Current as at September 2026. Thresholds, fees, and tax rates are subject to change

• Australian citizens qualify for the Investor Visa for Italy, the official name behind the Italy Golden Visa, as non-EU nationals with a lawful source of funds and a clean criminal record.
• The four routes are €250,000 in an innovative Italian startup, €500,000 in an Italian limited company, €1 million to a philanthropic initiative, or €2 million in Italian government bonds. Property has never qualified.
• The Investor Visa Committee assesses a complete file within a published 30-day target. The investment is made only after approval and arrival, within three months of entering Italy.
• The residence permit runs two years and renews for three while the investment is maintained. It carries no minimum stay, so a part-year presence in Italy is possible.
• Ceasing Australian tax residence can trigger a capital gains tax event on non-Australian assets, and superannuation has its own rules. The Australian exit plan should be settled before the Italian file is submitted.

For an Australian household, the Italy Golden Visa for Australian citizens is rarely a quick decision. The distance alone means most applicants plan the move a year or more ahead. The Investor Visa for Italy fits that kind of planning well because approval comes before any capital is committed. This guide sets out the route, the official deadlines, what happens to family members. The Australian tax questions that decide whether the move should be a full relocation or a part-year European base.

The programme is open to non-EU nationals aged 18 or over who can show a lawful source of funds for the qualifying investment. A clean criminal record, health insurance valid in Italy, and enough means to support themselves and any family members. Australians meet the nationality test without difficulty. The only nationalities currently excluded are Russian and Belarusian, including dual nationals, under a suspension in force since 2023.

The source-of-funds file is where Australian applicants should expect to spend their preparation time. Capital held in superannuation, family trusts, or a company structure needs to be traced to its origin and shown to be available for the investment. Italian authorities will want to see the chain of ownership rather than a single balance. A qualified immigration lawyer will usually assemble this file. It is worth starting it before choosing a route, because the shape of your assets often points to the route that suits you.

The Investor Visa for Italy offers four statutory options and an applicant qualifies through one of them. They cannot be combined.

The €250,000 route is an equity stake in an innovative Italian startup registered in the special section of the Business Register. The €500,000 route is equity in an established Italian limited company or, since 2024, an Italian venture capital fund. The €1 million route is a donation to a public-interest initiative in culture, education, research, heritage, or immigration management. It is the only route where the money is not returned. The €2 million route is Italian government bonds with at least two years’ residual maturity, held for the life of the permit.

There is no property option. Australians familiar with Portugal’s former real estate route or Greece’s current one often assume Italy has an equivalent. It does not, and it never has. The two lower thresholds were halved in May 2020, so any source quoting €500,000 for the startup route is out of date. The investment amount page has the current figures and what each route involves in practice.

The application is lodged online with the Investor Visa Committee, which publishes a 30-day assessment target for a complete file. A successful application receives a Nulla Osta, the clearance that allows the visa request. The applicant then has six months to apply for the investor visa at an Italian consulate in Australia, and two years from the visa’s issue to enter Italy.

After arrival, the residence permit application must be filed within eight days, and the qualifying investment must be completed within three months. The Committee confirms the investment and the two-year residence permit follows. The application process guide walks through each stage and the documents it needs.

For a long-distance move, the six-month and two-year windows matter. They allow an Australian family to secure approval, then organise the sale of a home, school transfers, and the relocation itself without racing an immigration deadline. The eight-day and three-month deadlines, by contrast, start the moment you land, so arrival should be timed for when the investment is ready to complete.

The programme sets no minimum stay to keep the investor residence permit. An Australian who wants a European base for the northern summer can hold the permit, remain an Australian tax resident, and spend as long as they like in Italy, with up to 90 days in any 180 across the other 28 Schengen states.

