In recent years, Portugal’s investor visa program has gained popularity among foreign investors. However, due to concerns that it has contributed to a real estate bubble in the country, the Portuguese government has made the decision to discontinue the program for new applicants starting in January 2022. On the other hand, Italy’s favorable investor visa program is expected to continue to attract foreign investors in the foreseeable future and has become one of the best options on the investor visa market.
Early positive results are already visible in Italy. According to a statement on the website of the Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy, foreign investments traced in Italy in 2021 amounted to €40 million. This is the first monitoring conducted by Mise to evaluate the impact of the strategy implemented to increase the country’s attractiveness. The results are promising: by the end of 2021, we had requests from 20 different countries with an approval rate of 78.1%, and further growth is expected in the coming years.
The investor visa program in Italy offers numerous benefits to investors. Firstly, unlike other visa programs that impose limitations on the duration of stay, the Italian program allows investors to stay in Italy for an unlimited period of time and provides ample freedom for personal and professional management. In fact, the investor status allows the choice to either work or not work in Italy, to live or not live in Italy (the investor can also never be in Italy), and consequently, to either pay taxes in Italy or not. This undoubtedly provides unprecedented freedom for those who choose this type of visa. Moreover, investors can travel across the whole Schengen area for 90 days every 180 days as they please.
Secondly, investors can bring their families along, and they too can obtain a residence permit in Italy. In particular, family members who can qualify include minor children, spouses, economically dependent parents without other children in the country of origin, and parents over 65 years old without other children in the country of origin who can support them.
To qualify for an investor visa in Italy, applicants must meet certain requirements. For more information on requirements, procedures, and timelines, please visit For more details read the dedicated page.. For more comprehensive information, please visit the website lexia.it.
For more details read the FOCUS.
