Recently a family of three got an elective residence visa through our office. It is a good moment to explain what this visa is, who it really fits, and where applicants most often go wrong.

Residenza elettiva means "chosen place of residence". It is a long-stay national visa (type D) for people who want to settle in Italy without working here. What the consulate looks at is whether you have substantial, steady and reliable resources that don't depend on working in Italy.

The consulate pages I checked say the same thing in different words: the visa does not allow any work in Italy, and income from employment is not counted.

Consulates accept income of a passive kind:

Remote work and freelancing are a different category. Since 2024 Italy has a separate visa for remote workers (the digital nomad visa), and that is where earned income now belongs. If your money comes from your own work, elective residence is the wrong door.

The figure you will see everywhere is 31,000 euros a year per applicant. Some consulates state it outright, others describe it only as a starting point derived from an Interior Ministry directive of 1 March 2000. None of the consulate pages I checked gives a formula for families. In practice, some consulates ask each adult to show the full amount, others work with a smaller increase per family member. So check the checklist of the consulate that has jurisdiction over you, and assume that more is better. This is a discretionary visa: meeting the minimum doesn't oblige the consulate to issue it.

In my practice, consulates are also very cautious about income that comes only from Russia or Belarus because of sanctions. If all your income comes from there, expect serious difficulty.

In my experience, the length of the first renewal tends to follow the income you can show. If you are close to the minimum, expect a renewal of one year. With roughly twice the minimum, two years is common, and with three times, three years. This is practice, not a rule written in the law, and it varies by questura.

You need to show that you will have a place to live for the whole period: a registered rental contract or a title deed for a property in Italy. A rental is acceptable, but it is the weaker option, because the consulate is trying to judge whether you are really moving here. Owning a home is the stronger proof of intent.

You also need health insurance for the stay. Consulates publish their own minimum coverage, so use their list.

An advantage of this visa is that family members can usually apply together with you, rather than waiting for you to settle and then going through family reunification. Each family member needs their own application, and the income must be enough to support everyone.

Within eight working days of arrival you apply to the Questura for the residence permit for elective residence. Two things worth knowing:

After five years of legal residence you can apply for the EU long-term residence permit, and after ten years for citizenship by residence, subject to the conditions of each.

It fits retirees, people with rental or investment income, and people with royalties. It doesn't fit anyone whose income depends on their laptop. For those people the next article is the one to read: digital nomad visa versus self-employment visa.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Requirements differ by consulate and change over time. Last checked: October 2026.
Sources: consular pages of Italy in Washington, Boston and Paris on the elective residence visa; Directive of the Ministry of the Interior of 1 March 2000; Legislative Decree 286/1998 (Testo Unico sull'immigrazione); articles 2 and 3 of the Italian income tax code (TUIR).