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The elective residency visa (visto per residenza elettiva) is the usual route for people from outside the EU who want to retire to Italy or live there on their own means. In June 2025 an Italian administrative court ruled on how the income requirement applies to married couples, and the decision has often been described as a change in the rules. It was not. This guide explains how the visa works as of October 2026, what the court actually decided, and what it means if you are applying.
Who the visa is for
The visa is set out in an interministerial decree of 2011 (Decree 850/2011). It allows a foreigner to settle in Italy if they can support themselves without working. Applicants must show a home in Italy and ample, stable and regular income of their own that can reasonably be expected to continue. That income must come from sources such as pensions and annuities, property, stable business interests or other sources that are not employment. A spouse and dependent children can be granted the same visa if the income is judged adequate for them too. It is not an extended tourist visa.
The income requirement
The decree sets a floor: the income must be at least three times the annual amount in Table A of an Interior Ministry directive of 1 March 2000. In practice, the checklists that Italian embassies publish on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ websites turn this into a round figure. The embassy in Washington says family applicants typically need around €31,000 each, and the embassy in Tashkent asks for at least €31,000 a year for each applicant, including a spouse.
Consulates assess more than the headline figure. They look for evidence that the income is stable and will continue, usually through bank statements, pension letters, tax returns and property documents. Requirements vary between consulates, so use the checklist of the one handling your application.
Accommodation in Italy
You must show a home in Italy that will be your residence, either owned or rented. Consulates typically ask for the purchase deed or a residential lease in your name, registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate. Hotel bookings or an offer to stay with friends are not accepted. If you plan to buy, our guide to buying property in Italy as an expat explains the process.
What the 2025 court ruling decided
The case is judgment no. 12627 of 25 June 2025 by the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio in Rome (TAR Lazio, fifth section quater). The court has published the full text and summarised it in its own case-law digest.
- The facts. A retired British couple had bought a home in the province of Pescara, in Abruzzo. They applied for elective residence visas in London, relying on two pensions and rental income, around €53,000 a year in total. In August 2022 the consulate refused, because it required each spouse to show at least €31,000 individually.
- The reasoning. Table A sets one daily amount for a single traveller and a lower one for each additional person. Tripled and converted to a year, the court put these at roughly €30,540 for the main applicant and €18,660 for a spouse. It held that the consulate was wrong to apply the full single-person amount to the spouse automatically, and that it had not properly assessed whether the couple’s resources were adequate for both. It followed an earlier decision of the same court from October 2024 (no. 18244/2024).
- The outcome. The court annulled the refusal and ordered the government to pay legal costs. It did not issue the visas itself: the consulate had to reconsider the application in the light of the judgment.
What it means for applicants
The judgment decided one case. Italian court decisions are not binding precedent in the way they are in common-law systems, and consulates are not obliged to change their checklists because of it. As noted above, at least one embassy checklist published in 2026 still asks for the full amount from each applicant, including a spouse. If you apply as a couple, you should expect the consulate’s own figures to be applied.
Where a refusal is based on requiring the full amount from a spouse, the ruling and the earlier one it followed could support a challenge. But appeals are slow and uncertain, and success may only mean the application is looked at again. The couple in this case applied in 2022 and had their judgment in 2025. A lawyer can advise on whether an appeal is worthwhile in a particular case.
Applying, arriving and the residence permit
You apply to the Italian consulate or embassy responsible for where you live, usually in person and with original documents. Embassies indicate that a decision can take up to 90 days. After arriving in Italy on the visa, you must apply within eight working days for a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) for elective residence. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ visa site explains that this is done using a kit sent from authorised post offices, after which the Questura (police immigration office) takes fingerprints and issues the permit. The permit, not the visa, is what makes your stay lawful. You should then register as a resident with your comune.
No work allowed
Holders of this visa may not work in Italy, as employees or otherwise, and embassy guidance says they may not seek employment either. Your income must not come from employment.
How it differs from the digital nomad visa
Since April 2024 Italy has also offered a visa for digital nomads and remote workers. It is for highly qualified people who work remotely, either self-employed or for an employer, and it has its own income threshold and qualification requirements. The key difference is that the digital nomad visa is for people who will keep working from Italy, while the elective residency visa is for people who will not work at all.
Renewal and tax residence
The residence permit is issued for a limited period and must be renewed before it expires. At renewal you will generally need to show that you still meet the conditions, including your income and your home.
Moving to Italy is also likely to make you an Italian tax resident. Under rules in force since 2024, the Agenzia delle Entrate treats a person as resident if, for most of the tax year, they are registered as resident, have their residence or main personal ties in Italy, or are physically present. Tax residents are generally taxed in Italy on their worldwide income, subject to any double tax treaty. Take tax advice before you move. Owning property in Italy also brings local taxes, covered in our guide to Italian property taxes.
If you are still choosing where to live, see Discover Italy, and describe the home you need in our AI property search.
This is general information, not legal advice. Visa requirements and how consulates apply them change, and court decisions turn on their own facts. Check with the Italian consulate handling your application, an Italian lawyer or a notary before you apply or buy.
