Digital Nomad / Remote Worker Visa - Decree Law No. 79/2024 · Open to applicants
Italy's digital nomad visa is annual-income based, strict on insurance, with two different optional tax regimes. How to read it before you apply.
- Minimum income
official- 24,789 EUR / year (3x the minimum for healthcare-tax exemption (2024 threshold))
Some consulates round up to ~EUR 28,000 - confirm with your consulate. Income must derive from the remote work; passive income (pensions, rent, stocks) is excluded. Eligibility also needs a degree OR 5 years' experience (3 for ICT) + 6 months remote-work experience. RE-CHECKED 2026-07-23: the ~EUR 28,000 figure some 2026 guide sites cite does not trace to any 2026 Gazzetta Ufficiale decree - the operative decree is still the original 2024-02-29 one (GU Serie Generale n. 79); ~EUR 28,000 looks like consulate-level rounding of the same formula, not a sourced threshold rise. EUR 24,789 remains the better-sourced figure. RE-CHECKED 2026-08-01: a visahq.com claim of a specific '2026-03-02 Gazzetta Ufficiale decree' behind the ~EUR 28,000 figure could not be verified anywhere - no matching GU entry, decree number, or independent source found; treated as an unverified/likely-spurious citation. EUR 24,789 stays published. RE-CHECKED 2026-08-05: verified the arithmetic directly - EUR 24,789 = 3x the 2026 healthcare-exemption threshold (EUR 8,263.31), confirming the formula rather than a guessed figure; ~EUR 28,000 is a loose rounding, not a competing legal number.
source · verified 2026-08-05
- Visa duration
official- 12 months, renewable
National visa then a 1-year residence permit (permesso di soggiorno), obtained within 8 working days of arrival and renewable locally at the Questura.
source · verified 2026-07-05
- Tax regime
reported- If you become an Italian tax resident (183+ days), income is taxable under IRPEF. Two optional favorable regimes (cannot be combined): Regime Forfettario (5% flat for self-employed under EUR 85k, first 5 years, 15% after) or Regime Impatriati (50% of qualifying income exempt for 5 years). Employees kept on a foreign contract may be taxed under treaty rules.
Regimes have conditions (e.g. Impatriati needs 3 years' prior non-residence + a 4-year residency commitment; the two regimes cannot be combined). Verify with the Agenzia delle Entrate. UPDATE 2026-07-15: the 2026 Budget Law was enacted as Law No. 199 of 30 Dec 2025 (Gazzetta Ufficiale), extending the Regime Impatriati (D.Lgs. 209/2023 - 50% tax-base reduction, EUR 600,000/year cap, arrival year plus 4 more) to foreign workers who transfer tax residence to Italy from 2026. RE-CHECKED 2026-08-01: located the specific Agenzia delle Entrate ruling behind the 'foreign employer / smart working' question - Risposta ad interpello n. 2/2026 (12 January 2026) confirms a worker who returns to Italy and does smart working for a foreign employer (including one different from their pre-return employer) can access Regime Impatriati, provided the work is carried out predominantly on Italian territory and all other D.Lgs. 209/2023 requirements are met. This is an official AEdE ruling, sourceUrl updated to it directly, but confidence stays 'reported' rather than 'official' because the page itself 403s on direct fetch (same proxy-policy pattern as other .gov.it domains) - this rests on a search-engine read of AEdE's own indexed document, not a page fetch. It resolves the foreign-employer question generally but does not explicitly name 'digital nomad visa holders' as a category, so whether a separate, still-undefined 'Digital Nomad Tax Bonus' also exists remains open.
source · verified 2026-08-01
- Family (spouse / children)
official- Spouse + children admitted
Spouse (not legally separated) and a child under 18. Children over 18 and parents cannot currently be sponsored.
source · verified 2026-07-05
- Application fees
reported- 116 EUR
EUR 116 visa application fee (non-refundable). Plus ~EUR 116 for the residence permit on arrival (contributo EUR 40 + electronic permit EUR 30.46 + stamp EUR 16 + postal kit EUR 30). The consular visa fee varies quarterly by the EUR/USD rate.
source · verified 2026-07-05
- Health insurance
official- Required - Min EUR 30,000 (or USD 50,000) covering medical care, hospitalization and repatriation. Cited by the consulate as the number-one cause of visa rejection.
source · verified 2026-07-05
- Processing time
reported- Reported 30-60 days for remote employees, 90-120 days for freelancers/self-employed, plus consulate appointment backlog
No single official government figure exists; range is a consulate-guidance consensus across independent 2026 immigration-guide publishers, with freelancers/self-employed applicants taking longer due to more document scrutiny. Consulate appointment-booking backlogs (New York, London, Los Angeles) add further weeks-to-months on top of processing itself. Confirm with your specific consulate.
source · verified 2026-07-25
Guidance written by Elias Verne · last reviewed 2026-07-07
Who this visa is for
Italy's route is for non-EU remote workers and freelancers, and unlike most countries it states its income requirement annually rather than monthly (see the figure above, set at three times the healthcare-exemption threshold). You also need a degree or several years of experience plus six months of remote-work history.
That professional gate makes Italy stricter on paper than some neighbours: it is aimed at established professionals, and the annual framing means you should compare it to other countries on a yearly basis, not a monthly one.
The insurance that sinks applications
Italian consulates name health insurance as the number-one reason applications are refused. You need cover of at least EUR 30,000 (or USD 50,000) for medical care, hospitalisation and repatriation, from an insurer that qualifies. Sort this first, not last.
A generic travel policy will not do. Get written confirmation that the cover meets the consulate's stated minimum before you book your appointment.
Two tax regimes, one choice
If you become an Italian tax resident (over 183 days), you can opt into one of two favourable regimes, but not both: the Regime Forfettario (a 5% flat rate for the self-employed under EUR 85,000, for the first five years) or the Regime Impatriati (a 50% income exemption for five years, with conditions such as prior non-residence and a residency commitment).
Employees kept on a foreign contract may instead fall under international treaty rules. Which regime wins depends on how you earn, so model both with the Agenzia delle Entrate before deciding; the fiche marks the tax field as reported for this reason.
Fees and process
Budget roughly EUR 116 for the visa and a similar amount again for the residence permit on arrival; the consular visa fee itself varies each quarter with the exchange rate, so confirm the current figure.
Against Spain and Portugal, Italy offers similar European appeal but with a stricter entry gate: the degree-or-experience requirement and the annual-income framing make it less accessible to early-career nomads.
The figures above are the sourced, dated record; this guide explains and compares them and is not legal or tax advice.
Last full review: 2026-09-05. Figures are re-verified quarterly.