Italy Investor Visa
- Processing time
- 2–5 months
- Physical presence
- There is no minimum-stay rule to keep the permit, but the investment must be made within three months of entry and held throughout. Naturalisation, by contrast, requires ten years of genuine legal residence.
- Family
- The investor can bring a spouse, minor children, adult children who are dependent, and dependent parents.
Investment routes
Business investment
From €250 000
- Capital
- Refundable
An investment of 250,000 EUR in an innovative Italian startup — the lowest entry point, and capital at genuine startup risk.
Business investment
From €500 000
- Capital
- Refundable
An investment of 500,000 EUR in an existing Italian limited company (S.r.l. or S.p.A.).
Government bonds
From €2 000 000
- Capital
- Refundable
A 2,000,000 EUR investment in Italian government bonds, held for the duration of the residence permit.
Contribution
From €1 000 000
- Capital
- Non-refundable
A non-refundable philanthropic donation of 1,000,000 EUR to a project of public interest (culture, education, immigration management, research or heritage).
Limits and drawbacks
- This is residence, not a passport. Citizenship requires ten years of genuine legal residence — one of the longest waits in the EU.
- Italy taxes tax-residents on worldwide income at rates up to 43% plus regional and municipal surcharges. The 200,000 EUR flat-tax regime helps only large foreign incomes and is a real annual cost, not a zero-tax outcome.
- On the 250,000 EUR and 500,000 EUR routes, the capital is exposed to genuine business risk; the 1,000,000 EUR donation is gone for good.
- The advantage is European residence and lifestyle, not cheapness: the bond and donation routes are seven-figure commitments.