Italy Golden Visa 2026: The Investor Visa for Italy Explained

The Italy golden visa is the Investor Visa for Italy (visto per investitori): residence for non-EU nationals who invest between EUR 250,000 and EUR 2 million in one of four ways, or donate EUR 1 million. There is no property route. You must show at least EUR 1 million in available funds, and citizenship still takes 10 years.

This guide is general information about Italy’s Investor Visa and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. It gives no Italian tax advice. Figures and procedures reflect the Italian statutes as read in September 2026 and can change by law or decree. Visas and permits are issued at the discretion of the Italian authorities and are never guaranteed. Take independent advice from Italian counsel and a qualified tax adviser before you invest, apply or change your tax residence.

On this page

• Does Italy have a golden visa?
• The five investment routes
• The EUR 1 million funds rule most guides miss
• Who can apply
• How to apply, step by step
• The residence permit: two years, then three-year renewals
• Bringing your family
• From investor visa to EU long-term residence and citizenship
• The EUR 300,000 flat tax for new residents
• What the Italy investor visa costs
• Italy vs other European residence programmes
• Six things most Italy golden visa guides get wrong
• Frequently asked questions
• The bottom line

Does Italy have a golden visa?

Yes. Italy’s version is the Investor Visa for Italy, set out in art. 26-bis of the Testo Unico sull’Immigrazione (D.Lgs. 286/1998), in the text in force since 18 December 2024. It gives residence, not citizenship. It has no real estate route. And it sits outside the annual entry quotas that cap most other Italian work and business visas.

“Golden visa” is the phrase people search for, so we use it here. The legal name matters, though, because it tells you what the programme actually is: a visa for people who put capital into the Italian economy or into a public-interest project. It is not a way to buy a passport, and it is not a property scheme. If you want the wider picture of how investment residence works across Europe, start with our guide to visa investments.

The five investment routes

Art. 26-bis lists five qualifying uses of money. You pick one. You cannot split the amount across two routes, and money you invested before you applied does not count.

The startup route dates from 19 May 2020. Until 18 May 2020 the company route asked for EUR 1,000,000; from 19 May 2020 it became EUR 500,000 for an established company and EUR 250,000 for an innovative startup. The startup amount sits in the same clause as the company route (c.1 lett. b), so the same 2-year hold applies.

Whatever the route, the permit can be revoked if the investment is not made within 3 months of entering Italy, or if it is sold before 2 years. That rule is the practical floor for every investment route.

The venture capital fund route added in December 2024

Law 193/2024, art. 35, added a fifth route: at least EUR 500,000 in a “fondo di venture capital costituito e operante in Italia”, a venture capital fund set up and operating in Italy, held for 2 years. It has been law since 18 December 2024.

The catch is practical. The official portal and its policy guidance, dated 19 July 2021, predate the change, so the published procedure does not yet describe how fund applications are handled or which funds qualify. If this is your preferred route, confirm with the Investor Visa Committee how it treats fund applications before you commit money.

Equity, not bonds, on the company route

The company route asks for capital instruments: shares or quotas in the company’s capital. Corporate bonds issued by the same company do not qualify. The guidance describes the target as an active limited company resident in Italy with at least one filed balance sheet. It can be listed or unlisted.

Why property does not count

Italy has no real estate route. Buying a house in Tuscany does not get you this visa, however much it costs. The rules go further: real estate is not even accepted as proof of funds when you apply. Anyone selling you an “Italy golden visa property package” is selling something the statute does not contain.

The EUR 1 million funds rule most guides miss

Here is the requirement that changes the maths for most applicants. Art. 26-bis c.1 lett. c n.1 asks the investor to show beneficial ownership of funds “disponibile e trasferibile in Italia”, available and transferable to Italy, of at least:

• EUR 2,000,000 on the government bond route, and
• EUR 1,000,000 on the company, fund, startup and donation routes.

So on the literal text, a EUR 250,000 startup investment still needs EUR 1,000,000 of available funds behind it. The same applies to the EUR 500,000 company and fund routes.

How strictly the Committee applies this on the smaller routes is not published. We quote the statute because that is what the Committee is bound by. Plan on the basis of the text, and ask Italian counsel to confirm current practice before you file.

Who can apply

Non-EU nationals can apply as individuals. A company can also invest, through its legal representative, but the entity route carries a reciprocity check (art. 26-bis c.3-bis and c.3-ter).

Two limits apply:

• Russian and Belarusian nationals. Applications have been suspended since 14 July 2023. Since 20 March 2024 the suspension also covers dual nationals who hold either passport, according to notices on the official portal.
• Where you apply for the visa. Once approved, you apply at the Italian consulate in your country of permanent and continuous residence, which may not be your country of citizenship.

