Italy Digital Nomad Visa 2026: Income, Documents, Permit

Who it is for

The official integration portal says digital nomads and remote workers are among the foreign workers who can enter Italy outside the annual quotas set by the decreto flussi. It says the procedures and requirements are set in an Interior Ministry decree of 29 February 2024 ("the decree"). The portal describes a digital nomad as a self-employed worker, and the decree treats a remote worker as working under an employment or collaboration contract or a binding offer. The entry rules apply to non-EU citizens doing highly qualified work: a university degree or several years of experience (at least 5, or 3 in information and communication technology) in a sector needing technical or specialist knowledge. The portal says these qualifications are proven in the same way as for an EU Blue Card.

integrazionemigranti.gov.it: Chi sono i nomadi digitali? Con quale procedura possono fare ingresso in Italia? ambpristina.esteri.it: Visto per Nomadi digitali e Lavoratori da Remoto – Ambasciata d'Italia Pristina gazzettaufficiale.it: Decreto 29 febbraio 2024 (Ministero dell'Interno), Art. 3 - Requisiti per il rilascio del visto di ingresso e del permesso di soggiorno

Income, insurance and housing

The decree requires a minimum annual income from lawful sources of at least three times the income level for exemption from health-care charges. The government integration portal (page dated 7 June 2024) says that level is currently 8,263.3 euro, so a worker without a spouse or children needs €24,789 a year. Italy's embassy in Pristina (Kosovo) prints the level as €8,500 on its own visa page. The portal says the requirements are proven at the Italian consulate or embassy in your country of residence, so confirm the figure with the consulate where you apply. Health insurance for medical care and hospital stays must be valid for the national territory and for the period of stay. Suitable housing documentation is also required: the portal gives a purchase or lease contract as an example, and the Pristina embassy page asks for a lease registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate or a property ownership contract.

integrazionemigranti.gov.it: Chi sono i nomadi digitali? Con quale procedura possono fare ingresso in Italia? gazzettaufficiale.it: Decreto 29 febbraio 2024 (Ministero dell'Interno), Art. 3 - Requisiti per il rilascio del visto di ingresso e del permesso di soggiorno ambpristina.esteri.it: Visto per Nomadi digitali e Lavoratori da Remoto – Ambasciata d'Italia Pristina

Experience, contract and pay

The decree requires proof of at least six months of previous experience in the work to be done as a digital nomad or remote worker. For digital nomads, the portal says this can be shown with letters of assignment, work entrustment or service provision, and/or invoices. Remote workers must present previous employment contracts showing the sector and the length of their remote experience. The decree also requires remote workers to present an employment or collaboration contract or a binding offer. The portal says it must state the annual pay, which cannot be below the pay in national collective agreements, and in any case not below the ISTAT average annual gross pay per employee work unit (about €33,500).

integrazionemigranti.gov.it: Chi sono i nomadi digitali? Con quale procedura possono fare ingresso in Italia? gazzettaufficiale.it: Decreto 29 febbraio 2024 (Ministero dell'Interno), Art. 3 - Requisiti per il rilascio del visto di ingresso e del permesso di soggiorno

Documents and employer statement

Italy's embassy in Pristina (Kosovo) lists, for applicants there, a passport valid for 3 months beyond the last day of the stay plus a copy, the national visa form D and two recent photographs. The portal says the requirements are proven at the Italian consulate or embassy in your country of residence, so use the page of the consulate where you will apply. To show highly qualified status the Pristina page lists alternatives, including a tertiary degree of at least three years or at least five years of professional experience comparable to such a degree. The portal says the visa application must include a statement from the employer or client confirming no convictions in the last five years for certain immigration offences. The Pristina embassy page lists a signed employer statement, with a copy of a valid ID, among the documents only remote workers must present.

integrazionemigranti.gov.it: Chi sono i nomadi digitali? Con quale procedura possono fare ingresso in Italia? ambpristina.esteri.it: Visto per Nomadi digitali e Lavoratori da Remoto – Ambasciata d'Italia Pristina

How to apply

The portal says the first step is an entry visa application, for a short or long stay, at the Italian consulate or embassy in the country of residence, where the requirements must be proven. The Pristina embassy page says these visas can last up to 365 days. The portal says no prior work clearance (nulla osta) is needed. The decree says the residence permit must be requested from the questura of the province where the foreigner is, within eight working days of entering Italy. The portal says the visa documents, validated by the consulate, must be shown there, and that work can start from the permit request and the resulting receipt.

integrazionemigranti.gov.it: Chi sono i nomadi digitali? Con quale procedura possono fare ingresso in Italia? gazzettaufficiale.it: Decreto 29 febbraio 2024 (Ministero dell'Interno), Art. 4 - Modalita' per il rilascio del permesso di soggiorno in favore dei nomadi digitali e dei lavoratori da remoto ambpristina.esteri.it: Visto per Nomadi digitali e Lavoratori da Remoto – Ambasciata d'Italia Pristina

How long it lasts, renewal and family

The decree says the residence permit carries the wording «nomade digitale - lavoratore da remoto», is issued for no more than one year and is renewable annually if the conditions and requirements remain. The portal lists minimum income, continued highly qualified work and health insurance, renewed each year, as those conditions. It says no minimum stay in Italy is required for renewal, but under the general rule, except for serious and proven reasons, a permit cannot be renewed or extended if the stay was interrupted for more than six continuous months. A worker can bring a spouse and minor children on the conditions of article 29 of the immigration act; their family permit allows work and lasts as long as the worker's.

integrazionemigranti.gov.it: Chi sono i nomadi digitali? Con quale procedura possono fare ingresso in Italia? gazzettaufficiale.it: Decreto 29 febbraio 2024 (Ministero dell'Interno), Art. 4 - Modalita' per il rilascio del permesso di soggiorno in favore dei nomadi digitali e dei lavoratori da remoto

Work, tax and social security rules

The portal says the rules on digital nomads do not limit changing employer. It says social-security contributions must be paid in Italy on work done there, even when the employer or client is foreign, and that a bilateral social-security agreement can keep a non-European worker in the foreign system. It says a digital nomad must open an Italian VAT number (partita IVA), and that this does not happen automatically with the permit. The decree says an issued permit is revoked if tax and contribution rules are not respected. The portal says that after five years of regular stay the permit allows applying for an EU long-term residence permit, but that the Interior Ministry's position is that these permits cannot be converted into other types.

integrazionemigranti.gov.it: Chi sono i nomadi digitali? Con quale procedura possono fare ingresso in Italia? gazzettaufficiale.it: Decreto 29 febbraio 2024 (Ministero dell'Interno), Art. 4 - Modalita' per il rilascio del permesso di soggiorno in favore dei nomadi digitali e dei lavoratori da remoto

What this page does not cover

This page does not cover visa and residence permit fees, processing times, how to book a consular appointment, the income needed when a spouse or children come too, how each consulate wants income, qualifications and documents proven (including legalisation or apostille and Italian translation), other grounds for refusing or revoking a visa or permit, income tax rates or the minimum amount of health-insurance cover. Check the official pages for them.