11 short answers to questions from relocation chats about Italy. Compiled from community experience and our own articles: figures and fees change, so verify the current details on official sites. This is not legal advice.
The full guide: The Italian D visa: types, documents, timing
Updated: 2026-10-02
Per the community these are the two main remote-work routes. Digital nomad needs less paperwork upfront: no quotas, no nulla osta, documents are gathered at home, but there is no direct conversion to other grounds. Lavoro autonomo goes through Decreto Flussi quotas and Italy-side checks, but it converts. The choice is speed versus long-term perspective.
Under DM 29.02.2024 income must be at least three times the minimum for exemption from healthcare co-payments - 24,789.93 euro a year (3 x 8,263.31), the same for employees and the self-employed. Per the community consulates ask for more: about 28,000 from the self-employed, around 33,000 from employees. Add about six months of documented remote experience and insurance. The thresholds are tied to Italian norms and change year to year - check the current figures on esteri.it.
No. Buying an apartment or a house is not by itself a ground for a permesso: you need a separate motive - employment, self-employment, study, passive income (residenza elettiva), family. Owning a home only simplifies a Schengen visa and covers the proof-of-housing requirement inside your chosen route. This is not legal advice.
Per the community the guideline is about 31,000 euro net per year for the main applicant, plus 20% for a spouse and 5% per child; consultants advise showing a margin. The income must be passive (rent, dividends, pension), and working in Italy on this motive is forbidden. Consular requirements differ - check the current ones.
Per the community no: the Italian Partita IVA is opened after arrival, once you have a codice fiscale and residenza, and it is not part of the mandatory lavoro autonomo visa package. You need it later - for the renewal, when the questura looks at real activity, tax returns and contributions. Verify the list on vistoperitalia.esteri.it.
No: the C visa is short-term (90 days in any 180) and gives no right to live or work. Per the community it is used only in combination with a D visa held by the main applicant - the so-called on-site reunification (coesione), when the family files for the permesso together. On its own a tourist entry does not lead to a permit.
Per the community the Decreto Flussi is the annual decree with entry quotas for work motives (lavoro subordinato, lavoro autonomo); applications are often filed on so-called click days, when quotas are snapped up within hours. Some routes bypass the quotas: digital nomad, study, family. Verify the current quotas on interno.gov.it.
Per the community the working hubs are Istanbul, Yerevan, Belgrade, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Baku: from there either the same carrier or a separate low-cost segment. A single ticket is safer than two separate ones: if a connection fails the carrier must rebook you. Cash from 10,000 euro per person must be declared at the EU border. Schedules change - check.
At the Italian mission whose district you belong to: in Russia the consulates general in Moscow and St. Petersburg (filing follows the registration in your passport), in Belarus the embassy in Minsk, in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan the embassy in Astana, in Ukraine the embassy in Kyiv. Intake usually runs through visa centres, while the consulate decides. Take the document lists from your mission site on esteri.it.
A visa centre is a commercial operator: it takes in documents, collects fingerprints and charges a service fee, but makes no decisions. The visa decision, translation certification and consular legalization are done by the consulate. Per press reports, from 1 July 2026 the Italy visa centres in Russia move to a single operator, VFS Global - verify the current operator on the consulate site.
By community experience - from a couple of weeks to 1-3 months depending on the motive and the season, with your passport held at the consulate during the review. Formally a national visa review can take up to 90 days, so file with a buffer. These are personal observations, not an official deadline - check your consulate site.
This theme also has 15 community questions from the chats, answered by members: Community questions: D visa and entry
Practitioners' detailed breakdowns on this theme: Digital nomad (3), The D visa and the consulate (5).
Not legal advice. Where the answers come from
Add permesso.love to your preferred sources on Google