Frequently Asked Questions

 Pretty much any citizen in the world can buy real property in Italy, as long as your home country has reciprocal rights.

Yes. It’s required to open up a bank account in Italy. You may be able to assign the task to another person in your absence. Ask your real estate broker if they can do it.

You’ll be required to file an Italian income tax form and pay your taxes here. Italy has a tax treaty with almost all countries in the world so you will not be double taxed.

No. Buying a residential property or rental property does not grant you residency. You can however invest in a business here, or even start a business to help with your residency requirements

It is exceedingly difficult for a non-resident, or non-citizen to get a loan to buy real property from an Italian bank. Once you have residency, it becomes much easier. As with everything, there are caveats and special circumstances that may make your situation special.

Cities and towns that are having trouble keeping their population steady have been selling houses for a nominal price (starting at €1) for a number of years now. Located mostly in the south of Italy. There are many towns that are participating in these types of programs.

You need to be extremely careful participating in these programs. Your selection of housing will be limited, even your selection of where you’re going to live is limited, and by nature towns that have limited draw to them. It is also expensive if there is major repairs to be done such as structural, a new roof, new, all new plumbing, or electrical systems… In general, it is much cheaper and safer to find a house that is move-in ready in that same market. You will find houses are very inexpensive in these same towns and could save you up to two years of your time trying to rebuild something abandoned from scratch.

You can file paperwork to form a SRL. This is a limited liability corporation that can hold assets, but cannot perform active business.

The SRL owns the car, and you own the SRL. As the car will be registered as a commercial vehicle, you will need to have commercial auto insurance on it which tends to be a little more expensive. However, it is complete full coverage and in general should cover anybody you have the keys to as long as they’re a licensed driver.

not hard at all. Just make sure that you already have your Codice Fiscale (Italian Social Security Number) ahead of time.

Nope! It is easier to buy a house than a car as a non-resident!

Your buyers agent should be able to recommend somebody. If you’re not using a buyers agent and you’re relying on the selling agent, then you really need to find a third-party.

Usually when you make an offer on a house, you provide a check for 10% of the value of the house as a guarantee. If your offer is excepted, but you do not perform on buying the house, that 10% is forfeited.

if you meet the qualifications, it should not be difficult for you to get an Italian “elective residency” visa (retirement visa).

Make sure you are thorough when you put together your packet. The Italian consulate that covers your area will more than likely have you mail it to them, not visit in person. Make sure you do a complete packet for each person requesting a visa even if you’re married. More than likely you’ll have your visa and passport back within four weeks if you qualify.

Every country is different. But you’ll need to find the appropriate export control agency in your home country. Normally you’ll have your vet do an examination, submit a report to the expert agency, which will then give you an export license. When you arrive in Italy, that license will be presented to your local area veterinarian control office. They will issue you your EU pet passport, which will allow you to travel anywhere in the EU with your companion.