Visiting
New Zealand citizens can stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within any 180 days without a visa. New Zealand and Italy also have a 1961 exchange of letters about visas, but the record gives no length of stay.
- The Wellington embassy says the 90 days are for stays within the Schengen area and advises not to overstay, because Italian border authorities may not recognise extra visa-free days under the bilateral agreement.
- We found no official page stating an extra period for Italy, so plan on 90 days in any 180 unless Italy confirms more in writing.
- Italy has a working holiday visa for New Zealand citizens living in New Zealand, aged 18 to 30, with no dependants, who have never held one for Italy. The checklist asks for proof of sufficient funds but states no amount.
Sources: Embassy of Italy in Wellington (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), New Zealand Treaties Online (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (esteri.it). 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 Wellington checklist is open to citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand. The permit lasts one year and is renewable while the conditions apply, but not after more than six months continuously out of Italy, except for serious, proven reasons.
- You qualify with a bachelor's degree or higher, or a higher professional qualification backed by at least five years of experience. You also need six months of experience in the work you will do.
- The income test is three times a health-service level, shown for your previous financial year. The Wellington checklist writes €25,500. To be safe, have more than €28,000 a year (about NZ$55,900).
- Elective residence allows no work, lasts one year and is not renewable. Wellington wants access to at least €31,000 per applicant; to be safe, have more than €32,000 (about NZ$63,900).
More detail
Remote employees need a contract paying at least the collective-agreement level and not below the ISTAT average. To be safe, have a salary of more than €34,000.
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 figures differ, so ask the Wellington embassy which one it applies. The checklist asks for proof of annual income but does not say which kinds of income count.
The self-employment visa needs a police clearance issued within the previous 90 days, proof of income above €8,500 (have more than €9,000), and a declaration of reference assets of at least €24,000 (have more than €25,000). It 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 obtain an entry clearance first. 76,200 non-seasonal entries are authorised for 2027, with a click day on 16 February 2027.
Sources: Embassy of Italy in Wellington (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), Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali, European Central Bank. Checked 11 October 2026.
Documents, fees and timing
The national visa fee is €116, charged in New Zealand dollars at the embassy's quarterly rate. The rate changes on 1 January, April, July and October, so ask the embassy for the current New Zealand dollar amount. You need travel insurance of at least €30,000 (about NZ$59,900) valid across the Schengen area, and a rental agreement or deed registered with the Revenue Agency.
- Try to book through the embassy's PRENOT@MI application. Bring your passport (valid at least three months past the visa's expiry, with two blank pages), the visa form, one photo and a one-way ticket reservation.
- The Wellington checklists give no processing time, so it is unknown. A consulate in Australia gives up to 30 days for remote employment and 120 days for digital nomads, but treat that as context.
More detail
Bring proof of your profession, six months of experience and income for your previous financial year. Remote workers add the contract and an employer declaration of no convictions in the last five years.
Insurance must come from European or local New Zealand insurers. You also send proof of the fee paid by bank transfer and a prepaid courier envelope.
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.
For elective residence, expect proof of income and funds, a registered lease or deed, and the same fee, ticket and courier items. Wellington asks you to contact it before applying.
Sources: Embassy of Italy in Wellington (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Integrazionemigranti.gov.it (Italian Ministries of Labour and Interior portal), Consulate General of Italy in Sydney (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Toronto (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). 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. New Zealand keeps a claim while you stay a tax resident.
- New Zealand treats you as a tax resident if you have a place where you usually live there, or spend more than 183 days there in any 12 months. You are a non-resident taxpayer only if you have no such place and are away more than 325 days in any 12 months.
- If both countries count you as resident, the 1979 agreement decides by permanent home, then closest personal and economic relations, then habitual abode.
- Pay for work done in Italy can be taxed in Italy unless you are there 183 days or less, your employer is not resident in Italy, and no Italian establishment bears the pay. The agreement caps tax at source on dividends at 15% and on interest and royalties at 10%.
More detail
Italy is not on New Zealand's list of social security agreements, so no certificate keeps you in a New Zealand system.
While you stay a New Zealand tax resident, you file an IR3 each year you receive income from overseas, and tax paid abroad may give a credit. If you become a non-resident taxpayer, tell your New Zealand bank so the right withholding tax is deducted.
Self-employed people in Italy without other pension cover pay into INPS's Gestione Separata at 26.07% for 2026, up to €122,295. How a New Zealand employer would handle Italian contributions needs confirming with the employer and INPS.
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 New Zealand work.
After a year overseas (not in Australia) you can take most of your KiwiSaver savings, but not government contributions. A student loan stops being interest-free if you become overseas-based. If you get NZ Super, apply to keep it overseas at least 6 weeks before you leave; the rate depends on the months you lived in New Zealand between ages 20 and 65.
Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency), Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Regione Piemonte, Città di Torino, INPS (Italian social security institute), Inland Revenue (New Zealand), New Zealand Legislation, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 11 October 2026.
Setting up
New Zealand has reciprocal health agreements only with Australia and the United Kingdom, so none covers you in Italy. You need your own insurance for the visa. 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.
- Some foreigners can join the Italian national health service voluntarily, from €2,000 a year for most categories. Whether a permit holder can use this route is unknown, and we did not check whether your New Zealand public health eligibility continues abroad.
- 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 or deed 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
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.
If you keep New Zealand accounts and become a non-resident taxpayer, update your details so the right withholding tax is deducted.
Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency), Azienda USL di Bologna (local health authority), Città di Torino, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Embassy of Italy in Wellington (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Integrazionemigranti.gov.it (Italian Ministries of Labour and Interior portal). 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.
New Zealand
Italy