digital nomad visa
Italy Digital Nomad Visa and How It Differs from a Founder Visa
By Silvia Brivio, Regulatory and Founder Mobility Lead, Milan · Reviewed by Elena Riva · Updated 12 October 2026
Law as in force in 2026; statute and decree texts read on 8 and 9 October 2026
The route covers highly qualified remote work done from Italy, for your own clients or for a business that may be seated abroad.
The Italian digital nomad visa is an entry visa, then a residence permit of not more than one year, for non-EU nationals doing highly qualified remote work. It is a named case of Art. 27(1)(q-bis) TUI, outside the entry quotas, with an income floor of three times the health-exemption level. Forming or running an Italian company is another visa's case (Art. 26(2) TUI).
What is the Italian digital nomad visa in law?
Art. 27 of the Testo unico immigrazione (TUI, D.Lgs. 286/1998, Italy's consolidated immigration statute) lists the cases handled outside the entries authorised within the yearly quotas of its Art. 3(4). Letter (q-bis) names digital nomads and remote workers who are not EU nationals.
The route covers remote work. Neither Art. 27 nor the decree names forming or running an Italian company, which the statute files under the self-employment visa. A reader whose move follows a company they will set up or manage finds that route under moving to Italy with your company.
Paragraph 1-sexies of Art. 27 sets four rules directly: no work clearance is needed; the permit is issued for not more than one year, after the entry visa; the holder has health insurance covering all risks in Italy; and the tax and contribution rules in force are respected. The categories of worker, the minimum income and the checks on the work are left to an interministerial decree.
The category was inserted by Art. 6-quinquies of D.L. 4/2022, converted by L. 25/2022, the act the decree's recitals name. The Interior Ministry decree of 29 February 2024, adopted with the Foreign, Tourism and Labour ministers, was published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, Serie Generale n. 79 of 4 April 2024. The 2024 flows decree, D.L. 145/2024, amended other parts of Art. 27 and left the nomad provisions as they were.
Stays under ninety days
Art. 1(2) of the decree places entry and stay for more than ninety days outside the quotas. For shorter stays it says that the visa and permit of its Arts. 3 and 4 are still necessary for a person who intends to work in Italy under this category. That is our reading of one sentence: we found no Interior Ministry or consular reading of remote work during a tourist stay.
Digital nomad or remote worker: which label fits whom?
One route, two labels. Who the person works for decides which label applies, and in two of the five cases below the nomad route is not the question at all.
Who do you work for?
An employer or client
in Italy or abroad
- Remote worker (lavoratore da remoto)labeldecree Art. 2(4) and 2(5): an employee or collaborator; the employer may be seated outside Italy; the contract or a binding offer, plus the employer's declaration
Your own clients
as a self-employed person
- Digital nomad (nomade digitale)labeldecree Art. 2(3): no employer, so no employer's declaration
Your own foreign company
you work through it
- The company's residencenot settledresident in Italy if its legal seat, effective management seat or principal ordinary management lies there for most of the tax period (Art. 73(3) TUIR, to 31 December 2026); the sources do not settle the label
An Italian company
you will form or run
- Self-employment visaanother visaArt. 26(2) TUI, inside the quotas
Your company, from abroad
you own and direct it
- No visano visano residence or nationality condition for a director (Arts. 2380-bis and 2383 c.c.); reciprocity for a non-EU national (Art. 16 disp. prel. c.c.); tax residence to watch
Conditions only. The route is decided case by case.
Employee or collaborator of a business
The remote-worker label (lavoratore da remoto, decree Art. 2(4)): an employee or collaborator under Art. 2(1) D.Lgs. 81/2015. The employer may be seated outside Italy (Art. 2(5)); the file adds a contract and the employer's declaration.
Self-employed, invoicing your own clients
The digital nomad label (nomade digitale, decree Art. 2(3)): a foreigner who works as a self-employed person with remote technology. No employer is needed, so no employer's declaration is filed.
Working through your own foreign company
The label is not the whole question. A company whose legal seat, effective management seat or principal ordinary management is in Italy for most of the tax period is resident there (Art. 73(3) TUIR, text in force to 31 December 2026), so deciding from Italy raises the company's residence too. The sources do not settle the label.
Planning to form or run an Italian company
A different visa. Forming a capital company or a partnership, or taking a corporate office, are named cases of the self-employment visa (Art. 26(2) TUI), compared with this route further down.
