Information about elective residence visas and long-termtourist visas (5 years) in case of residential real estate investments in Italy.

According to the current Italian legislation (Decree of Ministry of Foreign Affairs N. 850/2011, Art. 13, Annex A), it is possible to issue National Elective Residence Visas and long-term multiple-entry tourist visas (5 years) for those applicants who are willing to move their residence to Italy and are able to support themselves financially without working.

Requirements:

1) to be a foreigner willing to settle down in Italy;

2) to be able to support themselves financially without working;

3) to provide suitable and documented guarantees about the availability of a dwellingin Italy to reside in;

4) to provide suitable and documented guarantees about having an independent, stable and regular income, whose continuity in the future can be reasonably assumed. These financial resources, in the amount of no less than 31.000 euros per year, must originate from largeincomes (pensions, life annuities), ownership of real estate properties, ownership of stable economic/commercial activities or from any other sources. Income deriving from dependent employment cannot be taken into consideration.

Features of the elective residence visa:

  • it canalso be issued to the cohabiting spouse, to underage childrenand adult children both cohabiting and dependant, as long as the above mentionedfinancial means are sufficient for them as well. In case ofadditional visa application for a spouse, the amount of monthly income must beincreased by at least 20%. A further increase of 5% should be applied for every child who is applying for a visa;
  • the duration will be 1 year, renewable in Italy atthe central police office with territorial jurisdiction in the place of residence, on the condition thatthe original requirements continue to be fulfilled over time; the residence permit cannot be renewed or extended if the foreigner has failed to reside in Italy for a continuous period of over six months, except in case of military duties or other serious documented reasons (Presidential Decree n. 394/1999, Art.13);
  • within 8 days from thearrival in Italy - asfor every other type of long-term visa - it is mandatory toapply for the conversion of the entry visa into a residence permit;
  • with this type of visa it is not possible to carry out any work in Italy;
  • after 5 years it is possible to apply for a long-term EC Residence Card which is issued on a permanent basis and allows the owner to enjoy a substantial equality of treatment with nationals of EU Member States (Legislative Decree n. 3/2007, implementing the EU Directive 2003/109, concerning the status of third countries long-term residents).

To go to Italy to carry out on-site inspections aimed at buying properties, the person concerned should apply for a tourist visa and should submit a motivation letter where he/she explains the purpose of the trip to Italy, together with an invitation letter from a regularly registered Italian real estate agency. Upon the presentation of the motivation letter, avisa valid for 6 monthswill be issued, allowing for stays up to 90 days.

In case the applicant wishes to invest in a real estate property in Italy but he/she has no intention to stay in Italy formore than 90 days per semester, neither to transferhis/her residence to Italy, he/she can apply for a long-termSchengen tourism visa (5 years). The requirements for applying for this type of visa are the same asthose necessary to obtain a normal tourist visa, plus the proof of ownership of a real estate property in Italy and to have had a previous trip in the Schengen area.