How to apply, step by step

1. Apply online on the official platform, investorvisa.mise.gov.it. You upload evidence of the available funds, a certification that the money has a lawful origin, and a written commitment to invest or donate within 3 months of entering Italy. Bank evidence means a statement covering 3 months, issued within the last 30 days, and a bank letter that refers to the FATF Recommendations. Real estate does not count as proof of funds.
2. Admissibility check. The official guidance targets feedback within 1 working week.
3. Committee decision. The Investor Visa Committee at MIMIT, the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (formerly MISE), reviews the file. The published target is 30 days. The clock pauses if the Committee asks for documents: you get 30 days to supply them, with up to 30 days’ suspension on top.
4. Nulla osta. A positive decision produces a nulla osta, the clearance for the visa.
5. Consulate. You apply for the visa at the consulate within 6 months of the nulla osta. Your passport must then have at least 2 years and 3 months of validity left.
6. Investor visa. The visa is valid for 2 years.
7. Questura. Within 8 working days of entering Italy, you apply for the residence permit at the Questura, the local police immigration office.
8. Invest. You make the investment or donation within 3 months of entering Italy.

The Committee has 7 voting members: the MIMIT Director General as chair, plus representatives of the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Ministry (MAECI), the financial intelligence unit (UIF), the Guardia di Finanza, the Agenzia delle Entrate and ICE, the trade agency. The Culture or Education and Research ministries join for donation files.

Two warnings on the paperwork. The lawful-origin certification is not a formality: Italian money-laundering offences apply, and false documents carry 1.5 to 6 years in prison. And the timings above are targets from the official guidance, not promises.

You also need living resources above the threshold used for the health-cost exemption; the 2021 guidance put it at about EUR 8,500.

The residence permit: two years, then three-year renewals

The first permit lasts 2 years (“biennale”) and is marked “per investitori” (art. 26-bis c.5).

Revocation. The permit is revoked if you do not make the investment within 3 months of entering Italy, or if you sell it before 2 years.

Renewal. Under c.6, the permit renews for further 3-year periods once the Committee confirms that the money was fully invested within 3 months and is still invested. Under c.7, the Committee sends a renewal nulla osta to the Questura. Apply at least 90 days before your permit expires (TUI art. 5 c.4, as in force since 4 June 2026).

What the permit lets you do. It carries the same rights as a self-employment permit under art. 26, and it is exempt from reciprocity. For 5 years from first issue, holders are exempt from the integration agreement and from the continuity-of-stay obligations that normally apply at renewal (c.5-bis).

That last point is often stretched into “no minimum stay, ever”. It is narrower than that. The c.5-bis exemption covers renewal of the investor permit. It does not waive the absence limits for the EU long-term residence permit under art. 9, covered below. If you want long-term residence later, your time outside Italy still counts.

Bringing your family

Family members can enter Italy with the investor under art. 29 c.4 and receive a family visa under art. 30. The usual art. 29 c.3 tests apply: suitable housing, and income of at least the assegno sociale (Italy’s social allowance amount) plus half of it for each family member.

Art. 29 has been amended recently, so check the current art. 29 conditions with Italian counsel before you plan a family move around this route.

From investor visa to EU long-term residence and citizenship

EU long-term residence permit. After 5 years with a valid permit, you can apply for the EU long-term permit (art. 9). You need income of at least the assegno sociale, housing, and a pass in an Italian language test. Absences must stay under 6 consecutive months and no more than 10 months in total over the 5 years.

Citizenship by residence. Non-EU nationals can apply after 10 years’ legal residence, with income, a clean criminal record and no security concerns (L. 91/1992, art. 9, as set out by the Interior Ministry).

Is there Italian citizenship by investment?

No. Italy does not sell citizenship, and the investor visa gives no shortcut to it. The path is the ordinary one: 10 years of legal residence. A referendum in June 2025 that would have cut the period to 5 years failed because it did not reach the quorum.

A note for readers with Italian ancestry: descent rules changed in 2025. Under art. 3-bis (DL 36/2025, converted by L. 74/2025), people born abroad who hold another citizenship are treated as never having acquired Italian citizenship, unless they were recognised or applied by 27 March 2025, a parent or grandparent holds or held only Italian citizenship, or a parent lived in Italy for 2 continuous years after acquiring citizenship and before the child’s birth. Take specific advice if this applies to you.

The EUR 300,000 flat tax for new residents

Start with the structure, because many guides blur it. The flat tax is a separate tax option, set out in a separate statute. An investor visa holder does not have to use it. And someone who uses it does not need the investor visa. You may meet the two in the same conversation, but they are different decisions.

The regime is a fixed annual substitute tax on income produced abroad, from art. 24-bis TUIR. Italian-source income stays under the ordinary rules. For anyone who moves tax residence to Italy from 1 January 2026, it is EUR 300,000 a year, plus EUR 50,000 for each family member included in the option (L. 199/2025).

