel around the Schengen countries without a visa — up to 90 days in every 180.

Mode 03

Work is forbidden

Neither as an employee nor as a self-employed person in Italy. A change of ground requires a separate permit and compliance with the conditions of that type of visa.

Mode 04

The rest of the world on your own passport

You travel to third countries on your passport of citizenship: that is what sets the visa regime, not the residence permit.

Sources: the Italian Foreign Ministry decree of 12 July 2000 on types of visa, the consolidated immigration act (decree 286/1998) and the Schengen Borders Code (Regulation (EU) 2016/399).

05 / The composition of the application

Who can obtain the status

The applicant files first and the family is arranged with them or through reunification. Open a row to see the conditions.

Over 18
A steady passive income evidenced by documents
Housing in Italy: ownership or a registered lease
Medical insurance and no convictions

In a registered marriage
Raises the income sum required
Gains no right to work in Italy either

The children of the applicant or the spouse
They raise the income sum required
They study in state schools on equal terms with residents

Arranged through family reunification once the applicant has the status
They evidence that they are being supported
The requirements are checked with the particular questura

06 / Cost

What income has to be evidenced

There is no figure in the law: the amount is set by the consulate. Below is the practical guide most Italian consulates work from.

A single applicant · the guide from consular practice

€31,000

≈ $36,000

Evidenced The whole term of the status

A pension, rental income, dividends, income from property or a stable activity
A salary and employment income do not count as a source
The income must be evidenced for the past period and for the future
Housing in Italy is compulsory: ownership or a registered lease

A family · a higher sum, set by the consulate

€31,000

≈ $36,000

Evidenced The whole term of the status

For a spouse and children the sum required rises
There is no single multiplier: the addition is set by the consulate where the application is filed
The housing must match the number of occupants
Medical insurance is arranged for everyone in the application

The composition of the application

The main applicant

Spouse

Minor children

Dependent parents

The sum is given as a guide from consular practice, not as a rule of law: the specific requirement is set by the consulate for your place of residence. On top of the income come the consular fee, the residence permit, the insurance, the housing and the support. This is a preliminary calculation, not a decision of a state authority.

07 / Comparison

Italy against the neighbouring options

Italy is compared with Portugal, Spain and Greece: everywhere income is evidenced, but the rights and the thresholds differ.

	Italy	Portugal D7	Spain	Greece FIP	France
Income requirement	a guide of €31,000 a year	from €11,040 a year	from €28,800 a year	from €24,000 a year	from the annual SMIC
The right to work	No	Yes	No	No	No
Housing before filing	Compulsory	Compulsory	Compulsory	Compulsory	Compulsory
The rule on the amount	Consular practice	The law	The law	The law	Tied to the SMIC
The qualifying period for citizenship	10 years	10 years	10 years	7 years	5 years

The thresholds are given as at the date this page was updated. For Italy there is no single rule: the amount depends on the consulate. The conditions for the other countries are set out on their own pages.

Full program comparison →

10 / How it works

How the process works

STEP 1

The preliminary check

We go through the structure of the income and settle whether it meets the requirements: passivity, regularity and evidence for the future.

STEP 2

The requirements of the particular consulate

We check the practice of the consulate for your place of residence: the amount, the list of documents and the appointment procedure. The differences between consulates are substantial.

STEP 3

Housing in Italy

A lease registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate or an ownership document. Without it the application will not be accepted.

STEP 4

Filing for the visa

The file with the income, the housing, the insurance and the certificates is filed in person. The consulate may ask for further documents.

STEP 5

Entry and the permesso di soggiorno

Within eight working days of entry the application for the residence permit is filed at the questura: the biometrics and the check on the documents.

STEP 6

Renewal and permanent residence

We run the renewals, family reunification and the preparation for long-term residency after five years.

There is no single rule on income: the requirement is set by the particular consulate.

ItalyThe European Union and SchengenThe Foreign Ministry decree of 12.07.2000

Go through your situation

11 / Our role

Why people arrange the residenza elettiva with us

What decides it here is not the amount but the quality of the file and the practice of the particular consulate. We have worked since 2004 and know what each of them requires.

We prepare for the particular consulate

The requirements differ from city to city. We assemble the file for the consulate where you will file, not from a general list off the internet.

We show that the income is passive

The main cause of refusals is income that looks like a salary. We structure the evidence so that the source reads as passive.

