Italy Golden Visa Program: 5 Key points of the Golden Visa

Many of you may have dreamed of wandering the ancient streets of Rome, eating delicious pasta and gelato, or floating down a canal in Venice.

Holidays are great, but what if you didn’t have to go home?

Before the pandemic, Italy received over 100 million visitors a year to revel in its famed cultural highlights and breathtaking countryside. 

The European country is also a significant draw for expatriates. 

The Italian government is opening up to even more people with its Italy Golden Visa program, which it launched in 2017.

The Golden Visa for Italy (a.k.a. investment visa) aims to attract people from outside the European Union to stimulate the economy and reap the many benefits of living in Italy.

The requirements for the Italy Golden Visa are simple, and the payoff will change your life.
Moving to a foreign country can give you a new perspective on life.
You can also learn a foreign language and expand your professional network. 

If you are looking to step outside of your comfort zone and would like to invest in a different country, the Italy Golden Visa Program could be perfect for you.

Read on to learn more about the visa and how to apply.

What Is the Italy Golden Visa Program

Italy’s investor visa is commonly known as the “Italy Golden Visa program“.

This visa allows foreigners to live in the country for several years if they invest in Italy. 

Living in Italy gives you access to the European Union.

The visa allows citizens from outside the European Union to live in Italy while offering a number of tax incentives. 

The visa is valid for two years and can be extended for another three years.
It will also allow your spouse and dependent parents or children to obtain residency.

You and your family will be able to study and access excellent healthcare while living in Italy.

Why Live In Italy with a Golden Visa?

As Hollywood put it, a good reason to live in Italy is for La Dolce Vita or the sweet life.

Italy is home to some of the world’s most unique cultures, infrastructure, and food.
Ancient, crumbling pillars of the Roman empire are around every corner of the capital. 

Meanwhile, the countryside boasts the Alps, a major skiing hotspot, breathtaking lakes, and beaches made for a postcard.
A laidback way of life that embraces things of beauty has encouraged thriving fashion and cinema industries.

Italy is a very short flight from other European capitals. 

With your Golden Visa Italy, you don’t need further permission to fly to Paris, Lisbon, or Berlin for the weekend.

However, as an investor, your interest is broader than just the delights of tourism.

Why is Italy an excellent place to do business?

Italy is the European Union’s third-largest economy in the Eurozone.
It also has the world’s eighth-largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which stood at $1.9 trillion in 2020.

There are more than 60 million Italians, many of them have money to spend. Italy’s GDP per capita is more than $31,000.
The Italian economy grew by 6.5% in 2021, compared to an average of 5.5 percent growth by the United States.

Also, a lot of people are currently aiming to get an Italian Passport.

Indeed, the Italian passport is today ranked as the 3rd Most Powerful Passport in the entire World
according to the 2022 Passport Index.

The access Italy grants to the European Union also provides a broader base to carry out your business.

In promoting its investment visa, the Italian government highlights the country’s position as Europe’s second-largest manufacturing economy.
The country has a powerful “Made in Italy” brand and a pro-business and pro-growth government.

Furthermore, there is a special tax regime for those joining the Italy Golden Visa program, which primarily benefits those with significant sources of income outside the country.

Instead of paying tax on your income earned outside of Italy, you will pay a yearly amount of 100,000 euros. 

What About Schools and Healthcare?

It can cost an American parent more than $160,000 to put their child through a public school from kindergarten to Grade 12.
University can cost another $35,000 per year.

In Italy, education is free at all levels in public schools.

It also applies to foreigners who hold an investor visa for Italy, granting them residency by investment.
So, as an owner of a Golden Visa Italy, you will have the same benefits as Italian Citizens (besides voting, of course).

Meanwhile, healthcare in the United States is infamously the highest globally.

Doctors and specialists charge more for their services, and medication can cost four times more than in other countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks Italy’s healthcare system number two globally, compared to the United States, number 37.

Italy has a public healthcare system, and the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN) free or charges very little to access doctors and hospitals.
Foreigners with residency are allowed to access this healthcare system.

Who Is Eligible for the Italy Golden Visa Program?

The Italy Golden Visa Program is open to residents of countries not in the European Union.
So, if you are from the United States, or from Canada, Australia, Cina, Russia, etc, then you qualify.
The government has set up a special policy for this visa.

The visa can be granted to a person who is older than 18-years-old. 

This person needs to make a significant investment in the country, starting from a minimum of 250,000 Euros.
Investments can be in a business, government bonds, or innovative start-ups. 

They can also take the form of a sizeable philanthropic donation.

The visa will not be issued for pre-existing or partially-existing investments in Italy.

Italian investor visa requirements also include:

• Having a clean criminal background
• Having a valid passport,
• Being able to prove financial stability.

Here are more details on the four principal investments that will allow you to access the Italy Golden Visa program:

Invest in an Italian Start-up

Investing in an Italian start-up is the least expensive route to the Italy Golden Visa program.
According to the government’s guidelines, a list of start-ups issued by the chamber of commerce is open to investment.

You will need to invest a minimum of 250,000 euros ($268,000) in a start-up to be eligible.

