The Italy digital nomad visa, explained (2026)
Italy's digital nomad visa lets non-EU remote workers and freelancers live in Italy while working for clients or an employer abroad. Here's who qualifies, the income and insurance requirements, how it differs from the self-employment route — and the part most guides skip: what happens to your taxes once you become resident, including when you need a partita IVA and whether the forfettario applies. Every point cited to the law.
What the digital nomad visa is
Introduced by the 2022 law and operational since the 2024 implementing decree, Italy's digital nomad visa lets non-EU citizens who do highly-qualified remote work using technological tools live in Italy. The permit is issued for up to one year, renewable, after you obtain the entry visa — and, unlike ordinary work routes, no employer work authorization (nulla osta) is required.1
The law covers two profiles: digital nomads (self-employed freelancers with their own clients) and remote workers (employees of a company based outside Italy). It also sits outside the decreto-flussi quota, so it isn't capped by the annual quota windows that constrain most non-EU self-employment entry.12
Who qualifies: the requirements
- •Highly-qualified remote work carried out with technological tools — the defining condition of the visa.1
- •A minimum annual income — the 2024 implementing decree set it at roughly €28,000; confirm the current figure before applying.
- •Health insurance covering the whole of Italy for the period of stay.1
- •Proven prior experience as a digital nomad or remote worker (the decree sets a minimum period).
- •Proof of accommodation in Italy and a clean criminal record.
The exact thresholds are fixed by the interministerial decree and can change — so treat the numbers above as orientation and verify the current requirements before you apply.
Digital nomad visa vs the self-employment visa
The two are easy to confuse. The digital nomad visa is built for work delivered remotely to clients or an employer abroad, and is outside the quota. The lavoro autonomo (self-employment) visa — quota-bound through the decreto flussi — is the route if you're building a business around Italian clients. Which one fits turns on where your work and clients actually are.21
When you start owing tax in Italy
The visa is immigration; tax is a separate question. Once you spend most of the year in Italy (183+ days) or your centre of vital interests is here, you become an Italian tax resident — and Italy then taxes your worldwide income, wherever your clients or employer pay you.3
Do you need a partita IVA?
If you're a freelancer with your own clients (the digital-nomad profile), becoming tax-resident in Italy generally means registering a partita IVA for that self-employed activity and paying Italian tax on it.43
Remote employees of a foreign company (the remote-worker profile) don't open a partita IVA for that job, but are still taxed as Italian residents — and the payroll and social-security coordination with the foreign employer needs handling. Get your specific case modelled before you move.3
Can you use the forfettario regime?
Yes. Once you're a resident freelancer with a partita IVA, the forfettario flat-rate regime is open on the same terms as anyone: a coefficient on revenue and a 5%/15% substitute tax, up to €85,000 — for many incoming nomads the lowest-tax option.56
For higher earners, the impatriati regime (a 50% IRPEF exemption for new residents) can beat the forfettario — it's worth modelling both before you commit.7
Social contributions (INPS)
As a resident freelancer you also pay INPS — Gestione Separata, around 26% of the forfettario base, for most professions. If you keep paying social security in your home country, a totalization agreement between that country and Italy may let you coordinate the two — check yours.8
From visa to partita IVA: the order of operations
Frequently asked questions
Who qualifies for Italy's digital nomad visa?
Non-EU citizens doing highly-qualified remote work with technological tools, who meet the income (around €28,000), health-insurance, prior-experience and accommodation requirements set by the 2024 implementing decree.
Does the digital nomad visa let you avoid Italian tax?
No. The visa is immigration only. Once you're an Italian tax resident (183+ days or centre of vital interests in Italy), Italy taxes your worldwide income — regardless of where your clients or employer are based.
Do digital nomad visa holders need a partita IVA?
Freelancers with their own clients generally do, once resident, and pay Italian tax on that activity. Remote employees of a foreign company don't open a partita IVA for that job but are still taxed as residents.
Can a digital nomad use the forfettario regime?
Yes — a resident freelancer with a partita IVA can use the forfettario (a 5%/15% substitute tax on a coefficient share of revenue, up to €85,000) on the same terms as anyone, subject to the usual eligibility rules.
Digital nomad visa or self-employment visa — which do I need?
The digital nomad visa fits remote work delivered to clients or an employer abroad and is outside the quota; the lavoro autonomo (self-employment) visa, which is quota-bound, fits building a business around Italian clients.
Keep exploring
Sources
- 1.Normattiva — D.L. 4/2022, art. 6-quinquies (visto e permesso per nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto)
- 2.Normattiva — D.Lgs. 286/1998 (Testo Unico Immigrazione), art. 26 (lavoro autonomo)
- 3.Normattiva — TUIR (DPR 917/1986), art. 2 (residenza fiscale)
- 4.Normattiva — DPR 633/1972 (IVA), art. 35 (apertura partita IVA)
- 5.Normattiva — L. 190/2014, art. 1 commi 54–89 e Allegato 4 (regime forfettario, coefficienti di redditività)
- 6.Agenzia delle Entrate — Regime forfetario: le regole
- 7.Normattiva — D.Lgs. 209/2023, art. 5 (regime impatriati)
- 8.Normattiva — L. 335/1995, art. 2 (INPS Gestione Separata)
Every figure on this page is grounded in primary sources — the same standard as the TaxCompass chat. This is sourced orientation, not tax advice.