Owning and directing from abroad
No visa is needed for that. The Civil Code sets no residence or nationality condition for a director (Arts. 2380-bis and 2383 c.c.; Art. 2475 for an S.r.l.), though a non-EU national is subject to the reciprocity condition of Art. 16 of its preliminary provisions; the point to watch is where the owner is resident for tax.
Which qualifications make the work highly qualified?
Art. 2(2) of the decree defines highly qualified work as the work of a foreigner who meets the requirements of Art. 27-quater(1) TUI, the list used for the EU Blue Card (Carta blu UE). That article is written for paid work under another person's direction or coordination, so its use for a self-employed nomad rests on the decree's cross-reference, as we read it.
| Letter | Qualification | Who it fits |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | A tertiary qualification of at least three years, or level 6 of the national framework | Any field |
| (b) | The requirements of D.Lgs. 206/2007 for a regulated profession | Regulated professions only |
| (c) | A higher professional qualification attested by at least five years of experience of a level comparable to tertiary education | Experience-based |
| (d) | Three years of relevant experience acquired in the seven years before the application | Managers and specialists in information and communication technology (ISCO-08 n. 133 and n. 25) |
Source: TUI Art. 27-quater(1)(a) to (d), as in force in 2026; decree of 29 February 2024, Art. 2(2).
What are the requirements for the Italian digital nomad visa?
Art. 3 of the decree lists what every applicant shows, and the remote worker adds two documents. Each item names its paragraph; the next three sections give the detail.
- Work that needs one of the four Art. 27-quater(1) qualifications (decree Art. 2(2)).
- Annual income from lawful sources of at least three times the health-exemption level (Art. 3(1)(a)).
- Health insurance for medical care and hospitalisation, valid in Italy for the stay (Art. 3(1)(b)).
- Suitable documentation of the housing arrangement (Art. 3(1)(c)).
- At least six months of prior experience in the work (Art. 3(1)(d)).
- Remote worker: the employment or collaboration contract, or a binding offer (Art. 3(1)(e)).
- Remote worker: the employer's signed declaration with an identity document (Art. 3(5)).
- No work clearance (nulla osta al lavoro) for either label (TUI Art. 27(1-sexies); decree Art. 3(3)).
- No provisional clearance of the questura (provincial police headquarters) for a digital nomad (Art. 3(2)).
The decree cites its implementing regulation as of 31 August 1998; the regulation is D.P.R. 394 of 31 August 1999.
What is the income requirement?
The decree asks for an annual income from lawful sources of at least three times the minimum level that exempts from sharing health costs (livello minimo per l'esenzione dalla partecipazione alla spesa sanitaria, the health-exemption level). It prints no euro amount and does not say that the income must be earned in Italy (Art. 3(1)(a)).
The figure one consulate prints: the Italian embassy in Pristina, read on 9 October 2026, gives EUR 8,500 as the base. Three times that is EUR 25,500 by our arithmetic: a consular figure, not an amount the statute or the decree sets.
The base is not printed the same way everywhere. For the self-employment visa, the Chicago consulate's checklist gives EUR 8,400 and the Boston checklist 8.500 Euro, and we did not locate the legal source of the base amount. The decree prints no euro figure, and the consulates do not print the same base.
What proof of insurance, housing and experience does the decree ask for?
Insurance. The decree asks for health insurance (assicurazione sanitaria) for medical care and hospitalisation, valid in Italy for the period of stay (Art. 3(1)(b)). The statute asks for cover of all risks in the national territory (Art. 27(1-sexies) TUI). The two texts are worded differently, so we give both wordings rather than merge them.
Housing. The decree asks for suitable documentation of the housing arrangement and does not say a registered lease (Art. 3(1)(c)). The Pristina embassy's page turns this into accommodation for the whole period of the visa, shown by a lease registered with the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) or a property ownership document.
Experience. The applicant shows at least six months of prior experience in the work to be done as a digital nomad or remote worker (Art. 3(1)(d)). The figure is the decree's: the statute names no experience requirement, and the decree names no form of proof.
What does a remote worker's employer have to provide?
A remote worker's file depends on the employer or client, which may have its registered seat outside Italy (decree Art. 2(5)). The decree, not the Blue Card rules, sets what it provides.
