Long stay visa for Italy- has anyone gotten one?

https://conssanfrancisco.esteri.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ELECTIVE-RESIDENCY-VISAS-SF-Consulate.pdf

https://www.studiolegalemetta.com/legal-questions-and-answers/italian-elective-residency-visa/

Thank you. Do you know if there is 365 day visa for tourism?

No. Tourists can stay only 90 days.
There are numerous types of long term visas (for study, academic research, for work, digital nomad worker, medical reasons, religious mission, and others), but the Elective Residency visa is the only one that is likely applicable to most retired people who do not fall in the above categories and just want to spend a full year in Italy just bumming around.

Thanks again. Have you ever had a Long Stay Visa?

To add to what Roberto said, the Elective Residency Visa is for those planning to retire in Italy permanently. You must demonstrate you have sufficient assets and passive income as working is forbidden under this visa. You also need to either own property or have a lease for a minimum of 12 months registered with the local comune. If you give even a hint of only wanting to stay for one year your application will be denied. Also, appointments at US consulates for the application are difficult to obtain. There is really no way to stay longer than 90 days as a tourist if you are not an EU citizen.

Thank you for all this information. We are not ready to say we’re moving to Italy, so I guess we’re back to the 90 day limit.

I think there are at least 3 contributors to this Forum who stayed (or still are) in Italy on an elective residency visa. One is Laurel who worked also at the US embassy in Rome. I think she went that route after she retired and stayed in Italy a few years. Another lady from Canada (Nelly) also did the same and now lives in Abruzzo. Then there was another lady (don't recall the name off hand) who lived in Verbania, on lake Maggiore during the pandemic, I think she came back and now lives in Monterey, CA.

I don't need extended visas, as I am a dual (US/Italian) citizen, so I'm not bound to time limits. Just be aware that if you stay in Italy over 183 days over a calendar year, you become an Italian resident for tax purposes, therefore you will need to pay income taxes to Italy. The bilateral tax treaty btw US/Italy exempts public pensions (Social Security) from Italian taxation (you will pay tax on that to the US), but everything else (investment income, private pensions, 401k distributions) are taxed by Italy and tax rates are about double US tax rates. Of course many Americans stay in Italy a couple of years, without filing an Italian tax return (i.e. evade Italian taxes), then return home before the authorities catch up to them, but that is not the legal way to avoid Italian taxes (Sophia Loren, in the early 1980's, spent a couple of weeks in prison for tax evasion in Italy, when she was caught for tax evasion while she was visiting Italy from France, where she resided)

Then there was another lady (don't recall the name off hand) who lived
in Verbania, on lake Maggiore during the pandemic, I think she came
back and now lives in Monterey, CA.

This is her! As her profile notes, they stayed in Italy for 28 months.
https://community.ricksteves.com/users/36682

Many of us followed "Barley’s Grand Adventures" with delight while they lived in Italy, and shared Karen's sadness when she posted last year that he'd passed. Hopefully she'll see your post, Becky.

Editing to add: see what she wrote about preparing for a long stay in Italy in her post within this thread back in 2018:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/living-in-europe

Kathy, thank you for sharing about Karen! I was Facebook friends with their Barley’s Adventures site and enjoyed it so much since I usually stay in Stresa to get over jet lag when traveling in northern Italy. Felt bad that they were there during Covid. My Facebook account was hacked a year ago, and I had to delete everything and lost touch with them.

I had an ERV, obtained through the Boston consulate, and lived in Rome just under two years before returning to the US for a reason unrelated to my love of Italy. Happy to answer any questions about the visa process.

Hi Jean! You could probably reconnect with Karen if you sent her a PM? It's fun to see her pop into the forums now and again with her always useful advice, and nice to see that she has kept on travelin'. :O)

Yep, I’m still on the forum. Happy to answer visa questions for Italy. We made our consulate appointments the day they were released, 5 months in advance. And appointments were 90 days before we planned to arrive in Italy. We weren’t sure if Italy would be permanent but certainly did not state that to consulate. One of the main reasons we returned is that taxes are really high. And we could communicate in Italian, but were never conversational. But we had an awesome 2 1/2 years with our beloved Barley.

Currently 1 month into our 6 1/2 week trip. From Verbania, Milan, Dolomites, Innsbruck, Gent and Brugge, Colmar, Reims, SW Normandy, and now the Dordogne.

Karen, Thanks for your informative reply.

If high income taxes is what deters you, know that there are some breaks for foreign retirees.

If you move to one of the southern or insular regions (Abruzzo, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, Sardinia) AND in a municipality of less than 20,000 population in those regions, you are entitled to a flat income tax rate of 7% for 9 years on your foreign income.

Italy also has a special deal for rich people, that Italians nicknamed “Uncle Scrooge Tax”. If you are a rich foreigner moving to Italy you can opt to pay a flat amount of €200,000 per year for all your foreign income sources (plus 25,000€ for each additional family member). The tax regime is available for your first 15 years there. I calculated that if your income is over $750,000 per year, it is a good deal compared to US federal income taxes.

Becky, the Elective Residency Visa is possible to obtain, but is not something to take lightly. As the link to the SF consulate above shows, you need 3 key things to apply: a long-term residence (owned or a long-term rental contract, i.e., > 1 year); 1 year private health insurance policy; guaranteed passive income of at least 31,000 Euros/year, 38,000 Euros/year for a couple. Consulates can set their own income requirements higher than that, but can't be lower. Passive income means pensions, government or private; annuities; rental income; mandatory withdrawals from retirement accounts (not ad-hoc ones); or other guaranteed income streams such as disability benefits. Your pile of assets doesn't count, it has to be recurring income.

Once you have the visa, you have to arrive in Italy within a short amount of time (look it up, I forget) and apply for your permesso di soggiorno (permission to reside in Italy) within 8 days of your arrival. The visa gets you in, the permesso allows you to stay. Getting the permesso can take up to a year, during which time you are allowed to stay in Italy but can't travel elsewhere in the EU.

There are ongoing requirements, such as annual or biannual renewals of the permesso, requirement to pass driving theory and practical tests, in Italian, to obtain a driver's license within one year, decisions around health insurance, tax filings etc.

All this to say you really have to want it. It's not just to stay for a longer tourist period. None of it is insurmountable, it's just one step after another. But it sounds like you're not ready yet.

I've been here five years and have not regretted it a single day. But I wanted it badly and made it happen.

Agree with Nelly!
I had a permesso di sorggiono years ago that allowed me to live in northern Italy for many years (initially because I was able to show an independent work contract and I then married my husband - an American abroad who already had his permesso through working there). It was a process even with local connections that helped cut corners - this was 20 years ago! Official visits to see our home, lots of stamps and papers and appointments. But worth it. I believe if you really want it you can do it but it takes perseverance. Gave birth in Italy to our oldest child and they issued her a codice fiscale (social security number) immediately though with no delays! :)

Hi, your responses have been great thanks for all the information.

My family and I would like to move to Italy with the elective resident visa but the wealth and income taxes are keeping us away as we have a significant size rental portfolio. Any suggestions on minimizing taxes ? We aren’t rich enough for the 200k flat fee plus we would still pay taxes in USA and don’t think we would qualify for the 7% pension as our income derived from rentals. I have thought of why not live there less than 183 days is this an option ? Can I renew visa if I dint stay they 183 days ? What if i get visa , move let’s say Aug 2025 and apply for your permesso di soggiorno but then leave the country May 2026 and de-register from the permesso; since technically I would not be in Italy 183 days on 2025 nor 2026 would this work ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks