{"id":2586,"date":"2022-11-04T14:21:54","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T14:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/residenza-elettiva\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T14:04:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T14:04:07","slug":"elective-residence","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/en\/relocation-and-life-in-italy\/elective-residence\/","title":{"rendered":"Elective residence"},"content":{"rendered":"
Relocation and life in Italy<\/div>\n

Residence permit for elective residence<\/h1>\n
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The entry of foreigners into Italy is usually linked to reasons of work, study or family. However, there is an exception to the general rules: the residence permit for elective residence. This is a tool that allows those who do not need to work to settle in our country and live here permanently.<\/p>\n

Elective residence is therefore one of the \u201cspecial areas\u201d found in the dense web of immigration law, which an expert lawyer in the field is able to recognize and recommend to their client so as not to be subject to the limits of the quotas established by the \u201cdecreti flussi\u201d: an entry that not only is not based on work, but expressly excludes the need for it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is elective residence?<\/h2>\n
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Elective residence is a legal condition of stay in Italy, provided for by Ministerial Decree no. 850\/2011, which allows a non-EU foreigner to live in Italy permanently, provided that they have a property available in Italy and can support themselves without carrying out any work activity.<\/p>\n

To access it, the foreigner must apply for a visa for elective residence at the competent Italian diplomatic or consular representation, and then, once the visa has been obtained and entry into Italy has taken place, within 8 days, apply for the residence permit for elective residence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The residence permit in question generally has a duration of 1 year, is renewable upon expiry, and may also be extended to the applicant\u2019s family members, the cohabiting spouse, minor children or dependent adult cohabiting children, provided that the declared financial situation is deemed adequate to support them all.<\/p>\n

It is useful to note that elective residence is a legal instrument often connected to other matters of primary importance for foreigners: reference is made above all to international relocation. Boschetti International Law Firm<\/strong>, in fact, responds daily to requests for assistance from foreign citizens who wish to move to Italy, for example to spend their retirement here, entrusting us professionals not only with the immigration procedure concerning the issuance of the visa and residence permit for elective residence, but also with all those ancillary services (such as registry registration, request for tax code, registration with the National Health Service, and more) that are needed for full integration into the national community.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, since the availability of a property to be elected as residence is required, the elective residence procedure is often connected with real estate consultancy and real estate investments for foreigners, as the assistance of a specialized International Law Firm makes it possible to safely face, without risks of unpleasant surprises or bureaucratic problems, the complex procedure of a real estate purchase in Italy for foreigners or the negotiation of a real estate lease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Essential requirements to obtain the residence permit for elective residence<\/h2>\n
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To live in Italy with a residence permit for elective residence, being a privileged option reserved only for foreigners who can live in our country by demonstrating that they can support themselves without having to work, it is necessary to prove specific requirements. Namely:<\/p>\n

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  1. the availability of a dwelling to be elected as residence in Italy. Such availability may derive from the purchase of a property, or alternatively from the signing of a rental contract duly registered with the Revenue Agency;<\/li>\n
  2. the possession of substantial autonomous, stable and regular financial resources, reasonably expected to continue in the future.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Such resources, approximately not less than \u20ac31,000 per year, must come from:<\/p>\n

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    • ownership of substantial income (pensions, annuities);<\/li>\n
    • ownership of real estate;<\/li>\n
    • ownership of stable economic-commercial activities;<\/li>\n
    • other sources different from employment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      These requirements must be proven through documents for elective residence, which our Firm examines in detail even before submitting the visa application, in order to prevent, or at least reduce, the risk of a refusal of elective residence.<\/p>\n

