Visiting
US citizens can visit Italy without a visa for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. The Italian Foreign Ministry lists the United States as exempt on those terms. A longer stay needs a national visa applied for before you travel.
- The EU's Entry/Exit System, fully operational since 10 April 2026, registers fingerprints and a facial image when non-EU visitors enter.
- The sources we read do not cover ETIAS, the planned EU travel authorisation, so its start date is unconfirmed.
Sources: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (esteri.it), European Commission. Checked 15 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 recognised degree, or a higher professional qualification with at least five years of experience. You also need six months of experience in the field.
- The income test is three times a health-service level, and US consulates say it must come from work you will do in Italy. They print €24,789, written in 2024. To be safe, have more than €28,000 a year (about US$31,400).
- Pension, rent, investment and Social Security income does not count for this visa.
- Elective residence is for stable passive income and allows no work. US consulates cite roughly €31,000 a year per applicant; to be safe, have more than €32,000.
More detail
A May 2026 embassy sheet says about €27,000. The Italian government's June 2024 FAQ explains €24,789 as 3 x €8,263 for a worker without a spouse or children. The threshold is updated, so ask the consulate that will handle your file which figure it applies.
Remote workers need a contract paying at least the collective-agreement level and not below the ISTAT median, and an employer declaration.
The self-employment visa needs a police clearance, proof of funds and lodging, and 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.
Sources: Consulate General of Italy in New York (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles (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 Boston (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali, European Central Bank. Checked 11 October 2026.
Documents, fees and timing
You need health insurance for the whole stay (US consulates ask for at least €30,000 of cover) and a lease in your name for the whole visa period, registered by the landlord with the tax agency. US consulate pages do not state a processing time for the digital nomad visa, so it is unknown. The fee is paid by cashier's check or money order; we found no amount, so it is unknown too.
- US consulates ask for a passport valid at least 15 months past your travel date with two blank pages, proof of residence in the consulate's area, the national visa form and a photo.
- All national-visa applicants are fingerprinted from 11 January 2025. Another embassy asks for apostilled copies with Italian translations, so ask whether your consulate does too.
- 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
You also send proof of your profession, proof of income, proof of six months of experience, and a return envelope.
For elective residence, expect bank and pension letters and your last two tax returns, a signed lease or deed and a one-way ticket reservation. The Los Angeles page gives up to 90 days and advises applying 90 days ahead.
A consulate in Australia gives up to 30 days for remote employment and 120 days for digital nomads, and one in Canada says some national visas take 45 to 90 business days. Treat these as context, not a promise from a US consulate.
Sources: Consulate General of Italy in New York (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles (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 Boston (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), 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. US citizens abroad generally file as they would at home, on worldwide income.
- 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.
- The 1984 treaty lets each country tax its citizens as if the treaty did not exist, with listed exceptions. Italy and the US give credit for each other's tax.
- The 2026 foreign earned income exclusion limit is $132,900, and you cannot take a foreign tax credit on income you exclude. The physical presence test needs 330 full days abroad in 12 consecutive months.
- Foreign accounts above $10,000 in total at any time in the year are reportable on an FBAR.
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 US-source work, so ask an Italian adviser.
Self-employed people in Italy without other pension cover pay into INPS's Gestione Separata at 26.07% for 2026, up to €122,295. The US–Italy agreement assigns self-employed US nationals who would be covered by both countries to US coverage, with certificates. The archived SSA page does not settle how that works when you live and work in Italy, so ask both agencies.
We found no official source on state tax after moving abroad, so it is unknown here.
Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency), Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Regione Piemonte, Città di Torino, INPS (Italian social security institute), Internal Revenue Service, US Social Security Administration, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Checked 11 October 2026.
Setting up
You need private health insurance for the whole stay to get 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.
- 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 until you check with the local health authority.
- 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 in your name 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
An Italian account counts toward the FBAR threshold of $10,000 across all foreign accounts.
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. Registration matters for Italian tax residence.
Track Italian income in euros and dollars for both returns.
Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency), Azienda USL di Bologna (local health authority), Città di Torino, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles (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). 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.
United States
Italy