The amount has risen twice:

What it covers and who qualifies

• You must not have been Italian tax resident for at least 9 of the 10 prior tax years.
• You need a favourable interpello, a ruling from the Agenzia delle Entrate, before you opt in.
• The option runs for up to 15 years. You can revoke it, but you cannot opt in a second time.
• Capital gains on qualifying holdings realised in the first 5 years are taxed under the normal rules.
• Users do not file RW foreign-asset reporting and are exempt from IVIE and IVAFE, the taxes on foreign property and foreign financial assets.
• The 2016 law that created it bars combining it with the inbound-worker (impatriati) regimes then in force. Ask an Italian tax adviser how it interacts with the current one.

What a family of four would pay

Take a main taxpayer, a spouse and two children, all eligible and all included, moving tax residence to Italy in 2026 with a favourable interpello:

• Main taxpayer: EUR 300,000
• Three family members: 3 x EUR 50,000 = EUR 150,000
• Total: EUR 450,000 a year, for up to 15 years.

If only the main taxpayer opts in, the figure is EUR 300,000 a year.

This is an illustration of the statutory amounts only. Whether the regime suits you, and which family members to include, is a question for an Italian tax adviser.

From 2027: same regime, new article number

Art. 24-bis TUIR applies until 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027 it is repealed and the same rules and amounts move to art. 246 of the new income tax consolidated text (D.Lgs. 117/2026). Expect documents dated 2027 onward to cite TU art. 246.

Other countries run their own tax programmes for new residents; Malta’s is covered in our guide to taxes in Malta.

What the Italy investor visa costs

Government visa and permit fees, legal, notarial and advisory costs are not included (advisory fees are quoted per engagement). The funds you show are a test of available wealth, not a payment. For a side-by-side view of what programmes cost across Europe, see how much a golden visa costs.

Italy vs other European residence programmes

What sets Italy apart is the funds test: the money you must show sits well above the smallest investment the law allows.

For US readers: the United States has an income tax treaty and a totalization (social security) agreement with Italy. Our golden visa guide for US citizens covers the wider set of options.

Six things most Italy golden visa guides get wrong

1. “The flat tax is EUR 100,000.” That figure applied to moves up to 10 August 2024. For moves from 1 January 2026 it is EUR 300,000, plus EUR 50,000 per family member.
2. “There are four routes.” Italian venture capital funds have qualified since 18 December 2024, making five.
3. “Any investment in an Italian company works.” The company route requires equity. Corporate bonds do not qualify.
4. “You only need EUR 250,000.” That is the smallest investment. The statute asks you to show EUR 1 million in available funds on that route.
5. “The permit renews for 2 years.” The first permit is 2 years. Renewals are for 3 years at a time under c.6.
6. “Citizenship after 5 years, and no minimum stay, ever.” Citizenship takes 10 years’ legal residence; the 2025 referendum to cut it failed. And the c.5-bis stay exemption covers investor permit renewal for 5 years only. It does not remove the absence limits for EU long-term residence.

Frequently asked questions

Does Italy have a golden visa?
Yes. It is the Investor Visa for Italy, under art. 26-bis of D.Lgs. 286/1998. It grants residence, not citizenship, and there is no property route.

What is the minimum investment for the Italy golden visa?
EUR 250,000 in an innovative startup; EUR 500,000 in Italian company equity or an Italian venture capital fund; EUR 2 million in Italian government bonds; or a EUR 1 million donation. On the statutory text you must also show EUR 1 million in available funds (EUR 2 million on the bond route).

Can I get the Italy golden visa by buying property?
No. Real estate is not a qualifying route, and it is not accepted as proof of funds either.

Does the Italy golden visa lead to citizenship?
Only through ordinary naturalisation, after 10 years’ legal residence and subject to income, a clean record and security checks. There is no investment shortcut.

How long is the Italian investor residence permit valid?
The first permit is valid for 2 years. It then renews for 3 years at a time, as long as the Committee confirms the investment was made within 3 months of entry and is still held.

How much is Italy’s flat tax for new residents in 2026?
EUR 300,000 a year, plus EUR 50,000 for each family member included, for anyone moving tax residence to Italy from 1 January 2026. It is a separate option from the investor visa and needs a favourable ruling from the Agenzia delle Entrate.

Can Russian citizens apply for the Italy investor visa?
No. Applications from Russian and Belarusian nationals have been suspended since 14 July 2023, and since 20 March 2024 the suspension also covers dual nationals who hold either passport.

The bottom line

The Italy golden visa is a real residence route, but it is built for investors in Italian businesses, funds, government debt or public-interest projects, not for property buyers. Read it as the statute reads today: five routes, a funds test of EUR 1 million or more behind every application, a 2-year permit renewed for 3 years at a time, and 10 years to citizenship. The EUR 300,000 flat tax is a separate decision with its own ruling and its own rules. Get the route, the funds evidence and the timing right, and confirm the fund route and funds-test practice with the Committee before you move money. Advisory fees are quoted per engagement.