- The employment or collaboration contract, or a binding offer, for qualifying work (Art. 3(1)(e)).
- A signed declaration of no conviction in five years for Art. 22(5-bis) TUI offences.
- A copy of a valid identity document of the person signing it.
- The declaration goes in with the visa application (Art. 3(5)).
- The consulate checks a sample of declarations, also through the questura.
- Once the permit is issued, the questura sends the contract to the labour inspectorate.
The visa is refused, or revoked if already issued, when an employer or client resident in Italy was convicted of those offences in the last five years (Art. 3(4)). The decree names an employer resident in Italy; the Pristina page asks every remote worker for the declaration. A pay floor sometimes attached to the remote worker comes from the Blue Card employer's declaration (Art. 27-quater(5)(c) TUI): Art. 3 of the decree prints none.
How do you apply for the digital nomad visa, step by step?
- Name the label and the qualification. Decide whether the work is a digital nomad's or a remote worker's, and which of the four Art. 27-quater(1) qualifications the applicant holds. Actor: the applicant.
- Assemble the proofs. Income from lawful sources, health insurance for the stay, the housing document and evidence of six months of experience in the work. Actor: the applicant, with an insurer and a landlord.
- Remote worker only: the employer's part. The contract or binding offer, and the employer's signed declaration with a copy of an identity document. Actor: the employer or client, with the applicant.
- Legalise and translate. Documents issued outside the EU go in as certified copies, legalised by the Italian mission or apostilled, with an Italian translation; the page we read does not say whether it must be sworn. Actor: the applicant.
- File the national visa (type D). At the competent consulate, with a passport valid at least three months beyond the last day of the stay abroad, the visa form, two ICAO-standard photographs and the proofs. The decree prints no decision term for this visa. Actor: the applicant.
- Collect the visa. The consulate stamps the filed documents, which the holder later shows as proof for the permit. One consulate states that the visa may be valid for up to 365 days. Actor: the consulate.
- Enter Italy and request the permit. At the questura of the province where the holder is, within eight working days of entry (Art. 5(2) TUI). No work clearance is needed. Actor: the holder.
- Receive the permit. A permit of not more than one year, worded nomade digitale - lavoratore da remoto, renewable each year while the conditions remain. Actor: the questura.
Documents a non-resident produces
The decree's own items, which the consulate adds to the passport, form and photographs of step 5. Another consulate may ask for more.
- Proof of one of the four qualifications (decree Art. 2(2)).
- Proof of six months of experience in the work (Art. 3(1)(d)).
- Proof of annual income from lawful sources (Art. 3(1)(a)).
- Health insurance valid in Italy for the stay (Art. 3(1)(b)).
- The housing document (Art. 3(1)(c)).
- Remote worker: the contract or binding offer (Art. 3(1)(e)).
- Remote worker: the employer's signed declaration with an identity document (Art. 3(5)).
What happens after you arrive in Italy?
The permit (permesso di soggiorno, residence permit) is requested directly from the questura of the province where the foreigner is, within eight working days of entry: the same term as the general rule of Art. 5(2) TUI. It is issued on the electronic card of Art. 5(8) TUI. Requests, renewals and conversions in general are set out in our residence permit overview.
Under Art. 4 of the decree, the permit carries the wording nomade digitale - lavoratore da remoto and lasts not more than one year. Under Art. 5(2) TUI a permit is issued for the activities the entry visa provides for or the provisions in force allow.
law set by the statute or the decreeconsulate one consulate's statementno term none in the decree
- 1
Visa issued
The consulate
- no term no decision term in the decree
- consulate valid for up to 365 days, as one consulate states
- 2
Entry into Italy
The holder
- law no work clearance needed (Art. 27(1-sexies) TUI)
- 3
Permit request
The holder, at the questura of the province
- law within eight working days of entry (Art. 5(2) TUI)
- 4
Permit issued
The questura
- law not more than one year (decree Art. 4)
- law questura term 90 days (Art. 5(9) TUI)
- 5
Renewal request
The holder, to the questore
- law at least 90 days before expiry (Art. 5(4) TUI, from 22 May 2026): the TUI clock, applied to this permit by our reading
The decree prints no renewal term of its own
The questura tells the labour inspectorate, INPS (the social-security body) and INAIL (workplace insurance). A holder covered by a third country's social legislation falls under the bilateral social-security convention between Italy and that country, where one exists; otherwise Italian pension and insurance rules apply according to the length of the permit (decree Art. 5). The statutory term to issue, renew or convert a permit is 90 days (Art. 5(9) TUI, from 22 May 2026).
