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

• Indian citizens are eligible for the Investor Visa for Italy, the official name of the Italy Golden Visa. Applicants must have a lawful, documented source of funds.
• The programme has four routes. They 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 does not qualify.
• India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme allows each resident individual to send abroad up to USD 250,000 per financial year. A 20% tax is collected at source above ₹10 lakh, so funding even the smallest route needs a remittance plan.
• Approval comes before the investment. The Committee assesses a complete file within a published 30-day target. The investment is completed within three months of arriving in Italy.
• The residence permit lasts two years and renews for three while the investment is maintained, with no minimum stay in Italy required to keep it.

For Indian entrepreneurs, senior executives and business families. The Italy Golden Visa for Indian citizens raises three practical questions before any other. These are which route fits, how the source of funds will be evidenced, and how capital gets from India to Italy within the Reserve Bank’s remittance rules. The Investor Visa for Italy answers the first two the same way for every nationality. The third is specific to India and is the reason most Indian applications take longer to prepare than to approve. This guide takes the three in order.

The programme grants a two-year residence permit to non-EU nationals who make one of four qualifying investments. It renews for three years at a time while the investment is maintained. Its defining feature is the sequence: the file is approved by the Investor Visa Committee before any capital moves, the visa is issued on the strength of that approval. The investment is completed only after arrival in Italy. For an Indian applicant that removes the risk of remitting funds abroad for an application that is later refused.

Eligibility is the same for everyone. Applicants must be aged 18 or over and show a lawful, traceable source of funds. They also need a criminal record certificate, valid health insurance and sufficient means to live in Italy. The programme has been suspended for Russian and Belarusian nationals, including dual nationals, since 2023; it is fully open to Indian nationals.

An applicant qualifies through one route. The thresholds cannot be combined.

The €250,000 route is an equity investment in an innovative Italian startup, meaning a company registered in the special section of Italy’s 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 capital 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 route and there never has been. The two lower thresholds were halved in May 2020, so sources still quoting €500,000 for the startup route are out of date. The investment amount page sets out what each route means in practice.

The Committee needs to see where the qualifying capital came from. It also needs to see how it reached the account it will be invested from. For Indian applicants, that usually means one of four source-of-funds histories. These include business profits and dividends, a share or business sale, a property sale, or inheritance and family gifts. Each has its own evidence trail. Business income needs audited accounts and tax returns. A share sale needs the transaction documents and capital gains filing. A property sale needs the sale deed and bank credit. A gift needs a gift deed and the donor’s own source of funds.

Consistency matters more than volume. The names, dates and amounts on bank statements, tax returns and corporate records need to reconcile. Where money moved between personal, business or family accounts, each step should be shown. Indian civil and financial documents need an apostille from the Ministry of External Affairs. They also need a certified Italian translation for the consular and residence permit stages. A qualified immigration lawyer will normally build this file, and the earlier it starts the fewer gaps appear later.

This is the part of the process that is specific to India, and it shapes the timetable. Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, a resident individual may remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year from April to March. Permitted purposes include investment in shares of foreign companies. Depending on the exchange rate that is roughly €210,000 to €230,000. A single applicant cannot fund the €250,000 startup route from one year’s LRS allowance. The €500,000 company route therefore needs planning across financial years or family members, each with their own USD 250,000 limit.

Tax collected at source applies at 20% on LRS remittances above ₹10 lakh in a financial year for purposes other than education and medical treatment. It is a prepayment that can be credited against Indian income tax, but it affects cash flow and should be budgeted for. Equity investments in foreign companies also fall under the overseas investment rules issued under FEMA. A stake in an unlisted Italian company counts as overseas direct investment whatever its size and has its own filing and annual reporting. A resident individual cannot make that investment in a foreign entity engaged in financial services, which matters when considering a fund-type vehicle.

None of this prevents an Indian citizen from using the programme. It means the remittance plan has to be designed before the Italian file is submitted, and it is a task for a chartered accountant or FEMA specialist rather than for the immigration lawyer. Italy’s own timetable helps: the six-month window to apply for the visa after approval and the two-year window to enter Italy give time to stage remittances across financial years before the three-month investment deadline begins to run on arrival.

The file is submitted online to the Investor Visa Committee, which publishes a 30-day assessment target for a complete application. Approval takes the form of a Nulla Osta, after which the applicant has six months to request the investor visa at an Italian consulate in India and two years from the visa’s issue to enter Italy.

On arrival, the residence permit application must be filed within eight days and the investment completed within three months. The Committee confirms the investment and the two-year permit is issued. The application process guide sets out each stage in detail. Official charges are small: no published fee for the Nulla Osta, €116 for the national visa, and roughly €350 to €500 per person in total once the residence permit is issued. Professional fees for immigration counsel typically run €8,000 to €15,000 for a single applicant with a clean file, and more for families.

A spouse, minor children, and under strict conditions adult children and dependent parents can apply for family visas at the same time as the main applicant. Each family member receives a residence permit of the same validity. Adult children qualify only where they are dependent under strict conditions, and parents only where no other child in India can support them or they are over 65 and other children cannot do so for documented health reasons. Joint families should plan on that basis rather than assuming parents can be included. The family application guide explains the evidence for each person.

The programme sets no minimum stay to keep the investor permit. An applicant can hold it while remaining an Indian tax resident. Spending 183 days or more in Italy in a year makes you Italian tax resident, and India’s own residency rules decide when you stop being taxed in India on worldwide income. New Italian residents who have not been Italian tax resident for nine of the previous ten years can elect a substitute tax on foreign-source income of €300,000 a year, plus €50,000 per family member, from 1 January 2026. At that level it suits a narrow group, and the guide to Italy’s regime for new residents explains when it makes sense. Advice in both countries before the move is essential.

Can Indian citizens apply for the Italy Golden Visa?

Yes. The Investor Visa for Italy is open to all non-EU nationals, and Indian citizens apply on the same terms as anyone else. The only nationalities currently excluded are Russian and Belarusian.

How do I send €250,000 or more from India?

Through the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which allows USD 250,000 per person per financial year, with 20% tax collected at source above ₹10 lakh. Larger amounts are usually staged across financial years or across family members. A FEMA specialist should design the plan before the Italian application is filed.

Do I need to move to Italy?

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 and bring Italian tax residence with them.

Can my parents be included?

Only in limited circumstances: where they have no other children in India who can support them, or where they are over 65 and their other children cannot support them for documented health reasons. A spouse and minor children can be included without those conditions.

How long does the whole process take?

The Committee’s target is 30 days for a complete file, and most applicants reach the residence permit three to five months after submission. For Indian applicants the preparation stage, covering source-of-funds evidence, apostilles and the remittance plan, often takes longer than the approval stage itself.

Italy’s investor route works well for Indian families who treat the remittance plan and the source-of-funds file as the first task rather than the last. Regulated fund vehicles exist for the startup and company routes for those who would rather not source a private Italian investment directly. An Italian immigration lawyer working alongside an Indian FEMA adviser is the usual combination. If you would like to talk through how your own situation fits the route, the contact page is the place to start.

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.