Visiting
Australians can stay in the Schengen area without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. That covers tourism, visiting family and friends, business for an Australian employer, and some other purposes. A longer stay needs a national visa.
- Italy is not on Smartraveller's list of countries with a visa waiver that adds days beyond the 90.
- The EU Entry/Exit System registers your fingerprints and photo on arrival, free of charge. Smartraveller's Italy page says ETIAS is due at the end of 2026, but its Schengen page says no date is confirmed.
- Italy has a working holiday visa for Australians aged 18 to 35 who have never held one. The Melbourne checklist asks for funds for 365 days; to be safe, have more than €11,000.
Sources: Consulate General of Italy in Melbourne (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Smartraveller (Australian Government, DFAT). Checked 11 October 2026.
Staying a year or longer
The digital nomad or remote worker visa is for highly qualified remote work. Employees of a company are remote workers and freelancers are digital nomads. The permit lasts one year and is renewable while you keep your work, home and insurance. No work-permit clearance is needed.
- You qualify with a degree or professional qualification, or a higher professional qualification with at least five years of experience. You also need at least six months of experience in the field.
- The income test is three times a health-service level. The consulates in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide print €25,500. To be safe, have more than €28,000 a year (about A$44,900).
- Elective residence allows no work. Sydney and Melbourne ask for income from pensions, annuities, property, investments or a registered business, not employment or savings. To be safe, have more than €32,000 a year (about A$51,400).
More detail
Sydney and Melbourne also ask remote employees for a contract. To be safe, have a contract paying more than €34,000 a year (about A$54,600).
The Italian government's June 2024 FAQ explains a lower figure, €24,789, for a worker without a spouse or children. A May 2026 embassy sheet from Tunis says about €27,000. The threshold is updated, so ask the consulate for your state which figure it applies.
Sydney and Melbourne ask for income relating to the previous financial year, and Melbourne adds that it must already be earned in your country of residence. Brisbane and Perth give the rule without a figure.
The self-employment visa falls under annual quotas: 650 entries are authorised for 2027, with applications pre-filled on the Interior Ministry's ALI portal from 23 October to 7 December 2026. An employee route needs an Italian employer to request an entry clearance first; 76,200 non-seasonal entries are authorised for 2027, with a click day on 16 February 2027. We found no Australian post's version of these checklists, so confirm with yours.
Sources: Consulate General of Italy in Sydney (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Melbourne (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Adelaide (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Brisbane (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Perth (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Embassy of Italy in Tunis (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Integrazionemigranti.gov.it (Italian Ministries of Labour and Interior portal), Consulate General of Italy in New York (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali, European Central Bank. Checked 11 October 2026.
Documents, fees and timing
You apply in person with paper copies. You need travel medical insurance of at least €30,000 (about A$48,200) for the whole stay, and a lease registered with the Revenue Agency or a deed. Sydney, Melbourne and Perth give up to 30 days for the remote employment visa and up to 120 days for digital nomads, with no fast track.
- Expect your passport, the national visa form and a photo, proof of your profession and six months of experience, proof of income, your insurance certificate, the registered lease or deed, and a return ticket or proof of funds to buy one.
- Apply at least two weeks before you leave, and no earlier than 180 days before. For elective residence, Sydney and Melbourne say a few hours to 15 days.
- After you arrive, apply for the permesso di soggiorno at the Questura within 8 working days. You can start work once that application is filed.
More detail
Australian qualifications need a declaration of value, which Sydney also accepts as a CIMEA certificate. Remote employees add the contract and an employer letter.
The Melbourne checklist asks for a lease in your name for the whole visa period, and Adelaide also asks for a current VEVO. For elective residence, expect Australian bank statements, proof of the income source and a registered lease or deed.
We found no visa fee for Australian applicants in these sources, so it is unknown here.
Sources: Consulate General of Italy in Sydney (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Melbourne (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Adelaide (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Brisbane (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Perth (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Integrazionemigranti.gov.it (Italian Ministries of Labour and Interior portal). Checked 11 October 2026.
Tax
If you live in Italy for most of the year, you are an Italian tax resident and taxed on worldwide income. For 2026 the income tax scale is 23% up to €28,000, 33% from €28,000 to €50,000 and 43% above, plus regional and municipal surcharges. Australia may still treat you as a resident, and your facts decide it.
- You are Italian tax resident if for most of the year (183 days) you are in the resident register, have your home or domicile in Italy, or are simply there.
