In short
Italy's visa for digital nomads and remote workers is for highly skilled people who work remotely for an employer or clients outside Italy. It sits outside the quota system, so there is no click day and no annual window. The indicative income threshold is about €28,000, with 6 months of relevant experience and tertiary education of at least 3 years, or a professional qualification with 5 years of experience.
Who it is for
The route was designed for a specific situation: you work remotely, your income comes from outside Italy, and you want to live here while continuing to do so. It covers both employees of foreign companies and self-employed people with clients abroad.
What it is not for is equally important. It does not allow you to work for Italian clients or an Italian employer: that is a different route with different requirements. If your plan is to find Italian work after arriving, this is the wrong visa and the mismatch will surface at renewal.
The requirements, and the uncertainty around them
The headline figures are an income of about €28,000, 6 months of experience in the relevant activity, and tertiary education of at least 3 years, or a professional qualification with 5 years of experience.
Here we have to be straight with you: this is a recent route, and consulates apply it with noticeable variation. Some are generous in what they accept as proof of remote work; others are strict about the form of contracts and the documentation of income. The figures on this page are flagged in our public register as requiring confirmation for exactly this reason.
The practical consequence is that the first thing to establish is not whether you qualify in the abstract, but what the consulate with jurisdiction over your residence actually asks for. That is a verifiable fact, and it is where we start.
- Proof of remote work: employment contract with a foreign employer, or client contracts for the self-employed.
- Evidence of income at or above the threshold, from the previous period.
- Qualification or documented professional experience in the activity.
- Health insurance valid in Italy for the whole stay.
- Accommodation in Italy.
- Clean criminal record, within the period the consulate specifies.
What happens after you land
The visa lets you enter. The right to stay comes from the residence permit, which you apply for in Italy within 8 working days of arrival. The permit lasts up to 365 days, renewable.
Within the same first weeks you will also need a tax code, municipal registration and, depending on your situation, health service enrolment. These have their own deadlines and they start from the day you arrive, not from the day you settle in.
The question nobody asks early enough
Tax. Moving to Italy and working remotely means your tax position changes, and it changes according to rules that have nothing to do with your visa. Tax residence is determined by where you are and where the centre of your life is, not by what permit you hold.
There are also regimes that may apply to people who move their residence to Italy, which can matter a great deal to someone on a remote-work income. This is the accountant's field and we do not advise on it — but we work with accountants who handle relocation tax, and putting you in touch with them before you set your arrival date is part of what we do. Arriving in one half of the year rather than the other can change which tax year everything starts in.
Family
Family members can accompany or join you, under the routes provided for family reunification. The requirements include income and suitable housing, and they are calculated on the household rather than on you alone.
Set this up at the same time as your own application rather than afterwards. Handling it later does not make it easier and usually adds months during which the family is split.
The figures cited on this page
Every amount, threshold and deadline comes from our public register of legal parameters, each recorded with its legal reference and the date we last checked it. When a value changes, this page changes with it.
| Parameter | Value | Legal reference | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum annual income for the digital nomad visa | about €28,000 | Art. 27, c. 1 lett. q-bis D.Lgs. 286/1998, introdotto dal D.L. 4/2022 in sede di conversione; D.M. 29 febbraio 2024 | |
| Experience required for the digital nomad visa | 6 months | D.M. 29 febbraio 2024, attuativo dell'art. 27, c. 1 lett. q-bis D.Lgs. 286/1998 | |
| Qualification for the digital nomad visa | tertiary education of at least 3 years, or a professional qualification with 5 years of experience | Art. 27, c. 1 lett. q-bis D.Lgs. 286/1998; D.M. 29 febbraio 2024 | |
| Deadline to apply for the first residence permit | 8 working days | Art. 5, c. 2 D.Lgs. 286/1998 | |
| Duration of the digital nomad visa | up to 365 days, renewable | D.M. 29 febbraio 2024 |
Frequently asked questions
Can I work for Italian clients on this visa?
Is this subject to the quota system?
How long does the permit last?
Why do the requirements seem to differ depending on where I read?
Professional scope. Italy Immigration Hub is an administrative consultancy, not a law firm, and does not carry out activities reserved to members of the Italian Bar. Legal advice on disputes, court filings and representation before judicial authorities are handled by qualified lawyers we work with, instructed directly by the client. We are a private, independent operator with no affiliation to Italian public authorities, and the outcome and timing of any procedure depend on the competent authority. Legal notice (Italian).
Related pages in English
Full procedural detail in Italian
The Italian pages carry the complete document lists, cost breakdowns, step-by-step procedures and the mistakes that most often cause refusals.