Visas and permits

How to Get Residency in Italy as an American (2026)

By Linda MurphyFacts checked October 24, 2026

Right to stay

National (type D) visa, then a permesso di soggiorno within 8 working days of entry

Main visa routes

Elective residence, digital nomad, work, self-employment, investor, study, family

Registered residence

Declare your address at the comune's anagrafe within 20 days; recorded within 2 working days

Address check

Local police or authorized comune staff; the comune has 45 days to object

Tax residence

Residence, domicile or presence in Italy for most of the tax year

Permanent option

EU long-term residence permit after 5 years; A2 Italian; income of at least €7,101.12 a year (2026)

What "residency" means in Italy

People say "residency" for three different things in Italy, and each has its own office and its own rules. Getting one does not give you the others.

They build on each other. The comune of Florence asks non-EU citizens for a valid permit to register. Italian tax law then presumes that people registered for most of the year are tax resident.

Step 1: Get the right to stay with a visa and a permesso

To live in Italy for more than 90 days, you need a national visa. The New York consulate describes it as the long-term visa for stays over 90 days. It covers purposes such as elective residence, work, study and family.

These are the main routes Americans use:

New York says a national visa can take up to 90 days, with no rush service. For elective residence, it also wants a lease or deed in your name, registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate (Revenue Agency), with the application.

Once you land, you have 8 working days to apply for the permesso di soggiorno, according to the Polizia di Stato (state police). The permit lasts as long as your visa. A first permit of up to 1 year costs €116.46 through the post office (October 2026). The permesso di soggiorno guide covers the kit and the questura appointment.

Step 2: Register your residence at the comune

Italian law requires everyone to register at the anagrafe of the comune where they have their dimora abituale (habitual residence). This applies to foreign residents too, and it is a separate step from the permesso.

The timing. You declare a move from abroad within 20 days of moving in. The anagrafe officer records it within 2 working days, and it takes legal effect from the date you declared, under D.L. 5/2012. The City of Milan states the same 2 working days.

What you bring. Requirements vary by comune, so check yours. Florence's 2025 guide for migrants asks each non-EU applicant for:

1. A valid passport, with the entry visa where one is required.
2. The codice fiscale (tax code) or the tessera sanitaria (health card).
3. A permesso di soggiorno valid in law. If it has expired, the receipt for a renewal filed no later than 60 days after expiry.
4. The residence declaration form, signed by every adult in the household.

Florence takes the form by PEC (certified email), registered mail or fax. Milan has a separate online request for foreigners arriving from abroad. Rome takes it online, by PEC, by registered mail or at the counters of its municipi (district offices), and charges nothing for the service.

The address check. The anagrafe must verify that you really live at the address. Under the registry regulation, municipal police or authorized comune staff carry out the check. People often call these officers the vigili.

The comune has 45 days to notify you of missing requirements or a negative check. Without such a notice, your declaration counts as true from the day you made it. D.L. 5/2012 sets out this silent-assent rule, and an Interior Ministry circular of April 27, 2012 tells comuni to apply it. Rome says its procedure takes up to 45 days, after the home check.

If the check is negative, Milan says the procedure stops and the comune writes to you. You can then reply with documents. Discrepancies are reported to the public security authority.

After each permit renewal. You must renew your declaration of habitual residence at the anagrafe within 60 days, showing the new permit. You keep your registration while the renewal is pending.

Why it matters later. Your US license stops being valid once you have been resident for more than 1 year. See the Italian driver's license guide. Treviso's questura also asks for a residence certificate with the long-term permit application. The residency registration guide covers the forms in detail.

Step 3: Know when you become a tax resident

Italy treats you as tax resident if, for most of the tax year, counting part days, any of these applies:

• you have your residence in Italy under the civil code
• you have your domicile in Italy, defined as the place of your main personal and family relationships
• you are present in Italy

Registration at the anagrafe for most of the year creates a presumption of tax residence, which you can rebut with evidence. The test does not mention visas or permits.

Italian tax residents pay Italian tax on all their income; non-residents pay only on income produced in Italy. These rules sit in articles 2 and 3 of the current income tax code (TUIR). From January 1, 2027, the same residence test moves to article 2 of Legislative Decree 117/2026.

As a US citizen, you also keep filing US returns: the IRS taxes citizens on worldwide income wherever they live. See taxes in Italy for Americans.

The long-term option: the EU long-term residence permit

After 5 years with a valid permit, you can apply to the questura for a permanent status. Its document is the permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo (EU long-term residence permit). It replaced the old carta di soggiorno (residence card).

What you must show:

1. Income of at least the yearly assegno sociale (social allowance), which INPS sets at €7,101.12 for 2026 (€546.24 a month, 13 payments). Treviso's questura adds half that amount for each dependent family member.
2. Suitable housing, certified by the comune's technical office or the local health authority (ASL).
3. A2 Italian. You pass the Ministry of the Interior's test, or show an A2 or higher certificate from a recognized body. The learn Italian guide lists the certificates and exemptions.

The test is booked online through the prefettura (prefecture), which calls you within 60 days. If you fail, you can retake it after 90 days.

What does not count. Years on a study or professional training permit do not count toward the 5. Absences do not break the count if each is under 6 consecutive months and they total no more than 10 months.

What it costs, per Treviso's questura (May 2024), Florence's 2025 guide and the Polizia di Stato:

What you get. By law, the permit is issued within 90 days. The card is valid for 10 years for adults and is renewed on request with new photos. You can enter Italy without a visa and take any job or self-employed work, except work the law reserves for citizens.

The law revokes it after 12 consecutive months outside the EU, or more than 6 years outside Italy. The long-term EU residence guide covers the application.

Italian citizenship, by descent or by naturalization, is a separate legal process with its own rules.

Common problems and fixes

The landlord will not let you register residence. Renters in Rome, Turin and Tuscany report listings and room leases that rule it out. The law ties registration to where you habitually live, and Florence's document list does not include a lease. Still, ask before you sign, and get the landlord's agreement in writing. See renting in Italy.

The police visit never happens, or you fear missing it. Newcomers often post that they are still waiting for the check or worry about missing it. Put your name on the buzzer and mailbox. If 45 days pass with no notice from the comune, your declaration counts as accepted under the silent-assent rule.

Rome rejects your address. Rome cannot accept a registration if the address is missing from its street-numbering database. Request a house number from its Ufficio Toponomastica (street-naming office), in person or online.

You are unsure when tax residence starts. Newcomers ask whether the codice fiscale, the permesso or registration makes them tax resident. None of them does on its own; the most-of-the-year test does. If your move date is near midyear, ask a tax adviser in both countries before you go.

Study years you expected to count. A study permit does not count toward the 5 years for the long-term permit. If you plan to stay, count only years on another permit type.

Long trips that reset the clock. Keep a dated travel log. Stay under 6 consecutive months abroad, and under 10 months in total over the 5 years.

Do you need help with this?

Most people with one visa type and a stable address handle the permit, the registration and later the long-term permit on their own. It gets harder when your landlord resists registration, your income mixes several sources, or your tax residence year is close to the line.