A full move changes the analysis. The EU long-term residence permit is available after five years of continuous legal residence in Italy, with absences limited to six consecutive months and ten months in total, an A2 Italian language test, and income at or above the annual social allowance. Citizenship by naturalisation follows after ten years, with B1 Italian. Both require living in Italy, which brings Italian tax residence with it. The permanent residence guide covers those conditions.

Australia’s residency tests (the ordinary resides test, domicile, the 183-day test. The Commonwealth superannuation test) decide whether you remain an Australian tax resident, and the answer is not always what a family expects when a home is kept in Australia. Ceasing residence can trigger a capital gains tax event on assets that are not taxable Australian property, with a choice between paying on a deemed disposal and deferring until actual sale. Superannuation stays inside the Australian system, and the age and preservation rules that govern access do not change because you have moved. The Australia-Italy tax treaty decides residence where both countries claim you.

On the Italian side, a new resident who has not been Italian tax resident for nine of the previous ten years can elect a substitute tax on foreign-source income. From 1 January 2026 the charge is €300,000 a year for the main taxpayer and €50,000 for each family member included, fixed for up to fifteen years. At that level it suits households with substantial foreign income and is a poor fit for many others. It should be modelled against ordinary Italian taxation before it is elected. The guide to Italy’s regime for new residents explains the mechanics.

A spouse, minor children, and in limited cases adult children and dependent parents can apply for family visas at the same time as the main applicant, so the household moves together. Each receives a residence permit of the same validity. Adult children qualify only where they are dependent under strict conditions, and parents only where they have no other children in Australia to support them or are over 65 and other children cannot do so for documented health reasons. The family application guide sets out the evidence for each person.

Three things are worth fixing early. First, the arrival date, because the eight-day permit filing and the three-month investment deadline both run from it. Second, the translation and legalisation of civil documents, since Australian birth and marriage certificates need apostilles and certified Italian translations for the consular and permit stages. Third, an Italian address, because the residence permit is issued by the police headquarters for the province where you live and you will need somewhere to be resident from the first week.

Official charges are modest: the national visa costs €116, there is no published Nulla Osta fee. The residence permit stage brings the official total to roughly €350 to €500 per person. Immigration counsel for a single applicant with a clean file typically runs €8,000 to €15,000, more for families, and structured investment vehicles usually carry a setup fee of around two to three per cent. The cost guide sets these out line by line.

Can Australian citizens get the Italy Golden Visa?

Yes. The Investor Visa for Italy is open to non-EU nationals, and Australians apply on the same terms as everyone else: one of four qualifying investments, a lawful source of funds, a clean record, and health insurance. Approval is granted before any money is invested.

How long does it take from Australia?

The Committee’s target is 30 days for a complete file. Allow three to five months from submission to residence permit, plus whatever time the source-of-funds file and document legalisation take beforehand, which for Australian applicants is often two to three months.

Do I have to live in Italy full time?

No. The investor residence permit has no minimum stay and renews as long as the investment is maintained. Permanent residence after five years and citizenship after ten do require living in Italy.

Can my family come with me?

Yes. A spouse and minor children can apply alongside you and receive permits of the same length. Adult children and parents qualify only under strict dependency conditions, which the family application guide sets out.

Will I still pay tax in Australia?

That depends on whether you remain an Australian tax resident under Australia’s residency tests. Leaving can trigger a capital gains event on some assets, and superannuation remains governed by Australian rules, so take advice in both countries before dating the move.

Italy’s investor route suits Australians who plan in the right order: the tax position and the family plan first, then the investment route, then the immigration file. Regulated fund vehicles exist for the startup and company routes for those who would rather not source a private investment from the other side of the world. An Italian immigration lawyer will usually be the first conversation. If you would like to talk through your own timetable, the contact page is the place to begin.

The information on this page is general and educational. It is not legal, tax, immigration, or investment advice, and it does not take account of your circumstances. Italian immigration and tax rules change, and figures stated here reflect our understanding as at the date shown. Before acting, take advice from a qualified Italian immigration lawyer and a tax adviser in both Italy and your current country of residence.