How much money do you need to retire to Italy?

For the elective residency visa, consulates look for regular passive income of roughly €31,000 a year for one person and around €38,000 for a couple, more with dependants. Beyond that, the cost of living in the small southern towns is well below most of the UK or US.

Can I retire to Italy without a visa?

Only with an EU, EEA or Swiss passport. Everyone else needs a long-stay visa — usually the elective residency visa — applied for at the Italian consulate in their home country before moving.

Are pensions taxed in Italy?

Yes. Normally a foreign pension is taxed at Italy's progressive rates, subject to the double tax treaty with the paying country. Pensioners who move to a qualifying small southern comune can instead elect a flat 7% on all foreign income for nine years.

Is healthcare free for retirees in Italy?

Not free, but available. Non-EU retirees on the elective residency visa join the national health service by paying an annual contribution — roughly 7.5% of income, with a minimum of around €2,000 a year — or hold private insurance. EU pensioners may be covered through an S1 form.

What are the pros and cons of retiring in Italy?

For: cheap houses in the small towns, a 7% tax on foreign pensions in the south, a slower pace and a public health service. Against: slow Italian bureaucracy, fewer services in the towns where houses are cheapest, and a driving test many foreigners must retake.

Where is the best place to retire in Italy?

For the tax, a comune of up to 20,000 people in the south — there are 2,344. For everyday life, weigh a doctor, a pharmacy and a train within reach, which each comune page shows alongside its figures.

The guide · retiring in Italy

Retiring to Italy

Italy wants retirees. It will tax a foreign pension at 7% in 2,344 southern towns, sell you an empty house for less than a car, and let you join its health service. The catch is the order you do it in — the visa first, then the town, then the tax election in your first year.

Updated September 2026 · figures from ISTAT

Build my retirement plan The 7% towns

The retirement visa: elective residency

Retirees from outside the EU almost always use the elective residency visa. It asks for three things — regular passive income, somewhere to live in Italy, and health insurance — and forbids one: work of any kind, including remote work for a former employer.

The income guide is roughly €31,000 a year for one person and €38,000 for a couple. A pension, rent or dividends all count; savings help, but consulates prefer income that arrives every month.

The 7% tax for pensioners

Move your tax residence to a comune of up to 20,000 people in Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia or Sicily, and all your foreign income is taxed at a flat 7% for nine years. There are 2,344 qualifying comuni, and they overlap almost entirely with the towns where houses are cheapest.

Healthcare when you retire to Italy

Once resident, a non-EU retiree joins the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale by paying a voluntary annual contribution — roughly 7.5% of income, with a floor of about €2,000 — or keeps private insurance. EU pensioners may be covered through an S1 form issued by the country paying their pension.

What retiring to Italy costs to set up

In fees, a non-EU couple should budget roughly €2,832–€6,370 for the first year — visa, permits, translations, health cover, the driving licence and tax advice — before the house. The full sequence is here.

Retiring to Italy from your country

Retiring to Italy: questions people ask

How much money do you need to retire to Italy?: For the elective residency visa, consulates look for regular passive income of roughly €31,000 a year for one person and around €38,000 for a couple, more with dependants. Beyond that, the cost of living in the small southern towns is well below most of the UK or US.
Can I retire to Italy without a visa?: Only with an EU, EEA or Swiss passport. Everyone else needs a long-stay visa — usually the elective residency visa — applied for at the Italian consulate in their home country before moving.
Are pensions taxed in Italy?: Yes. Normally a foreign pension is taxed at Italy's progressive rates, subject to the double tax treaty with the paying country. Pensioners who move to a qualifying small southern comune can instead elect a flat 7% on all foreign income for nine years.
Is healthcare free for retirees in Italy?: Not free, but available. Non-EU retirees on the elective residency visa join the national health service by paying an annual contribution — roughly 7.5% of income, with a minimum of around €2,000 a year — or hold private insurance. EU pensioners may be covered through an S1 form.
What are the pros and cons of retiring in Italy?: For: cheap houses in the small towns, a 7% tax on foreign pensions in the south, a slower pace and a public health service. Against: slow Italian bureaucracy, fewer services in the towns where houses are cheapest, and a driving test many foreigners must retake.
Where is the best place to retire in Italy?: For the tax, a comune of up to 20,000 people in the south — there are 2,344. For everyday life, weigh a doctor, a pharmacy and a train within reach, which each comune page shows alongside its figures.

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