Routes and amounts
| Route | Type | Minimum | Low-density territory | What qualifies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government bonds | bonds | EUR 2,000,000 | Same | Italian government bonds held for at least 2 years |
| Italian company | company | EUR 500,000 | Same | Equity in an Italian limited company (S.p.A. or S.r.l.) |
| Innovative start-up | company | EUR 250,000 | Same | Equity in a company registered as an innovative start-up |
| Philanthropic donation | donation | EUR 1,000,000 | Same | Donation to a project of public interest in culture, education, immigration management, research or heritage |
Routes under article 26-bis of Decreto Legislativo 286/19981.
Key facts
- Programme
- Investor Visa for Italy
- Status
- open
- Authority
- Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (Investor Visa Committee)
- Legal basis
- Decreto Legislativo 286/1998 art. 26-bis
- Permit
- 2-year visa and permit, renewable for 3 years while the investment is held
- Minimum stay
- None stated
- Permanent residence
- After 5 years
- Citizenship
- 10 years of residence
- Family included
- Spouse, minor children, dependent adult children and parents
- Property route
- No
- Last verified
What the amounts mean
Three of the four routes are investments the holder keeps; the fourth is a gift. The bond route is the largest in capital and the least demanding in judgement, because government bonds carry no operating risk and the holding period is only two years1. The two equity routes require choosing a company and accepting its fortunes: EUR 500,000 in any Italian S.p.A. or S.r.l., or EUR 250,000 in a company registered as an innovative start-up1. The start-up figure is the smallest, and it is the one with the narrowest choice of targets. The EUR 1,000,000 donation goes to a project of public interest and is not returned1.
The order of events matters. The investment is not a condition of the visa application; it must be completed within three months of entering Italy on the visa1. A reader comparing Italy with Portugal, where the investment precedes the application, should budget for the capital being committed after arrival rather than before.
Stay rules and renewal
The visa and the first permit run for two years and can be renewed for three years while the investment is held1. The authority states no minimum stay, and the dataset records "none stated" rather than "none" to keep that distinction1. Absence does not by itself end the permit, but the years that count towards permanent residence and naturalisation accrue only to a holder who is resident in Italy.
Family
The spouse, minor children, dependent adult children and dependent parents may be included1.
Citizenship position
Permanent residence is available after five years of residence and naturalisation after ten1. The programme is a residence route with a long horizon to a passport, and the two-plus-three-year permit structure means at least one renewal before permanent residence is reachable.
Authority
Applications are handled by the Investor Visa Committee, which sits within the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy and runs the programme's official site in English1. That site is the single source for this row; Italy is one of the programmes in the dataset where no secondary source is needed.
Sources
- Investor Visa for Italy, official programme site. Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy. Accessed 3 September 2026.