The Fernshore Index
The factors tradespeople look at first.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
41 of 100Mixed
Price level 0.690 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Italy. Checked 15 October 2026.
Work and career
85 of 100Strong
Strong: a national visa for remote workers and freelancers exists, and fixed broadband is 31.8 per 100 people (2024), over the 30 line.
Source: Digital nomad / remote worker visa (New York consulate); Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Italy. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
85 of 100Strong
Strong: A national remote worker and freelancer visa is open without a local job offer for a stay of a year, renewable while the conditions hold, with no minimum age and no deposit or investment. Income test about 24,800 to 27,000 euros a year (about US$27,800 to $30,300 at the ECB rate of 9 October 2026), well under the US$60,000 line. To be safe, have more than 28,000 euros a year. Needs a qualification, six months of experience and a registered lease.
Source: Digital nomad / remote worker visa (New York consulate); Digital nomad / remote worker visa (Los Angeles consulate). Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, Canada passport
85 of 100Strong
Strong: A national remote worker and freelancer visa is open without a local job offer for a stay of a year, renewable while the conditions hold, with no minimum age and no deposit or investment. Income test about 24,800 euros a year (about US$27,800 at the ECB rate of 9 October 2026), well under the US$60,000 line. To be safe, have more than 25,000 euros a year. Needs a qualification, six months of experience and suitable accommodation.
Source: Digital nomad / remote worker visa (Ottawa embassy); Digital nomad and remote worker national visa (Toronto consulate). Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, Australia passport
85 of 100Strong
Strong: A national remote worker and freelancer visa is open without a local job offer for a stay of a year, renewable while the conditions hold, with no minimum age and no deposit or investment. Income test about 25,500 euros a year (about US$28,600 at the ECB rate of 9 October 2026); a remote employee's contract must pay about 33,000 euros, still under the US$60,000 line. To be safe, have more than 26,000 euros a year. Needs a qualification, six months of experience and a registered lease.
Source: Digital nomad / remote worker visa checklist (Sydney consulate); Digital nomad / remote worker visa checklist (Melbourne consulate); Schengen visa checklist: digital nomads and remote workers (Adelaide consulate). Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, New Zealand passport
85 of 100Strong
Strong: A national remote worker and freelancer visa is open without a local job offer for a stay of a year, renewable while the conditions hold, with no minimum age and no deposit or investment. Income test about 25,500 euros a year (about US$28,600 at the ECB rate of 9 October 2026); a remote employee's contract must pay about 33,500 euros, still under the US$60,000 line. To be safe, have more than 26,000 euros a year. Needs a qualification, six months of experience and a registered lease.
Source: Digital nomad / remote worker visa checklist (Wellington embassy). Checked 15 October 2026.
English
42 of 100Mixed
EF EPI 2025 score 513 (59th of 123), in EF's moderate band.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Italy. Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
63 of 100Mixed
Global Peace Index 2026: 35th of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
73 of 100Strong
WHO UHC service coverage index 82 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
The country
The rest of the research on Italy.
The country page grades every factor, with its sources.
ItalyQuestions from tradespeople about Italy.
How does a non-EU tradesperson get a work visa for Italy?
Employee visas run on annual quotas. Your employer first requests a nulla osta (entry clearance) from the Unified Immigration Desk; the consulate then issues the visa. For 2027, 76,200 non-seasonal employee entries are authorised; pre-filling opens 23 October 2026 and the click day is 16 February 2027.
Does Italy recognise a US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand trade qualification?
The Labour Ministry’s recognition page covers only estheticians and steam-generator and heating-plant operators, and asks non-EU titles for a consular “dichiarazione di valore”. It does not say who recognises electricians, plumbers or builders, so that is unknown here. Ask your Italian consulate.
Is English enough to work in a trade in Italy?
The EF English Proficiency Index 2025 scores Italy 513, 59th of 123, in EF’s moderate band. It is built from people who chose to take an online test, so it is a national estimate, not a measure of English on a job site. We found no sourced figure for English in the trades, so that is unknown.
How expensive is Italy compared with the United States?
Prices overall are about 0.69 of US prices (World Bank, 2025), an economy-wide average. Four Turin adverts in October 2026 asked €600 to €850 a month for furnished flats of about 45 to 55 m²: adverts, not an average. We have no sourced trade wages, so how far a wage goes is unknown.
How do safety and healthcare compare in Italy?
The Global Peace Index 2026 ranks Italy 35th of 163; it measures peacefulness, not workplace safety, and we found no sourced site-safety figures. The WHO service coverage index is 82 of 100 (2023), a measure of access to services. Public-system access for permit holders is unknown.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Italy, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 68.96 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [K1] Digital nomad / remote worker visa (New York consulate), Consulate General of Italy in New York (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Checked 15 October 2026. Undated page. A national visa for non-EU citizens who work remotely while living in Italy, for freelancers (digital nomads) and employees (remote workers); only for highly qualified people. Jurisdiction rules differ by consulate.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Italy, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 31.78 per 100 people, read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [K3] Digital nomad / remote worker visa (Los Angeles consulate), Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Checked 15 October 2026. Undated page, partly written in 2024. For US residents: income of at least three times the health-contribution exemption level from work done in Italy, a permit issued for one year and renewable at the Questura, no minimum age, no deposit or investment.
- [K4] Digital nomad / remote worker visa (Ottawa embassy), Embassy of Italy in Ottawa (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Checked 15 October 2026. Undated page. For the Ottawa consular area: income from the previous fiscal year in the country of residence above 24,780 euros; qualification and six months of experience; no minimum age, no deposit or investment.
- [K5] Digital nomad and remote worker national visa (Toronto consulate), Consulate General of Italy in Toronto (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Checked 15 October 2026. No clear date. For the Toronto consular area: same national visa, the page prints no euro income figure; no minimum age, no deposit or investment.
- [K6] Digital nomad / remote worker visa checklist (Sydney consulate), Consulate General of Italy in Sydney (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), PDF. Checked 15 October 2026. Undated checklist in the July 2026 upload folder. For New South Wales: income for the previous financial year of at least 8,500 euros x 3 (25,500 euros); no minimum age, no deposit or investment.
- [K7] Digital nomad / remote worker visa checklist (Melbourne consulate), Consulate General of Italy in Melbourne (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), PDF. Checked 15 October 2026. Undated checklist in the July 2026 upload folder. For Victoria and Tasmania: same figures as Sydney.
- [K8] Schengen visa checklist: digital nomads and remote workers (Adelaide consulate), Consulate General of Italy in Adelaide (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), PDF. Checked 15 October 2026. File name dated 14 August 2026. Prints 25,500 euros as three times the health-contribution exemption level.
- [K9] Digital nomad / remote worker visa checklist (Wellington embassy), Embassy of Italy in Wellington (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), PDF. Checked 15 October 2026. Undated checklist in the July 2026 upload folder. For New Zealand citizens or permanent residents: income for the previous financial year of at least 8,500 euros x 3 (25,500 euros); no minimum age, no deposit or investment.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Italy, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 513, global rank 59 of 123 countries and regions, down 15 points on the previous score; global average 488; the 2026 edition was not yet published on 15 October 2026.
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Italy ranks 35th of 163 countries (score 1.712); read from the report PDF on 15 October 2026.
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Italy: 82 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO Global Health Observatory API on 15 October 2026.