Is your move to Italy about a company you will form or run? The route and the structure are decided together, before anything is filed. Discuss your route
How is the permit renewed, and when is it revoked?
Under Art. 4 of the decree, the permit is renewable each year while the conditions and requirements that justified it remain, and the contribution of Art. 5(2-ter) TUI applies. The renewal is asked of the questore at least 90 days before expiry (Art. 5(4) TUI, as amended by D.Lgs. 83/2026, applying from 22 May 2026), and the questura has 90 days to decide (Art. 5(9)).
The decree prints no renewal term of its own, so applying the TUI clock to this permit is our reading. The term in Art. 5(4) was sixty days until D.Lgs. 83/2026 replaced it with ninety; a page that still shows the old term predates the change.
Revocation. The permit is not issued, or is revoked, if the decree's requirements or those of Arts. 4 and 5 TUI are or become missing. An issued permit is also revoked when the tax and contribution rules in force are not respected. If the questura's checks show that the employer was convicted in the last five years, the permit is not issued and the visa is revoked.
What does the State charge at the permit stage?
What the State charges for a one-year permit, as the Polizia di Stato prints the amounts. The consular fee for the visa was not on any source we read.
| Charge | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution, applicant over 18, permit of more than three months and up to one year (decree of 5 May 2017) | EUR 40.00 | Polizia di Stato, contribution page |
| Revenue stamp on the application | EUR 16.00 | Polizia di Stato, charges page |
| Electronic permit card, permit of more than 90 days | EUR 30.46 | Polizia di Stato, charges page |
| Postage, post-office kit route only | EUR 30.00 | Polizia di Stato, charges page |
Source: Polizia di Stato, "Come, dove e quanto costa" and the permit contribution page; TUI Art. 5(2-ter).
Can your family join you?
The spouse and minor children may join under Art. 29(1)(a) and (b) TUI on that article's conditions (family reunification, ricongiungimento familiare), with a family permit of the same length as the worker's permit (decree Art. 4).
The holder shows housing and an annual income from lawful sources of at least one social allowance (assegno sociale) plus half an allowance for each family member (Art. 29(3)(b) TUI). The Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione (Single Desk for Immigration, at the prefecture) issues the clearance within 150 days of the request (Art. 29(8)).
Can a digital nomad form or run an Italian company?
What the sources say and do not say. Art. 27 TUI and Arts. 1 to 5 of the decree are silent on forming a company or holding a company office, and the permit is issued for the activities the visa or the provisions in force provide for (Art. 5(2) TUI). The Milan Chamber of Commerce lists the permits a non-EU person living in Italy must hold to be registered as manager of a company; its list does not name the nomad permit. That is an absence, not a refusal.
Where the law places company activity. Forming a capital company or a partnership, or taking a corporate office, are named cases of the self-employment visa (Art. 26(2) TUI), set out in our guide to the self-employment visa Italy. The corporate-office case of interministerial decree n. 850 of 11 May 2011 is limited to a company already in activity for at least three years, so a company formed today does not meet it.
Owning and directing from abroad. Holding shares in an Italian company, or directing it from abroad, needs no visa. The Civil Code sets no residence or nationality condition for a director of an S.r.l. (limited liability company) or S.p.A. (Arts. 2380-bis and 2383 c.c.; Art. 2475 for an S.r.l.), but a non-EU national is subject to the reciprocity condition of Art. 16 of the preliminary provisions of the Civil Code. The sources do not say this can be done while living in Italy on the nomad permit. In the order we work to, the activity decides the visa, and the visa comes before the vehicle.