We close the housing question

We help with the lease and its registration with the tax authority, or check the documents on a property already bought.

We stay with you after the move

The permesso di soggiorno, registration of residence, medical insurance, the renewal and family reunification.

12 / Team

Who runs the Italian residency process

The application is run by a permanent team: an immigration lawyer, a documents specialist and a family coordinator.

Irena SokolovskaHead of Europe OfficeThe strategy for the programme and complex cases

Tomas LinderCompliance and AML OfficerRunning the application legally and the documents

Klara RihterHead of Compliance and Due DiligenceTaxes on the move and residency

Elena TitovaClient Relationship ManagerCoordinating the family and contact at every stage

14 / Reviews

Reviews from BRIDGES clients

Real reviews from the reviews page — with photographs and links to the case behind them.

SamuelFinancier

Cyprus · permanent residence

My income is dividends from a US LLC, and two banks had already turned my documents away. The BRIDGES lawyers put the proof of income together so that the question closed within a week.

Read the case

SevdaOwner of a jewellery house

Greece · Golden Visa

I chose the flat in Glyfada from video tours the team filmed for me personally. I flew in once — for the purchase and the biometrics. The whole family has residence.

All reviews

TamerlanInvestor

UAE · residence

I tried to arrange it myself and got stuck on the medical insurance. BRIDGES untangled my half-finished case and got me to an Emirates ID within a month. It would have been cheaper to come to them first.

All reviews

All reviews →

15 / Materials

Useful materials on Italy

Materials on the residenza elettiva: the requirements as to income and housing and the order of filing.

The main materialPresentation

An Italian residence permit on income

The presentation gathers the essentials: which income qualifies, what the consulate requires, the documents and the order of the move.

Inside:

what income counts as passive
how much your consulate requires
which housing documents are needed
which relatives come into the application
how the filing and the permesso di soggiorno work
what happens after the move
how work with BRIDGES is organised

PDF · free · current as of August 2026

A short check: whether your income is passive, whether it is enough by your consulate’s practice and whether you are ready not to work in Italy.

The list for the applicant and each family member, marking what has to be translated, certified and apostilled.

We calculate the income required, the budget for the move, the fees and the support.

All the materials are updated regularly by our team and are used when supporting BRIDGES clients.

16 / News

What matters to know

2026-08-11

The law sets no single income figure for the residenza elettiva: consular practice works from around €31,000 a year per person.

2026-08-11

The housing requirement is checked before filing: the lease must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate tax authority.

Worth having

Review Italy Elective Residence requirements

The short document we give clients before the start: the requirements as to income and housing, the list of documents, the stages and the timelines.

Inside the document

What is accepted as passive income
The requirements as to housing and insurance
The current conditions for 2026

We will send it after a short form - no call or obligation.

17 / Questions

Answers to common questions

The law sets no single rule: the requirement is set by the consulate. The practical guide is around €31,000 a year per person, and higher for a family. We check the exact requirement with your consulate before the documents are filed.

A pension, rental income, dividends, income from property or from a stable economic activity. A salary and employment income are not accepted: the visa is issued to those who support themselves without working.

No. The visa expressly gives no right to employment in the country — neither as an employee nor as a self-employed person. Work requires a different type of permit.

No, a lease is enough. But the contract must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate tax authority and cover the period applied for. A house you have bought covers that requirement automatically.

Yes, the status is designed for residence. A long absence puts the renewal of the residence permit and the path to long-term residency in question.

A spouse and minor children — with the applicant or through family reunification once they have the status. Dependent parents are arranged separately and the requirements are checked with the particular questura.

European Union long-term residency after five years of lawful residence, subject to the requirements as to income and knowledge of the language. Citizenship under the general qualifying period after ten years of residence.

On moving, yes. Italy offers special regimes for new tax residents, a flat tax on foreign income among them. Whether they apply to your situation is worked out before the move, together with a tax adviser.

It depends on the consulate: from filing to the visa usually one to three months, plus the time to prepare the file and get an appointment. After entry the residence permit is arranged within a few weeks.

There are no restrictions on citizenship. The practical difficulty is evidencing the origin of funds and working with the banks; we go through that part before filing.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Tell us what outcome your family needs

We will design a solution for your case, choose the country and the right status, and take the whole process through to the result.

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Anna Kovalevskaya, lead lawyer at BRIDGES GLOBAL

Anna KovalevskayaLead lawyer, citizenship and residency, 12 years of practice