Italophile Dame Emma Thompson and her husband have been widely reported in the press following their re-location to Venice, which has been greeted with a suitable amount of fanfare by the mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, who granted “honorary citizenship of Venice” to the couple.  Dame Emma’s citizenship is just as described, honorary, an honorific title with no legal status, it does not bestow Italian citizenship upon her and her husband.  However, they have become permanent residents, meaning that they have decided that Venice will be the place where they will actually live with their property in Venice as their main residence, for the foreseeable future, as opposed to simply visiting.

The National Office of Statistics latest report informs us that 64,000 UK citizens are now living in Italy and that 138,000 Italians are living in London alone.  Italy is losing its educated, young professionals from Italy’s provinces and cities where the highest salaries are found, they are dispirited by a perceived lack of opportunity.  The Italian government has taken some innovative steps in order to attract foreigners to Italy with a view to re-populating areas left struggling by the exodus of their young people.

Many UK citizens hoping to re-locate to Italy aspire to hold dual nationality with Italy but are not able to fulfil the criteria having no Italian heritage and not being married to an Italian. However, there is another route to both living in Italy and eventually acquiring dual Italian and UK citizenship.  The third most common route to acquiring Italian citizenship is that of nationalisation.  It is by no means a speedy route but if you intend to permanently re-locate to Italy this may not be so important.  Obtaining a resident’s visa allows you the same rights to healthcare, work and study as an Italian citizen; you retain your British passport.  A person can apply to become a naturalised Italian citizen following ten years of legal residency in Italy for an individual who originates from a country outside the EU Member States and four years residency is required for citizens of EU Member States.

There is a relatively brief window for UK citizens to start the process during the transition period; if a British citizen registers officially as a resident in an EU country, Italy included, before the deadline of December 31 this year they will have the right to live and work in that country permanently.  Thereafter, there is no preferential treatment and British citizens will be assessed by whatever system is employed by the EU country in question.

Depending on a number of factors such as age, wealth, whether you have a young family or intend to buy a property, there are a number of extremely attractive incentive schemes available to foreigners planning to make Italy their permanent home.

• Age   –      The Flat Rate Tax of 7% aimed at retirees with pensions or an income derived and paid from abroad.
• Wealth  –  An annual Flat Rate Tax of €125,000 on all income generated worldwide, with the opportunity for family members joining the scheme, paying €25,000 tax on their worldwide income.
• A young family  –  The opportunity to buy a property in a village or region with a population of less than 20,000 for one euro. In some instances there is a rental scheme.
• House purchase –  The opportunity to buy a property in need of renovation in a region with less than 20,000 residents for one euro.

Legal Law Limited’s immigration team, led by Elze Obrikyte, together with our tax lawyers, can provide full information about the various advantageous schemes available in Italy for foreigners who would like to live permanently in Italy whether by acquiring dual nationality or a permanent resident’s visa.