How does the nomad permit compare with the founder's visa?
| Point | Digital nomad or remote-worker permit | Self-employment visa (the founder's route) |
|---|---|---|
| Activity covered | Highly qualified remote work, self-employed or for a business that may be seated abroad | Self-employment, including forming a capital company or a partnership, or taking a corporate office |
| Legal basis | Art. 27(1)(q-bis) and (1-sexies) TUI; decree of 29 February 2024 | Art. 26 TUI |
| Quota position | Outside the Art. 3(4) quotas | Inside: 650 entries a year for 2026, 2027 and 2028 |
| Income test | At least three times the health-exemption level (decree Art. 3(1)(a)) | Above the health-exemption level, once (Art. 26(3)) |
| Resources attestation | None asked | Adequate resources for the activity; one Chamber issues its attestation only for an individual business or a working partner of a company formed at least three years ago |
| Decision term | None printed in the decree | Issued or refused within 120 days of the complete application, used within 180 days of issue (Art. 26(7)) |
| Permit length | Not more than one year, renewable yearly | First permit up to two years, each renewal up to three (Art. 5(3-quater) TUI) |
| Company formation or office | Not named; the Milan Chamber's list of permits for a non-EU manager does not name this permit | Named cases (Art. 26(2)); the corporate-office case needs a company in activity for at least three years |
Source: TUI Arts. 5, 26 and 27; decree of 29 February 2024; joint circular 8047 of 16 October 2025; decree n. 850 of 11 May 2011; Chieti-Pescara and Milan Chamber of Commerce pages.
Weighing the two routes for your own case? Talk the comparison through with us.
The Italia Startup Visa is a self-employment visa and sits inside the same quota: the circular lists foreigners forming innovative start-ups within a shared 500 entries, out of 650 in all (10 + 40 + 20 + 500 + 80, our arithmetic from the circular). The yearly quota system is explained in how the decreto flussi quota decides who can be hired.
The decision terms differ in kind. The self-employment visa is issued or refused within 120 days of the complete application and used within 180 days of issue (Art. 26(7) TUI). The nomad decree prints no decision term, and this guide gives none.
Which other Italian routes sit next to the nomad permit?
What the law offers beside and after the nomad permit, each with its condition.
Renewal, year on year
The permit is renewed each year while its conditions remain, with the request made at least 90 days before expiry.
EU Blue Card, for employed work
Outside the quotas. The file needs a contract or binding offer of at least six months and an employer's declaration of a pay floor (Art. 27-quater(1), (5)(a) and (5)(c) TUI).
Italia Startup Visa
A self-employment visa inside the quota, for foreigners forming an innovative start-up. Its own file is set out in what the startup committee checks in an application.
Elective residence, without work
A different visa, for a person who maintains themselves without carrying out any work activity in Italy (decree n. 850/2011, point 13). Its rules are in our elective residence visa Italy guide.
EU long-term permit, after five years
It may be asked after at least five years on a valid permit, with an income of at least the assegno sociale and the other conditions of Art. 9(1) TUI, and is issued within 90 days (Art. 9(2)). Whether years on a nomad permit count towards the five was not checked for this guide.
How is a digital nomad taxed in Italy?
The visa and the tax position are two separate questions. The rules below are as in force in 2026, each with its end date; the wider picture is in what changes in Italian tax when the owner moves to Italy.
The permit creates no tax status
The permit is issued on condition that the tax and contribution rules in force are respected, and it is revoked when they are not (Art. 27(1-sexies) TUI; decree Art. 4). That is a compliance condition. It is not a tax regime and not an exemption.
Tax residence: the general test
Under Art. 2(2) TUIR (the consolidated income-tax statute, D.P.R. 917/1986, text in force to 31 December 2026), an individual is resident if, for most of the tax period, counting fractions of a day, they have their residence or domicile in Italy or are present there. Domicile is where personal and family relations mainly develop, and registration in the resident population register for most of the period presumes residence unless proved otherwise.
A resident is taxed on all income, a non-resident only on income produced in Italy, and employment or self-employment carried on in Italy produces income in Italy (Arts. 3(1) and 23(1)(c) and (d) TUIR, text in force to 31 December 2026). This guide states the test; it does not decide anyone's residence.
A foreign company run from Italy
A company is resident when, for most of the tax period, it has in Italy its legal seat, its effective management seat (sede di direzione effettiva) or its ordinary management on a principal basis (gestione ordinaria in via principale). The effective management seat is where strategic decisions are continuously taken (Art. 73(3) TUIR, in force to 31 December 2026). A person who decides from Italy for their own foreign company raises a question about the company's residence, not only their own.
The optional regimes are separate
The new-resident option (regime dei neo-residenti) is a substitute tax of EUR 300,000 per tax period on foreign income, EUR 50,000 per family member, for a person who transfers residence to Italy from 1 January 2026 and was not resident in nine of the previous ten tax periods, exercised only after a favourable answer to a ruling request (Art. 24-bis TUIR, in force to 31 December 2026). The Revenue Agency's page on the inbound-worker regime (lavoratori impatriati) lists a commitment to be tax resident in Italy for at least four years. Neither is tied to the visa.
