Italy — citizenship
Italy’s citizenship by investment? It’s a lie!
Italy does not grant citizenship by investment and any such program advertised on the web is misleading
Recently there have been some articles posted on the web, mostly targeted to South African citizens, publicizing the possibility of obtaining citizenship by investing in Umbria, a region in the centre of the country. The articles allege:
“a new programme created by the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) to encourage economically active people to immigrate to Italy now offers a relatively inexpensive way to gain residence in that country, followed by citizenship and an Italian passport, in less than a year.”
or
“The main program under which foreign citizens can obtain permanent residence followed by citizenship by investment in Italy is called the Investor Visa Scheme”
or
“the costs attached to the new Italian initiative are just €100,000 for the main applicant to obtain residency followed by citizenship and a passport”
Don’t believe it!
The Italian Embassy in South Africa has already dismissed the news as a “SCAM”
Italian embassy dismisses ‘new visa route’ for South Africans as a scam (businesstech.co.za)
Official information available on on how to acquire Italian citizenship are available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition to acquiring citizenship by descent and other options, the following are the rules to obtain citizenship by residency.
As a general rule, for non-EU foreigners, legal residence on the territory of the Italian State for at least 10 years is required, but there are many cases for which the period of residence required is lower:
- 3 years of legal residence: for the foreigners whose father, mother or any of the ascendants in a direct line of second degree were Italians by birth or for the foreigners born in Italy and residing there;
- 4 years for the citizen of an EU Member State;
- 5 years of legal residence following adoption for the foreigners of legal age, or following the recognition of status for stateless people or political refugees.
Residency by investment
Actually, Italy has indeed an Investor Visa but:
- the program offers Residency and not Citizenship; and
- it is run by the Government, while single regions (like Umbria or Calabria) do not have powers or authority to offer any different or ad hoc immigration options.
The official source for information about the Investor Visa is the website of the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE)
Any information different from those provided in Government websites and official sources that you read in articles, blogs, etc. it is a fake news and potentially a fraud.
Do not confuse possible tax benefits offered to new residents with residency/citizenship rights
Some people think that applying for a tax incentive scheme will automatically grant a resident visa, but this is not correct.
Italy offers some favourable tax schemes for new residents:
Yearly flat tax (€ 100,000)
Individuals transferring their tax residency in Italy can apply for a special yearly flat tax of € 100,000. To qualify for the option the applicant must not have been resident in Italy for at least nine tax years during the previous 10 years.
Special regime for foreign retirees (7% tax)
Foreign retirees who move their fiscal residence from abroad in the small Municipalities of Southern Italy (Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise and Puglia) with population not exceeding 20 thousand inhabitants, can benefit from a substitute tax of 7% to be applied to any category of income produced abroad. The option is valid for 5 years.
- See the Tax Agency guidelines — Archivio — Pensionati che dall’estero trasferiscono la residenza nei piccoli Comuni del Sud-Italia. Pronte le regole delle Entrate per l’imposta sostitutiva al 7% — Agenzia delle Entrate (agenziaentrate.gov.it)
.. 🅱🆄🆃 applicants will still need to obtain a Visa to live in the country
Applying to such schemes, in fact, does not automatically grant a visa to the applicants. Available visa options are:
Disclaimer: The information provided on this article (i) does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; (ii) are for general informational purposes only and may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information (iii) this website may contain links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader; (iv) readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal or tax matter.
