Italy Country Profile

Passport
For more details visit Italy Passport Ranking
  • Passport Grade
    A+
  • Passport Ranking
    3/198
  • Passport Score
    191.7/198
  • Visa-free Countries
    160
  • Visa-required Countries
    38
  • Access to the World's GDP
    93%
  • Access to the World's Surface Area
    68%
  • Access to the World's Population
    66%
  • Access to the Unesco Sites
    86%
Citizenship and Naturalization
Birthright citizenship (Jus Soli)
  • Birthright citizenship (Jus Soli)
    No
    No provisions
Naturalization - Standard Conditions
  • Minimum residency period
    10 years
  • Physical presence requirement
    At least 6 months a year
  • Language test
    Yes, Italian
  • Need to renounce original citizenship?
    No
  • Can minor children naturalize?
  • Can naturalized parents pass citizenship to a child born abroad?
  • Can you lose naturalization due to prolonged absence/ naturalization elsewhere?
Naturalization - Your Spouse is a Citizen
  • Living IN the country: Residency/marriage requirement
    2 years / 2 years
    Must be both married and reside in the country for 2 years. The term is reduced by half in case of a common child.
  • Living ABROAD: Marriage requirement
    3 years
    Must be married for 3 years if residing abroad. The term is reduced by half in case of a common child.
  • Language test
    Yes, Italian
  • Need to renounce original citizenship?
    No
Naturalization - Other Beneficial Provisions
  • Your child is a citizen
    1 year/1.5 years
    In case of marriage with a common child, mandatory residency period is halfed. If living in Italy - 1 year; outside of Italy - 1.5 years.
  • Citizens of specific countries
    4 years
    4 years for citizens of all EU countries.
"–": The provision has not been analysed.
Visas and Residencies
Visas and Residencies
Taxation
For more details visit Cost of Living
  • Taxation Type
    Residence-based
A tax resident of a country with a RESIDENCE-BASED tax system pays taxes on their WORLDWIDE income. However, if you lose tax residency status there (e.g., by moving out), the country will generally stop taxing you.

Several incentives are available for new residents. Employed and self-employed can claim a 70% to 90% tax reduction on their Italian income depnding on the region of residence. Retirees can claim a flat 7% tax rate on their non-Italian income. And hign net-worth individual can use a €100,000-a-year tax payment that takes care of taxation of their non-Italian income of any size.
Italy is part of the European Economic Area (EEA), allowing its citizens to live and work in any other EEA country, plus Switzerland. (The EEA consists of 27 European Union countries plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.)
Schiff Sovereign's Take on Italy
We rather like Italy.

We like it so much, in fact, that we used to spend every summer at a villa in the Italian countryside right after we’d concluded our annual Liberty & Entrepreneurship Camp in Lithuania. (Unfortunately, both the camp and our villa summit have been suspended since Covid.) 

Italy is a marvelous place to spend time. It is home to some of the world’s favorite cuisine, and its wine is amazing. And Italians, in general, are very warm people who know how to enjoy their lives. 

Italy also ranks incredibly high culturally. 

The country’s high fashion houses, architecture, Renaissance-era masterpieces, the Roman Empire’s legacy and the Vatican attract millions of tourists every year. Just watching people gather in any given town square is a cultural experience. And with the growing popularity of cooking classes and wine tours, agrotourism has become quite a big deal in Italy. 

To summarize all of the above: It’s hard not to love Italy.

Plus, Italy can be a great destination for your Plan B. 

For starters, it's home to one of the world’s best Citizenship by Ancestry programs. Several of our subscribers, including our founder, Simon Black, became Italian citizens through this program.

But if you have no Italian roots,  don’t fret. You can also obtain Italian residency through the (lesser-known) Italian Golden Visa program, or viat the country’s residency program for financially self-sufficient people.

Economically speaking, however, the place is a complete disaster.

The local banking system is on its last leg, so you may want to skip banking there if you can avoid it. 

The government is in debt up to its eyeballs. Italy is in urgent need of financial reforms, but no one in the government seems to have the coglioni to agree on and pass them.

Doing business in Italy requires incredible patience, will and flexibility. Although we do know two Americans who run a successful cooking school there, we’d say that they are an exception, though.

By some measurements, Italy has lost an entire quarter of its industrial capacity over the years since the crisis of 2008/2009. This is a disaster for an industrial country.

The bottomline? 

If you have Italian ancestors, by all means take advantage of the very favorable Citizenship By Ancestry rules in Italy. Or if you’re not a member of the “Lucky Bloodline Club”, but want to retire there or work remotely, then you can apply for other types of visas that will allow you to do just that.

That said, we certainly do not recommend banking or doing business in the country.
Schiff Sovereign's Rolodex
Service Providers available in Italy
  • Immigration (residency, citizenship)
  • Tax advice (attorneys and/or accountants)
  • Corporate services (company formation, etc.)
  • Real Estate (agents, lawyers)
  • Citizenship by Ancestry
Obtain access to our Rolodex by signing up for Sovereign Confidential Join Sovereign Confidential Today

Sovereign Global Explorer

Benefiting from over a decade of our team’s boots-on-the-ground experience, Global Explorer is where your international journey begins.
Italy Overview
  • Region
    Europe
  • Capital City
    Rome
  • Largest City
    Rome
  • Currency
    Euro
  • Languages
    Italian
  • Population
    58.9 million (25th)
  • Life Expectancy
    82.6 years (22nd)
  • GDP (Nominal)
    $2 trillion (10th)
  • GDP/Capita
    $33,931 (37th)
Useful Data
For more details visit Cost of Living
  • Cost of Living
    Moderate (4/7)
  • Climate
    Comfortable (2/5)
  • Safety
    Very Safe (2/7)
  • Pollution
    Average (3/5)
  • English Proficiency
    Moderate (3/5)

Sovereign Global Explorer

Benefiting from over a decade of our team’s boots-on-the-ground experience, Global Explorer is where your international journey begins.
PREMIUM REPORTS
Italy inside Sovereign Man resources

Articles featuring Italy

Italy Representative Office Visa 2023
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Trends & News

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