Moving to Italy — a guide for Canadian founders

Market access & permits

As a non-EU citizen, Canadian founders generally need a residence permit that allows self-employment (lavoro autonomo) before registering a partita IVA — typically via the decreto-flussi quota, or by converting an existing permit (study, family, EU long-term residence). Once legally resident, the forfettario regime is open to you on the same terms as everyone else. If you're staying in Canada and only invoicing Italian clients, you may not need an Italian registration at all — that turns on tax residency, not nationality.1

For short stays, citizens of Canada need no visa: 90 days in any 180 for tourism, business or study. That is not permission to work — a partita IVA still needs a residence permit that allows lavoro autonomo, which is a separate application.6

The decree's nationality list for employed-work quotas (2026–2028) does not include Canada. Outside family-assistance roles, which carry no nationality condition, that channel is closed to holders of that passport — so the route that matters here is self-employment, with its own quota of just 650 places a year nationwide.78 Converting a permit you already hold (study, seasonal work, family) into a work permit sits outside the quotas with no numerical cap — which is why the conversion route is usually faster than waiting for a click day.

Tax residency — where you actually owe tax

Italy taxes residents on worldwide income. You become tax-resident if, for most of the year (183+ days), your registered residence, habitual abode or centre of vital interests is in Italy. Many Canadian founders trip on this when they relocate mid-year or keep a home abroad — the day count, not your passport, decides where you owe tax.3

The forfettario regime & impatriati

Once you're an Italian tax resident, the forfettario regime is open to you on the same terms as everyone else — a coefficient on revenue (set by your ATECO code) and a 5%/15% substitute tax, up to €85,000.2 To register the partita IVA you'll file with the Agenzia delle Entrate.5

If you move your tax residence to Italy and meet the conditions (broadly: not resident in the prior years, and a commitment to stay), the impatriati regime can exempt 50% of qualifying income from IRPEF. For higher earners it can beat the forfettario — worth modelling both. Many relocating Canadian professionals qualify.4

Double taxation & social security

Italy and Canada have a double-taxation convention signed 3 June 2002, ratified by L. 42/2011 and in force since 25 November 2011. That convention — not general principle — is what decides which of the two countries taxes a given item of income, so it is the document to read before you keep invoicing clients back home.910

Italy and Canada also have a bilateral social-security agreement, so contribution periods on both sides can be totalised toward a pension rather than stranded — INPS lists Canada among its extra-EU convention partners.11

Citizenship by descent is narrower since Law 74/2025 (which converted Decree-Law 36/2025): recognition now requires a parent or grandparent born in Italy. Recognitions already obtained before 27 March 2025 are unaffected.12

Traps for Canadian founders

• •Canada taxes on residency, so a clean break (or careful dual-residency analysis under the Canada–Italy treaty) matters when you move.
• •Italian descent still helps, but only within two generations: since Law 74/2025 recognition requires a parent or grandparent born in Italy, and claims recognised before 27 March 2025 are grandfathered.

Frequently asked questions

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