Italy · Passive income
Elective Residence Visa
This is Italy's retirement and passive income route. The EUR 31,000–32,000 statutory floor is nominal. Consulates apply substantially higher standards in practice, and refusal rates on marginal files are high.
This is the cheapest lawful way for a wealthy family to actually live in Italy. There is no investment and no contribution required, just demonstrable passive income. Most clients underestimate the absolute prohibition on work. It bars remote work for a foreign employer too, so a semi-retired principal still taking board fees or consulting income is not eligible. Consulates do check.
Qualifying routes
Roughly EUR 31,000–32,000 depending on the consulate, drawn from pensions, dividends, rents or annuities.
plus roughly EUR 6,200 per dependent child
The facts
- Minimum
- €32k
- Total landed cost
- The visa fee runs roughly EUR 116, plus the cost of your permesso di soggiorno, health insurance and the accommodation you must secure before applying. The real cost is the Italian property or one-year lease you have to hold before the visa is granted.
- Route type
- Income requirement
- Timeline
- 2–6 months (consulate-dependent; some Italian consulates have year-long appointment queues)
- Physical presence
- Substantial. This is a genuine relocation visa, and long absences undermine renewal.
- Family
- SpouseDependent childrenDependent parents in defined circumstances
- Permanent residency
- 5 years of continuous residence for the EU long-term residence permit
- Citizenship
- 10 years of legal residence plus B1 Italian
- Language test
- B1 Italian
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- Non-EU nationalSubstantial, stable, regular passive income from outside Italy, such as pensions, dividends, rents or annuities, of at least roughly EUR 31,000–32,000 for a single applicant, EUR 38,000 for a couple, plus ~EUR 6,200 per childNo employment or self-employment, including remote work for foreign employersSuitable accommodation in Italy, either owned or leased for at least one year, arranged before the visa is issuedComprehensive private health insuranceClean criminal record
- No work of any kind is allowed, including remote work for a foreign employer. This is enforced, and it is the most common cause of refusal and non-renewal.
- The statutory floor is misleading. Consulates routinely expect multiples of EUR 32,000 and weigh the quality and durability of the income. A two-to-three-year track record is commonly demanded for investment income.
- Accommodation, purchased or leased for at least one year in your name, must be in place before the visa is issued. That means you commit to Italian property before you know you have the visa.
- Discretion here is wide, and it varies enormously from one consulate to the next. Even a fully compliant file carries no entitlement to approval.
- You will need to renew annually for the first several years, and each renewal is another chance to fall short.
- If you become an Italian tax resident without electing into the 24-bis or 24-ter regime, your worldwide income is exposed at roughly 47.2%, plus IVIE and IVAFE on foreign assets. That tax consequence dwarfs whatever simplicity the visa itself offers.
- These income figures come from immigration practitioners rather than a single current published decree. Confirm the exact requirements directly with your consulate.