The Italy digital nomad visa lets highly qualified non-EU remote workers, whether self-employed or employed by a company, live in Italy for up to a year at a time without a work permit or quota slot. You need a degree or equivalent experience, income of at least three times Italy’s healthcare-exemption level (consulates currently quote roughly €25,500 to €27,000), health insurance, housing and a clean record, and you apply at the Italian consulate for your area.
Last checked: September 2026
In short:
- The visa’s implementing decree is dated 29 February 2024 and was published in Italy’s Official Gazette on 4 April 2024, making the 2022 law usable.
- The residence permit runs for up to one year and can be renewed each year as long as you still meet the requirements.
- Since 1 January 2024, you are Italian tax resident if you meet one of four tests for most of the year (183 days, or 184 in a leap year), and partial days in Italy count.
Legal basis
Digital nomads and remote workers were added to Italy’s immigration law (Legislative Decree 286/98, the Testo Unico sull’Immigrazione) by a decree-law of 27 January 2022, converted into law in March 2022. It sat unused until the Interior Ministry’s decree of 29 February 2024, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on 4 April 2024.
The decree covers two groups:
| Category | Who it is |
|---|---|
| Digital nomad | Self-employed, working remotely through technology |
| Remote worker | Employed by, or collaborating with, a company, working remotely |
Neither group needs a nulla osta (work authorisation) and neither counts against the annual Decreto Flussi quotas.
Requirements
Highly qualified. Consulate checklists list these routes (you need one):
- A tertiary degree of at least three years, or a post-secondary vocational qualification of at least three years
- A higher professional qualification backed by at least five years of relevant experience
- At least three years of relevant ICT management or specialist experience within the last seven years
You also need at least six months of prior experience in the work you’ll do from Italy.
Minimum income. The rule is “not less than three times the minimum level required for exemption from healthcare cost-sharing”. That base level is about €8,263.31, which comes to roughly €24,800 before family adjustments. Consulates round it differently: the Tbilisi embassy states €25,500 a year, the Benghazi consulate “approximately €25.500”, and the Tunis embassy about €27,000. The widely repeated €28,000 figure did not appear in any official document we checked. For employed remote workers, several consulates also require your salary to be at least the ISTAT average gross annual salary or the relevant collective-agreement level.
Health insurance. You need a policy covering medical treatment and hospitalisation, valid across Italy for your whole stay. Some consulates (Canberra, Tbilisi) require at least €30,000 of cover, including repatriation.
Accommodation. You’ll usually need a lease registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate, or a property deed, covering the stay. Pretoria’s checklist only asks for “appropriate documentation”, but Canberra and Tbilisi want the registered lease.
Clean record. For remote workers, the employer signs a declaration that you have had no convictions for specified offences in the last five years. Check your consulate’s list for what self-employed applicants need.
How the process works
- Apply at the consulate covering your place of residence, with the full document pack. The visa can be valid for up to 365 days.
- Enter Italy and, within eight working days, apply for your permesso di soggiorno (residence permit) at the Questura.
- Get your permit. It’s issued for up to one year and can be renewed each year if you still meet the conditions. You’re assigned a codice fiscale (tax code), and self-employed nomads must open an Italian VAT number (partita IVA).
- Keep compliant. Permits can be revoked if tax and social-security obligations aren’t met.
Family. Family members can join you on a permit that lasts as long as yours. The Tbilisi embassy limits this to a spouse (not legally separated) and minor unmarried children, and excludes adult children and parents.
Tax: the part people skip
Getting the visa and becoming tax resident are separate questions, but they usually go together.
From 1 January 2024, you are Italian tax resident if, for most of the tax year (183 days, or 184 in a leap year), you meet any one of these:
| Test | What it means |
|---|---|
| Residence | Your habitual place of abode under the civil code |
| Domicile | Where your personal and family relationships mainly develop |
| Physical presence | Days in Italy, and partial days count |
| Registry | Being enrolled in the population register (a presumption you can rebut) |
If you’re resident, Italy taxes your worldwide income. A year on this visa will almost always make you resident.
The impatriate regime. Italy’s reformed regime (Legislative Decree 209/2023, from 2024) can reduce the bill:
- 50% of qualifying employment or self-employment income is exempt, up to €600,000 a year
- 60% is exempt if you have a minor child who is also resident in Italy
- It lasts five years
- You must not have been Italian resident for the previous three years (six or seven if you keep working for the same employer or group)
- You must commit to staying at least four years, be highly qualified, and work mainly in Italy
Whether a remote worker for a foreign company qualifies depends on your facts, including the same-employer rule, so get advice before you rely on it.
Practical tips and consulate inconsistencies
- Use your own consulate’s checklist, not a blog’s. Income figures, insurance minimums and accommodation rules differ between the Tbilisi, Tunis, Canberra and Pretoria checklists, and each consulate applies its own.
- Sort housing first. The registered-lease requirement means you need a proper long-term lease before you apply, not an Airbnb booking.
- Evidence the “highly qualified” part. Canberra asks self-employed applicants for business registration and tax returns, and employees for contracts and payslips.
- Diarise the eight working days. The permesso clock starts on entry.
- Plan the tax year. If you arrive mid-year, count days carefully. Partial days count, and domicile alone can make you resident.
See the full list: Digital nomad visa countries: which countries have one (2026 list)
Related guides: Digital Nomad Visa Index 2026: income requirements for 28 open visa routes, ranked · Visa processing times tracker (2026): real dates from members · Expat health insurance for digital nomads: SafetyWing vs Genki vs Cigna and more · Italian citizenship by descent (2026): what the new law allows
Quick answers
Q: How much income do I need for the Italy digital nomad visa?
At least three times the healthcare-exemption level, which works out to roughly €24,800 on the base figure. Consulates round it differently: Tbilisi and Benghazi say about €25,500 a year, Tunis about €27,000. Employed remote workers may also need a salary at least equal to ISTAT’s average gross annual salary.
Q: How long is the Italy digital nomad visa valid?
The visa can be valid for up to 365 days. After you arrive, you apply for a residence permit within eight working days. That permit is issued for up to one year and can be renewed annually, as long as you still meet the income, insurance, housing and other requirements.
Q: Do digital nomads pay tax in Italy?
Usually, yes. From 2024 you’re Italian tax resident if, for most of the year, you have your residence, domicile or physical presence in Italy, or you’re on the population register. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, though the impatriate regime can exempt 50% of work income for five years.
Sources
- Italian Embassy in Canberra, Nomadi digitali (July 2026)
- Italian Embassy in Pretoria, Digital nomads (August 2026)
- Italian Embassy in Tbilisi, Nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto (May 2026)
- Italian Embassy in Chisinau, Visto per nomadi digitali (March 2026)
- Italian Consulate in Benghazi, Digital Nomads (June 2026)
- Italian Embassy in Tunis, Scheda informativa visto nomadi digitali (May 2026)
- K&L Gates, Digital Nomad Visa (May 2024)
- Arletti & Partners, Nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto
- Assolombarda, Nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto extra UE
- Agenzia delle Entrate, Circular 20/E of 4 November 2024 (English)
- InformazioneFiscale, Regime impatriati
This is general information from the Nomad Forums team, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change; check with a qualified adviser or the official source before acting.
Over to you: If you’ve applied, which consulate did you use, and what income figure and insurance minimum did they actually ask for? And did anyone get the impatriate regime while working remotely for a non-Italian employer?