Self-employed in Italy: the start-up declaration
Whoever starts a business, art or profession in Italy declares it within thirty days (Art. 35(1) D.P.R. 633/1972, text in force to 31 December 2026). Whether the nomad permit lets the holder open an Italian partita IVA (VAT number) is not stated in Art. 27 TUI or in Arts. 1 to 5 of the decree.
A UK example: the treaty tie-breaker
For an individual resident of both the United Kingdom and Italy, Art. 4(2) of the Convention signed at Pallanza on 21 October 1988 looks first to the permanent home, then to the centre of vital interests. Art. 169(1) TUIR (text in force to 31 December 2026) provides that the TUIR applies, if more favourable to the taxpayer, also in derogation of double tax agreements.
From 1 January 2027 the income-tax consolidated text (D.Lgs. 117/2026, in force since 4 July 2026) replaces the TUIR numbering, and the VAT consolidated text (D.Lgs. 10/2026) applies from the same date; this guide prints no successor article number. Not covered here: the contributions of a self-employed holder, enrolment in the national health service, VAT on services to foreign clients and income-tax rates.
From our practice: a worked example
A worked example, built from the rules above; not a client case. A software developer from outside the EU invoices clients abroad and later wants to open an S.r.l. in Milan. The remote work fits the digital nomad label (decree Art. 2(3)); forming and directing the company is the case of Art. 26(2) TUI. So we check the activity first, then compare the visa it calls for, then plan the vehicle.
Silvia Brivio, Regulatory and Founder Mobility Lead, Milan
Sources
- TUI (D.Lgs. 286/1998), Art. 27: cases outside the quotas, letter (q-bis) and paragraph 1-sexies (Normattiva; read on 8 October 2026)
- Interior Ministry decree of 29 February 2024, Gazzetta Ufficiale, Serie Generale n. 79 of 4 April 2024 (title, recitals and Art. 1; read on 9 October 2026)
- The decree's Art. 3: requirements for the visa and permit (Gazzetta Ufficiale; read on 9 October 2026)
- The decree's Art. 4: the permit, its wording, renewal, revocation and family (Gazzetta Ufficiale; read on 9 October 2026)
- TUI, Art. 5: permit request, renewal, decision term and contribution (Normattiva; text as amended by D.Lgs. 83/2026; read on 8 October 2026)
- TUI, Art. 27-quater: highly qualified workers and the EU Blue Card (Normattiva; read on 8 October 2026)
- TUI, Art. 26: the self-employment visa (Normattiva; read on 8 October 2026)
- Joint circular 8047 of 16 October 2025 on the flows decree for 2026 to 2028 (Ministry of Labour)
- Visa for digital nomads and remote workers (Italian embassy in Pristina; consular practice, not law; read on 9 October 2026)
- Come, dove e quanto costa (how, where and how much) (Polizia di Stato; the permit-stage charges)
- TUIR (D.P.R. 917/1986), Art. 2: tax residence of individuals (Normattiva; text as in force in 2026)
- TUIR, Art. 24-bis: the new-resident option (Normattiva; text as in force in 2026)
Also cited, by name: the decree's Arts. 2 and 5; D.L. 4/2022 and D.L. 145/2024; D.P.R. 394/1999; TUI Arts. 9 and 29; interministerial decree n. 850 of 11 May 2011; the Polizia di Stato contribution page; the Chicago and Boston consulates' self-employment checklists; the Chieti-Pescara and Milan Chamber of Commerce pages; TUIR Arts. 3, 23, 73 and 169, as in force in 2026; the Revenue Agency's page on the inbound-worker regime; D.P.R. 633/1972, Art. 35; the UK-Italy Double Taxation Convention of 1988; D.Lgs. 117/2026 and D.Lgs. 10/2026; Civil Code Arts. 2380-bis, 2383 and 2475, and Art. 16 of its preliminary provisions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Italian digital nomad visa in law?
An entry visa followed by a residence permit of not more than one year, for non-EU nationals who do highly qualified work with remote technology. It is a named case of Art. 27 TUI, inserted by Art. 6-quinquies of D.L. 4/2022 and detailed by the Interior Ministry decree of 29 February 2024; D.L. 145/2024 did not change it.
