Italy elective residence visa: how much passive income you need

No Italian statute names the figure: consulates work it out from an Interior Ministry directive on means of subsistence, and they differ on what a spouse or child adds and on what income counts. The figure above is what most consulates ask of each applicant, so the checklist of the consulate that will handle your file is the real test.

Two applicants with the same income can get different answers, because the checklist belongs to the consulate that handles the file. One asks for twice the amount for a married couple; others set their own rule for each family member. Find your consulate's checklist before you rely on any figure, including the one above.

The figure above is the yearly income most Italian consulates ask an elective residence applicant to show, from sources that are not work: pensions, rents, investments. The law asks for ample, stable and regular resources that do not come from employment; the number comes from the consulates' published checklists, which base it on a 2000 Interior Ministry directive.

What counts, and what does not

• Income has to be passive and regular: pensions, rental income, income from investments or a business you do not work in.
• Some consulates say savings and bank balances are not counted as income at all. Check yours before relying on a lump sum.
• You need a home in Italy, owned or on a registered lease. At least one consulate says letters of invitation from family or friends are not accepted.
• The visa does not allow any work in Italy.
• Health insurance requirements vary between consulates.

What to ask before you pay

Italy's visa and permit charges are the state's; everything an agency adds on top is the agency's.

Charges that go to the government:

• The consulate's visa fee, and the costs of the residence permit after you arrive: a revenue stamp, the postal fee, the electronic card and a state contribution. The government fee shown above is these charges.

Charges that are the firm's own:

• A lawyer's or agency's fee, and any fee for finding or registering the lease, each on its own line.

Whoever is advising you should be able to answer these:

1. Which consulate will handle your application, and what does its own checklist say about income and family members?
2. Is your income passive and regular, and do your documents show it arriving over time?
3. Does your consulate accept savings, or only income?
4. Is your home in Italy owned or on a registered lease, in your name?
5. Does anyone in the household plan to work in Italy? This visa does not allow it.

Consulates set the figure above, not a statute, and yours may ask for a different amount; if an agency or lawyer has sent you a proposal that states an income figure, answer yes to the first question in the box below and it will be read line by line against the official rules on file, and if you hold no proposal, enter the income you can show and the period it covers. The check compares a document or a figure with the published rules, and does not look at your application or advise on it; for advice on your own case, speak to a qualified immigration lawyer.

General information, not legal advice.