Good morning

could Anyone clarify how a uk resident can live in Italy?
what are the visa requirements? Do you need to have a certain amount of money in the bank and how long does the application take?
thanks

Will you be working, or retired? And just you or a partner/spouse/family as well? If you can give people more info then they will be able to help.

sorry sure that would’ve helped.
not looking to work as we would retire. I’m in my 40’s husband in 50’s.
Just the 2 of us

I would think it depends more on your nationality, but assuming British, then search for "elective residency" and/or have a look here. You can live in Italy 90 out of 180 days without a visa, have a look around on here for that. Lots of information on this forum using the search function.

OK, so I believe that's called an Elective Residency visa, more info on the financial requirements etc here - https://visaguide.world/europe/italy...ive-residence/

HTH.

There is an online portal provided by the Italian consulate that you can use to check what you need to do/have to apply for the appropriate visa here https://vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home/en#BMQuestionario

But it's vague. In terms of financial requirements it states "documented and extensive financial resources, which have to be one's own, stable and regular and which, it can be reasonably assumed, will continue over time, from sources other than paid employment" -so here's one of the first things to understand about Italy...the rules are often vague and not always applied in a consistent way...in fact you might as well start on the basis that rules are never applied consistently!

What does that mean exactly? The website that christmasoompa gave a link to says "You must have a minimum of € 31,000 per year, if you are applying alone, and € 38,000 if you are applying as a married couple. " - but I think you might want to double check that by speaking to the consulate.

In the past (preBrexit) those of us Brits who retired to Italy would find that each comune (municipality) would have different rules about how much income was required and how we had to prove it...each comune just seemed ot make up whatever they wanted. Now that decision has moved from the comune to the consulate, as the consulate will issue a visa. There are two consulates in the UK (London and Edinburgh). You would think that both would say exactly the same thing about the amount of income required...but that might not be the case. If you look at this blog https://italywise.com/applying-itali...esidency-visa/ which looks at things from an American point of view - because basically Brits are now (postBrexit) in the same positions as Americans - it says:

"Financial requirements is the biggest sticking point.

I found most of the other requirements fairly easy to interpret. Financial requirements seems to be at the whim of the individual consulates. It would be so nice if it was clearly spelled out. From the numerous experiences I’ve heard about, the consulate wants to see somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,200 to $3,500 a month (for an individual – I have no idea of requirements for a married couple) in dependable income. (I also heard, in response to this post that an Italian attorney advised a client they would need 5,000 euro a month – so you see, information is varied.) Such income can be comprised of rental income (for those of you leasing out your home in the States while you’re living in Italy), pensions, annuities, etc. You may be able to set up something with your bank or brokerage fund to pay yourself on a monthly basis from protected/guaranteed funds. If so, you’ll need some kind of official documentation to that effect.

Part of my financial picture was a deferred compensation plan I had set up with my last employer. If you have that option, and your time frame is a few years off, I’d recommend exploring it.

The consulate needs to see some kind of clear calculation (with back-up) of how you will be funding your life in Italy. Don’t leave it up to the consulate to try and figure this out through their own calculations.

Money in the bank and in investments can’t ensure you’ll sail through the process (if you don’t have enough of the other stated above) unless the amounts are substantial. A portfolio of $150k is probably not going to be enough to give the consulate assurance you can land in Italy without becoming a burden on the state.

The ironic part of all of this is the financial requirements for getting your permesso di soggiorno, when you arrive in Italy, are less stringent. To pass muster in that process, your income needs to be equal to a basic pension from the Italian government – something around 1,000 to 1,200 euro a month – far less than what the consulate requires. Crazy, isn’t it?"
But there's lots of Americans living here, and they don't all seem to be mega wealthy, so it's clearly not impossible. So, speak to the consulate. If you really want to do it you'll find a way. Just think of all the time/effort/stress/money as part of the price you need to pay to get what you want.

Having moved to Italy a few years back, in much the same way as the OP is suggesting, I'm not sure that I would do it the same way again. I think I'd probably have two homes if I could. One in the UK and one in Italy and just make use of the 90/180 days rule to spend say Spring/early Summer & then late Summer/Autumn here, and avoid August which is the busiest month and November/December which isn't much different to the UK...maybe have a few weeks for some blue skies in the winter...something like that. I think it would be easier and financially would work better in the long run. Also, I'd advocate renting for a few months at least before thinking about buying a place here, just to get to know the way things work when you're not just on holiday for a few weeks.