- If both countries count you as resident, the 1982 Australia–Italy convention looks first at your permanent home, then your habitual abode, then your closer personal and economic ties. It has no citizenship step.
- If you stop being an Australian resident, assets other than taxable Australian property are treated as sold at market value on the day you stop. The departing Australia superannuation payment is not for citizens.
- The social security agreement lets you add Australian and Italian periods to meet pension qualifying periods. We found no rule on which country's contributions apply to work in Italy, so ask INPS and the ATO.
More detail
Piemonte lists regional surcharges of 1.62% to 3.33% for 2026, and Torino 0.8%, 1.1% and 1.2% across its bands. Other places set different rates.
Freelancers can use the flat-rate scheme: one 15% substitute tax, or 5% for the first five years of a genuinely new activity, up to €85,000 of takings. The impatriate regime taxes 50% of Italian-source income for people who were not resident in the three prior years. These pages do not say how either applies to Australian-source work, so ask an Italian adviser.
Pay for work is taxable where the work is done, with an exception for up to 183 days with an employer outside that country. Pensions and annuities are taxable only where you are resident. Self-employed people without other pension cover pay into INPS's Gestione Separata at 26.07% for 2026, up to an income ceiling of €122,295.
The Age Pension can be paid abroad, generally at a rate based on your years of Australian residence.
Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency), Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Regione Piemonte, Città di Torino, INPS (Italian social security institute), Australian Treasury, Federal Register of Legislation (Australian Government), Department of Social Services (Australian Government), Australian Taxation Office, Services Australia. Checked 11 October 2026.
Setting up
A foreign resident can request a codice fiscale, Italy's tax code, at the Italian consulate in their country, or the Questura issues one with your permit. Once in Italy, you register your residence with the municipal registry. Registration matters for Italian tax residence.
- Australia has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Italy. Smartraveller says it gives care in public facilities for a sudden acute illness or accident in your first six months, on showing your Medicare card and passport. It does not replace private insurance.
- We found no official page on what Italian banks require from a new arrival, so it is unknown until you ask a bank.
- A registered lease is a visa requirement. The Revenue Agency's guide describes the 4+4 free-rent contract, transitional contracts up to 18 months, and a deposit capped at three months' rent.
More detail
We found no official statement of whether a long-stay permit holder is covered under that agreement, so it is unknown.
Torino sets 20 days from the move for the residence declaration and 45 days to check it, in a procedure described mainly for EU citizens and Italians, so ask the registry what a non-EU citizen should bring.
Some foreigners can join the Italian national health service voluntarily. A January 2024 notice from Bologna's health authority gives a minimum contribution of €2,000 a year (about A$3,200) for most categories. Whether a permit holder can use this route is unknown until you check where you will live.
If you stop being Australian resident, interest on accounts you keep in Australia is subject to withholding as a final tax.
Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency), Azienda USL di Bologna (local health authority), Città di Torino, Australian Taxation Office, Consulate General of Italy in Sydney (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Melbourne (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Adelaide (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Integrazionemigranti.gov.it (Italian Ministries of Labour and Interior portal), Smartraveller (Australian Government, DFAT). Checked 11 October 2026.
Living in Turin
Turin is a northern city at the foot of the western Alps, on the river Po. The tourist board calls it Italy's first capital, with Roman street planning, Piedmontese Baroque and long arcaded streets. We found no official source for rents or other living costs there, so they are unknown here.
- The city has more than 300 km of tree-lined avenues and parks, between the hills and the river.
- Air quality is the trade-off to weigh. ARPA Piemonte reported 36 days above the PM10 daily limit at the Rebaudengo station by 13 December 2025, against 35 allowed in a year.
- We found no climate normals for Turin, so winter and summer temperatures are unknown here.
Sources: Turismo Torino e Provincia (official tourist board), ARPA Piemonte (regional environmental agency). Checked 11 October 2026.
Other places we looked at
The research also looked at Bologna and Bari, for contrast. We found no official source for rents or living costs in either, so they are unknown here.
- Bologna: the capital of Emilia-Romagna, with one of Europe's largest medieval centres and porticoes recognised by UNESCO in 2021. Regional and municipal surcharges differ from Piemonte and Torino and were not priced.
- Bari: the capital of Apulia, with a waterfront and an old town. We found no cost or climate data for it.
Sources: Italia.it (official Italian tourism portal). Checked 11 October 2026.
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