      Finally, it is necessary to demonstrate the intention to establish an actual, not merely formal, residence in Italy, and this requirement is generally verified by the Administration during the interview. From experience, in fact, we note that the residence permit for elective residence is often requested with Italy seen not as the actual place of future residence, but as a destination to visit occasionally, perhaps for purely touristic reasons. Well, it is important to highlight that the foreigner, once the residence permit for elective residence has been obtained, is obliged to stay on Italian territory for at least half of the validity period of the permit (for example, in the case of an annual \u201celective residence\u201d permit, the foreigner cannot interrupt their stay in Italy for a continuous period of more than 6 months).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      How the procedure to obtain the residence permit works<\/h2>\n
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      The first step to obtaining the residence permit for elective residence is to obtain the corresponding entry visa, that is, the visa for elective residence. The foreigner must personally submit an application to the Italian Embassy competent for the place of residence, attaching, in addition to the passport, suitable documentation proving:<\/p>\n

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      • the lawful availability of a property in Italy to be elected as residence;<\/li>\n
      • the lawful availability of financial means, different from employment, on which the applicant can rely also for the future (e.g. annuities, pensions, dividends, income from financial investments, insurance policies, etc.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Subsequently, the foreigner, with the visa affixed to the passport, may enter Italy. Within 8 days of entry, a mandatory deadline, he or she must apply for the residence permit for elective residence by completing a postal kit, which initiates an administrative procedure supervised by the Questura competent for the place where the elected residence property is located.<\/p>\n

        It is important to note that, following Decree-Law of October 21, 2020 no. 130 converted into Law of December 18, 2020 no. 173, today the residence permit for elective residence can be converted into a residence permit for work, where the foreigner intends to carry out work activity in Italy.<\/p>\n

        However, regarding the possibility of converting the residence permit for elective residence, since the rule (letter c) expressly refers to art. 11, paragraph 1, letter c-quater of the Regulation \u2013 which identifies as the only relevant source of income for the issuance of the permit the receipt of a pension in Italy \u2013 it is doubtful whether the Legislator intended to limit the possibility of conversion only to pensioners already holding a residence permit for employment, self-employment or family reasons, excluding foreigners who have obtained a specific entry visa for elective residence and related residence permit by virtue of other sources of income (such as annuities, real estate or other resources different from employment).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        How Boschetti International Law Firm can help you obtain the residence permit for elective residence<\/h2>\n

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        Boschetti International Law Firm<\/strong> assists clients throughout the entire procedure for applying for the visa for elective residence and, subsequently, the residence permit for elective residence, also providing collateral professional services such as real estate consultancy and international relocation services.<\/p>\n

        At each stage of the assignment, our principle is always that the success of a case is determined at the beginning: well begun is half done. For this reason, we strive to guide and assist our clients from the very first steps, in order to reduce as much as possible the risk of refusal of the visa for elective residence or the residence permit for elective residence, as well as to find the property most suited to their needs and help them with all the obligations necessary and preparatory for full integration in Italy.<\/p>\n

        Our action protocol is as follows:<\/p>\n

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        • after an introductory meeting, which can also be held online, we provide consultancy in order to identify the list of documents to be attached to the application; once the documents have been collected, we check that the list is complete and that all legal formalities have been respected, including apostilles, translations, etc.;<\/li>\n
        • we prepare the visa application form and assist the client in compiling the file that must then be submitted personally at the Italian diplomatic or consular representation of the applicant\u2019s country of origin or permanent residence;<\/li>\n
        • we also assess the opportunity to accompany the residence permit application for elective residence with other professional services of interest to the client, such as real estate consultancy or international relocation services (registry registration, request for identity card and tax code, registration with the National Health Service, stipulation of private insurance, search for schools or nurseries, international tax assistance, etc.);<\/li>\n
        • once the visa has been obtained and entry into Italy has taken place, we assist the client in the application for the elective residence permit, from submitting the postal kit to physical accompaniment and legal representation before the competent Questura, up to the issuance of the permit and the achievement of every other entrusted objective.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n


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          Relocation and life in Italy Residence permit for elective residence The entry of foreigners into Italy is usually linked to reasons of work, study or family. However, there is an exception to the general rules: the residence permit for elective residence. This is a tool that allows those who do not need to work to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3520,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2586","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2586"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6167,"href":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2586\/revisions\/6167"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.italyvisainvestments.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}