Purchase Italian Bonds

Suppose you spend a minimum of 2 million euros ($2.14 million) on selecting Italian government bonds. 
In that case, you can also apply for a Golden Visa Italy.

These are:

• Treasury certificates
• Zero-coupon Treasury bonds
• Long-term Treasury bonds
• BTP ITALIA.3
• Long-term bonds linked to Eurozone inflation

Invest in an Italian Company

It involves an investment of at least 500,000 ($536,000) in an operating company in Italy.
This company must have filed at least one balance sheet when you apply for the visa.
You will need to provide both the name and tax code for the company in your application.

Invest in Philanthropy

Under the option for an Italy Golden Visa, you can invest a minimum of one million euros ($1.07 million) in donating to a public interest project.

According to the government, this can be “in culture, education, immigration management, scientific research, preservation of cultural and natural heritage.”

What Else to Know About Investments?

The Golden Visa Italy will only be given for one investment from the above categories. 

You can not combine investments or spread an amount of money among the different options.

Also – for the moment – Italy does not offer a real estate investment.
So you cannot (yet) get a Golden Visa for Italy through an investment in real estate.

What Does the Process Entail for a Golden Visa Italy?

Italy requires you to go through several phases for those applying for the Italy Golden Visa program.

In the first one, you will apply via the government website for investor visas for a document known as Nulla Osta. 

It is a certificate of no impediment, which will be issued by a special committee set up to ensure that visa applications meet the requirements of the law.

The Investor Visa for Italy Committee is made up of seven or eight representatives of institutions from the financial, migration, and business sectors.

Phase One – We prepare your document.

First, you will set up an account on the government portal before filling out a form and uploading supporting documentation.

You will need to provide the following:

1. A copy of your passport
2. Contact details: email and telephone
3. Name and surname
4. Nationality
5. Date and place of birth
6. Curriculum Vitae
7. Proof of funds to invest
8. Evidence of the origin of these funds
9. Evidence of a clear criminal record
10. Your choice of the investment option
11. A description of the investment that you will make
12. Proof of consent from the company you wish to invest in
13. A signed declaration of commitment to use the funds
14. Details of how much you will spend
15. Details of where you will settle

Phase Two – We file your application.

In this phase, the investment committee’s secretariat will evaluate your application.

If all the documents you have submitted are complete and up to standard, you will be given the green light, and your application will be sent to the Investor Visa for Italy Committee.

If your documents are lacking or incomplete, you will receive a request for more information within 30 days of submitting the application.

You could also find your application rejected, with the reasons given.
If your bid was turned down, you are allowed to apply again, however, only with substantial changes to your submission.
You can apply for a Golden Visa Italy as many times as you want.

Phase Three – Waiting for Approval from the Committee.

This is the final evaluation phase.
The Committee will analyze your application within 30 days.

If it is approved, you will receive the Nulla Osta.
The Committee may also ask for more information or reject your application.

Phase Four: Getting the Golden Visa Italy

Once you have received the Nulla Osta, you will have six months to apply for an investor visa from the nearest Italian embassy.

Once you have an appointment at your closest Italian consulate, you will need to provide the following documents:

• A copy of the Nulla Osta
• All original application documents
• Proof of accommodation in Italy
• Proof of income for the prior financial year
• Passport-format photograph
• Valid passport
• Proof of current residence

Once the embassy has examined all your documents, they will issue you a two-year investor visa.
Now you got your Golden Visa Italy, but the process of the Italy Golden Visa program is not over yet.

Phase Five: Arrival in Italy with your Golden Visa Italy

Once you arrive in Italy, you will have eight working days to apply for your investor residence permit.
You will first pick up a residency application kit from your nearest post office with a Sportello Amico counter.

Then you have to buy a unique “duty stamp,” which you will attach to your application. 

The Local Post Office will hand in all of this back at the counter.

You will be given a date for an appointment at police headquarters, called the Questura. 

It could be weeks away, so you will receive a receipt that serves as a temporary residence permit.

On the day of the appointment, you will take all of your original documents, and the police will take your fingerprints.

You will then find out when you can come and pick up your residency permit.

You will have three months from the day you entered the country to make the promised investment or donation.

Suppose you do not apply for a residency permit within two years of receiving your original visa. 

In that case, the entire process will be considered null and void.

Can I Get Italian Citizenship by Investment with a Golden Visa?

If you get your first investment visa for two years and then renew it for three, you will have lived in Italy for five years.

It will entitle you to apply for permanent residency.

Once you have lived in Italy for ten years, you can apply to be naturalized and become an Italian citizen. 

It gives you a lifetime of access to travel and works in the European Union.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Italian Golden Visa.

The Path to La Dolce Vita

Suppose you have long dreamed of living in another country or expanding your horizons. 

In that case, Italy could be the perfect choice for you. 

There are several excellent options to gain residency via the Italy Golden Visa program.
The process has many aspects to it, but it is not complex.

 Nevertheless, it can be daunting to take on such a life-changing project on your own. 
If you are worried about navigating a foreign language and miles of red tape, help is available.

Contact us now if you think you might be eligible for a Golden Visa Italy or have any more questions about the process.