The elective residence visa needs €31,000 a year in passive income. Retirees in qualifying southern towns can pay 7% tax on all foreign income. A home costs an average €2,188/m². Here's everything else — from official sources, checked and dated.
Elective residence, digital nomad, investor visa — 2026 requirements, plus the 2025 citizenship-by-descent shake-up.
6 guides → Guide hub2026 brackets (23%–43%), the 7% flat tax for retirees explained, IVIE/IVAFE on your US assets, getting a codice fiscale.
Read → Guide hubRegistering with the SSN, the €2,000/year fee elective residents pay, and private insurance in your 60s.
Read → Guide hubBuying vs renting, the 2% vs 9% registration tax, cadastral values, and what foreign buyers actually pay.
Read → Guide hubReal ISTAT data: household spending averages €2,755/month — and the South runs 38% cheaper than the North-East.
Read → Guide hubRemote work rules, the 15% (or 5%) forfettario regime for freelancers, and why the elective visa bans all work.
Read → Guide hubThe driving-licence problem for Americans (test in Italian after 12 months), bringing pets, setting up utilities.
Read → Guide hubTuscany, Puglia, Sicily, the lakes, Rome — real prices, and where the 7% tax towns actually are.
Read →Income requirements, documents, insurance, and realistic timelines — for applications from the US and Canada.
Read the guide → Tax & FinanceWho qualifies, which towns count after the 2026 expansion, and what 7% on everything actually saves you.
Read the guide → PlanningEvery step from 18 months out to your first 90 days — in order, with the 2026 rules built in. Tick as you go.
Open the checklist →From first visa question to keys-in-hand — tell us where you are in the move to Italy and we'll answer, or introduce a specialist we've independently vetted.