Who qualifies?
A third-country national who holds one of the four Art. 27-quater(1) qualifications, has six months of experience in the work and shows the income, health insurance and housing the decree asks for. A remote worker also presents a contract or binding offer and the employer's signed declaration with an identity document.
What is the income requirement?
At least three times the health-exemption level, from lawful sources; the decree prints no euro figure. The Italian embassy in Pristina gives EUR 8,500 as the base, so EUR 25,500 by our arithmetic, a consular figure and not law. For the self-employment visa, the Chicago and Boston checklists print EUR 8,400 and 8.500 Euro.
Do I need an Italian employer or client?
No. Under the decree, the employer or client of a remote worker may have its registered seat outside Italy, and a self-employed digital nomad, who invoices their own clients, needs no employer at all. A remote worker presents the contract or binding offer and the employer's signed declaration.
Do I need a work permit or a nulla osta?
No work clearance (nulla osta al lavoro) is required for either the digital nomad or the remote worker: the statute says so, and the decree repeats it for the remote worker. A digital nomad also needs no provisional clearance of the questura before entry (decree Art. 3(2)).
How long does the permit last and can I renew it?
Not more than one year, renewable each year while the conditions remain. Under Art. 5 TUI as amended from 22 May 2026, the renewal is asked at least 90 days before expiry and the questura has 90 days to decide; the decree prints no renewal term, so applying that clock to this permit is our reading.
Does it need health insurance?
Yes. The statute asks for health insurance covering all risks in the national territory; the decree asks for insurance for medical care and hospitalisation, valid in Italy for the whole period of stay. The two texts are worded differently, and this guide gives both wordings rather than merging them.
Do I need a lease before I apply?
The decree asks for suitable documentation of the housing arrangement and does not say a registered lease. The Pristina embassy's page asks for a lease registered with the Revenue Agency or a property ownership document covering the whole period of the visa; another consulate may ask for something different.
Can I work remotely from Italy on a tourist stay?
The decree says that, for stays under ninety days, the visa and permit of its Arts. 3 and 4 are still necessary for a person who intends to work in Italy under this category. We found no Interior Ministry or consular reading of remote work during a tourist stay, so we give no yes or no.
Can my family come?
The spouse and minor children may join under Art. 29 TUI, on that article's housing and income conditions, with a family permit of the same length as the worker's. The income test is one assegno sociale plus half for each family member, and the Single Desk for Immigration issues the clearance within 150 days of the request.
Can I form an Italian S.r.l. or act as its director on this permit?
Neither Art. 27 TUI nor decree Arts. 1 to 5 says so, and the Milan Chamber's permit list for a non-EU manager omits the nomad permit. Art. 26(2) TUI names forming a company or taking a corporate office as cases of the self-employment visa. Owning shares or directing from abroad needs no visa, subject to reciprocity for a non-EU national.
How does it differ from a founder's visa?
The nomad route is outside the quotas, asks for three times the health-exemption income, runs up to one year and covers remote work. The founder's visa is the self-employment visa: inside 650 entries a year, a 120-day decision term, income above the level once, a first permit of up to two years and company formation or office as named cases.
Do I become an Italian tax resident?
Residence follows the general test of Art. 2(2) TUIR (as in force in 2026), not the permit: residence, domicile or presence in Italy for most of the tax period, with a presumption from the population register. For a dual UK and Italian resident, the Convention's tie-breaker looks first to the permanent home, then to the centre of vital interests.
Does the visa give me the flat tax?
No. The EUR 300,000 new-resident substitute tax (for transfers from 1 January 2026) and the inbound-worker regime are separate options with their own conditions: the first is exercised only after a favourable answer to a ruling request, and the Revenue Agency's page on the second lists a commitment to be tax resident in Italy for at least four years.
What does the State charge and how long does it take?
For a one-year permit the Polizia di Stato prints a EUR 40.00 contribution for an adult, a EUR 16.00 revenue stamp, EUR 30.46 for the card and EUR 30.00 postage on the kit route, not added up. The consular visa fee was not read, the decree prints no visa decision term, and the questura has 90 days for the permit.
The route that follows a company. For a founder who will form or run an Italian company, decided together with the structure: moving to Italy with your company.