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

• Italy permanent residence after the Investor Visa means the EU long-term residence permit. It becomes available after five years of continuous legal residence in Italy. The official portal states that maintaining the investment for five years allows the request.
• Continuous residence limits absences to no more than six consecutive months. Total absences must also stay within ten months across the five years.
• Applicants must pass an A2 Italian language test and show income at or above the annual social allowance. They must also have a clean record and, where family members are included, suitable accommodation.
• Once granted, the long-term permit does not depend on the investment and has no expiry as a status. The card itself is renewed every ten years.
• Citizenship by naturalisation is a separate path requiring ten years of legal residence and B1 Italian. A June 2025 referendum to cut it to five years failed for lack of turnout.

The Investor Visa for Italy grants a residence permit with no minimum stay, renewable for as long as the investment is held. Italy permanent residence after the Investor Visa is a different status, with different conditions. The most important of them is one the investor permit never imposed: five years of actually living in Italy. This page sets out what the EU long-term residence permit requires and how the investor permit’s years count towards it. It also explains the language and income tests and how the five-year milestone connects to citizenship after ten.

The investor residence permit is granted for two years. It renews for three years at a time on proof that the qualifying investment is maintained. It is tied to the investment, it can be held while living mostly elsewhere, and it ends if the investment is withdrawn. The renewal guide explains that cycle.

The EU long-term residence permit, the permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo, is what Italy offers as permanent residence. It is granted to non-EU nationals who have lived in Italy legally and continuously for five years and meet a set of integration and means tests. It is not tied to any investment, it does not expire as a status. It carries rights across the EU that the investor permit does not, including a simplified route to residence in other member states. The card itself is renewed every ten years as a formality.

The investor permit is the way most applicants accumulate the five years. The official investor visa portal states that a holder who maintains the original investment or donation for five years may request the long-term residence card. This confirms how the two statuses connect.

The five years are counted from the date of the first residence permit, and they must be continuous in a defined sense. Absences from Italy may not exceed six consecutive months. Total absences may not exceed ten months across the whole period, with narrow exceptions for serious and documented reasons. Longer absences break the count, and the five years start again.

This is the condition that most changes an investor’s plan. The investor permit allows a holder to spend most of the year outside Italy; the long-term permit requires the opposite. A household that wants permanent residence has to live in Italy for five years, which also means becoming Italian tax resident for those years. The tax decision that follows is covered in the tax consultation guide. A household that wants a renewable European base without settling can hold the investor permit indefinitely and never apply.

Beyond the five years, the long-term permit has four requirements.

Applicants need Italian at A2 level under the Common European Framework. The test is taken at a recognised centre unless an Italian qualification or completed integration course already certifies the level.

Applicants need income at or above the annual social allowance, which is updated each year. The threshold rises for family members and is evidenced by the previous year’s Italian tax return. Investment income and foreign income declared in Italy count.

Where family members are included in the application, suitable accommodation, meaning a home that meets the regional housing standards, evidenced by a certificate from the municipality.

A clean record, with no convictions that would make the applicant a danger to public order or security.

Family members who have lived legally with the main applicant in Italy for the same five years can apply alongside them for their own long-term permits, and children under 14 are included on a parent’s. The family application guide sets out how family permits run alongside the investor’s from the start.

Once granted, the long-term permit removes the link between residence and the investment. The qualifying capital can in principle be released, subject to the terms of any vehicle it is held through. The holder no longer returns to the Investor Visa Committee for renewals. The permit allows work of any kind, access to public services on the same terms as Italian citizens, and residence in other EU member states under simplified conditions, though it is not itself EU citizenship and does not carry the free movement rights of an EU passport.

It can be lost. Absence from the EU for twelve consecutive months, or from Italy for six years, or acquiring long-term status in another member state, ends it, as does a serious threat to public order. For a household that has settled in Italy those are unlikely, but a family that later moves on should know the rules.

Permanent residence and citizenship are often run together in conversation, and they should be kept apart. Citizenship by naturalisation requires ten years of legal residence in Italy for non-EU nationals, a B1 Italian language certificate, a clean record and sufficient income over the preceding years. Italy allows dual citizenship. A June 2025 referendum proposed cutting the ten years to five. It failed because turnout did not reach the required quorum, and ten years remains the rule.

The long-term permit and citizenship are assessed separately, though the same years count towards both. A household that reaches five years of continuous residence is halfway to the ten. The naturalisation guide covers the ten-year path in detail.

For a household that intends to settle, three decisions at the outset make the five-year mark easier to reach. Keep a record of days in and out of Italy from the first entry, because the absence limits are checked against the passport and the applicant’s own account. Start the language early; A2 is modest, and B1 for citizenship is more than a year of study for most adults. And file Italian tax returns from the first full year of residence, because the income test at year five is evidenced by them.

Can I get permanent residence in Italy after the Investor Visa?

Yes. The EU long-term residence permit is available after five years of continuous legal residence. The official investor visa portal states that maintaining the investment for five years allows the request. The investor permit’s years count towards the five.

Do I have to live in Italy for five years?

Yes. Absences may not exceed six consecutive months or ten months in total across the five years. The investor permit itself has no minimum stay, but the long-term permit does.

What language level is needed?

A2 Italian for the long-term residence permit, and B1 for citizenship by naturalisation after ten years.

Does the investment have to stay in place after permanent residence?

No. Once the long-term permit is granted, residence no longer depends on the investment and the capital can in principle be released, subject to the terms of any vehicle it is held through.

How long until citizenship?

Ten years of legal residence for non-EU nationals, with B1 Italian and a clean record. A referendum in June 2025 to reduce this to five years failed for lack of turnout.

The Investor Visa for Italy gives a household a choice that most residence programmes do not: a renewable permit that asks nothing of your time in Italy, or, for those who choose to settle, a route to permanent residence after five years and citizenship after ten. The choice is best made early, because the five-year clock is counted in days present and the tax consequences of settling begin in the first year. If you would like to talk through which path fits your family, 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.