All foreigners who wish to legalize their residence in Italy have the option of obtaining a "golden" visa Dolce Visa. Learn more about the features of such a document, benefits and changes in 2023

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"Dolce Visa" is an Italian program for obtaining a residence permit in exchange for investment in the country's economy. The Italian government introduced the so-called "golden visa" in 2018. Italy's "Dolce Visa" is equivalent to a residence permit.

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Conditions of the Dolce Visa program at the beginning of 2023

Size of attachments

Currently, to obtain a residence permit in Italy, a foreigner can choose one of four investment options:

- in companies that qualify as innovative startups - from €250,000;

- in the assets of Italian companies - from €500,000;

- in socially significant projects (charitable contribution, investments are irreversible) - from €1,000,000;

- in government bonds - from €2,000,000.

The application is approved before the investment is made, so there are no capital risks.

The validity period of the residence permit under the Dolce Visa program

The investor receives a residence permit for 2 years, then the card can be extended for another 3 years. After 5 years, the investor can issue a permanent residence in the country and after another 5 years apply for citizenship. Dual citizenship is allowed in Italy.

Requirements for future investors

An investor who is over 18 years old and has no criminal record, is able to support himself and can prove the legality of the origin of the investment can participate in the program. It is also necessary to have medical insurance to complete the documents

Requirements for the investor's family

His wife or husband, as well as children under the age of 18, can receive a residence permit in Italy together with the investor. Parents and children over the age of 18 can be included in the application provided they have special needs, that is, if their separate residence from the main applicant is not possible.

The term of the permit

3-4 months.

Requirements for investor residence in Italy

Investors are not required to permanently reside in the country, but they cannot leave Italy for a period exceeding 365 days.

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What are the advantages of the Italian Dolce Visa?

An Italian residence permit for investors has a number of advantages:

- Visa-free or simplified entry to all European countries and the Schengen zone.

- Special tax regime.

- Free medical care and free education in schools and universities.

- The prospect of obtaining citizenship of an EU member state.

The popularity of the Italian program for investors

For the period from 2018 to 2021, only 64 investors participated in the Dolce Visa program, of which 50 participants received permission. Most often, foreigners chose the option with investments in Italian companies, as well as the purchase of government bonds and investments in startups.

However, it is worth noting that the Italian program is not as popular as in other EU countries. For comparison, during the same period, Portugal issued 4,701 residence permits. The Italian government is actively working to improve conditions for investors. In May 2020, Italy halved the minimum investment amount for two types of investment: investments in Italian startups and companies. The requirement for mandatory residence in the country was also abolished (until December 2020, investors had to live in Italy for at least 183 days in order to keep the obtained permanent residence). Such actions led to a 73% increase in the number of investors in 2021. In 2023, the In 2023, the Government of Italy planned to improve the conditions of the "golden visa" again.