Skip to content
Move with confidence.
Destination  Italy

Permesso di soggiorno and Italian visas in 2026 – who needs what, from work quotas to nomads

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

An EU passport lets you live in Italy without a permesso di soggiorno. Almost everyone else needs a visa before travelling and a residence permit after arriving, and the rules for both changed between 2024 and 2026 – here is what applies to you.

Smiling woman in a straw hat holding a passport at an airport
Photo: Juan/Adobe Stock

Whether you need a permesso di soggiorno (residence permit) in Italy depends first on your passport. EU citizens do not; most other people staying longer than 90 days need a national visa before they travel and a permit after they arrive. Several rules changed recently:

DateWhat changed
4 April 2024Digital nomad and remote worker visa in force
11 December 2024Two years of uninterrupted legal residence needed before bringing a spouse or parents
11 January 2025Fingerprints taken for national (D) visas too
15 October 2025Decreto flussi 2026–2028 published: work quotas for three years
10 April 2026EU Entry/Exit System fully operational for short-stay visitors
22 May 2026Permits issued within 90 days (was 60); renewals requested at least 90 days before expiry

Source: Normattiva, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Gazzetta Ufficiale, the university ministry and the European Commission, read 23 September 2026.

Do EU citizens need a permesso di soggiorno in Italy?

No. As an EU citizen you may stay up to three months with a valid identity document. After that you have a right of residence if you work or are self-employed, if you have sufficient resources and health insurance, if you study and have both, or if you are the family member of someone who qualifies. Instead of a permit, you register at the anagrafe (registry office) of your comune (municipality) – see part 3.

Sufficient resources are measured against the assegno sociale (social allowance): €7,101.12 a year in 2026, plus half that for each family member. After five years of continuous legal residence your right becomes permanent; more than two consecutive years abroad ends it. Non-EU family members apply to the Questura (police immigration office) after three months for a five-year residence card. Rome registers citizens of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Andorra and Vatican City like EU citizens.

UK citizens: Withdrawal Agreement or a new visa

If you lived in Italy by 31 December 2020, you and your family – even members joining later – are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. You have the right, not the obligation, to an electronic residence document from the Questura, costing €30.46 and valid five years, or ten with permanent residence. Local practice differs: Siena asks for an appointment by PEC (certified email) and a €16 revenue stamp.

Arriving now, you are a third-country national: visits of 90 days in any 180 are visa-free, and ETIAS, the EU travel authorisation, is not yet operating. To stay longer you need a type D visa; the London consulate says national visas take up to 90 days.

Working in Italy: decreto flussi quotas and the EU Blue Card

Most non-EU workers come through the decreto flussi, the government's quota decree. The current one, dated 2 October 2025, sets 497,550 places for 2026–2028. Your employer requests a nulla osta (work authorisation) online from 09:00 on the click day: 12 January for seasonal farm work, 9 February for seasonal tourism, and 16 or 18 February for non-seasonal jobs, including domestic care – official pages describe the split between those two dates differently. Applications for 2026 quotas run until 31 December 2026 while places last.

Quota202620272028
Non-seasonal employees76,20076,20076,200
– of which domestic and care work13,60014,00014,200
Self-employed650650650
Seasonal work in agriculture and tourism88,00089,00090,000
Total164,850165,850166,850

Source: Gazzetta Ufficiale (prime-ministerial decree of 2 October 2025) and the joint ministerial circular of 16 October 2025, read 23 September 2026.

The employer must first check with the job centre that no worker already in Italy is available (not for seasonal jobs) and, outside family care, needs taxable income or turnover of at least €30,000 a year. The nulla osta comes within 60 days of the quota being assigned, and within 15 days of your arrival you both sign the contratto di soggiorno (residence contract). The permit lasts up to nine months for seasonal work, one year on a fixed-term contract and two on an open-ended one. Losing your job does not cancel it.

The EU Blue Card sits outside the quotas. You need a degree of at least three years, five years of relevant experience or a regulated-profession qualification, plus a binding job offer of at least six months. The salary must meet the collective agreement and the average gross annual salary measured by ISTAT, the statistics institute; we found no official 2026 euro figure, so ask your employer or the Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione. The nulla osta must be decided within 30 days, and the card lasts two years on an open-ended contract.

Family, study, research and protection

To bring family, you need a permit of at least one year and, since 11 December 2024, two years of uninterrupted legal residence before a spouse or parents can join; protection holders are exempt. The comune must certify your housing, and the Prefettura issues the nulla osta within 150 days. Take Anna, an invented example: with a work permit and bringing her husband and their child, she needs at least €14,202.24 a year.

Family members joining youMinimum yearly income, 2026
One€10,651.68
Two€14,202.24
Three€17,752.80
Two or more children under 14At least €14,202.24

Source: Prefettura di Pordenone, Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione, income thresholds 2026, read 23 September 2026.

Non-EU students pre-enrol on Universitaly, the university ministry's portal, and for 2026/27 apply for the visa by 30 November 2026, showing €10,179.85 a year, accommodation and health insurance. A study permit allows work up to 20 hours a week. Researchers with a hosting agreement from an approved institute come outside the quotas, with a nulla osta within 30 days.

If you need protection, say so at the border police or the immigration office of the nearest Questura. The procedure is free, you may work two months after applying, and refugees receive a five-year renewable permit.

Digital nomad visa Italy and elective residence

Since 4 April 2024, highly qualified non-EU citizens who work remotely – self-employed or for an employer, Italian or foreign – can get a digital nomad or remote worker visa, with no nulla osta and no quota. Even nationals of visa-free countries need it. You need a Blue Card-level qualification, six months' experience in the work, a registered lease or property deed and health insurance.

Income must be at least three times the minimum level for exemption from health-care charges, and there is no single official euro figure. The London consulate states that level as €8,500, so about €25,500 a year; other consulates quote different amounts, so check with yours. Paris charges €116 and allows up to 120 days to decide. The permit lasts up to a year.

Elective residence is for moving permanently on stable passive income, such as pensions, rents or investments, and does not allow work. The Paris consulate treats about €31,000 a year only as a starting point. You also need a registered lease or property, plus private insurance or voluntary registration with the SSN (national health service) from €2,000 a year. For large foreign incomes, part 7 covers the flat tax for new residents: €300,000 a year for moves from 1 January 2026.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Find your route: EU rights, work quota, Blue Card, family, study, research, nomad or elective residenceBefore anything else
2Work routes: agree the click day or the Blue Card nulla osta with your employerMonths before you move
3Apply for the type D visa at the consulate for where you liveNo later than 15 days before travel in London – earlier is safer
4Apply for your permesso di soggiornoWithin 8 working days of entry
5Request renewalAt least 90 days before the permit expires
6EU citizens: register at the anagrafe (part 3)When your stay passes three months

Source: Normattiva, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.