HNWI – Italian Investor Visa Procedure

The Ministry of Economic Development has recently published the Inter-ministerial decree July 21, 2017, which defines the preliminary guidelines and information regarding the procedure to be completed and the documentation to be provided in order to obtain the Investment Visa and the residence permit for foreign investors, pursuant to Article No. 26 bis of the Italian Immigration Law.

As described in our previous alerts, the 2017 Italian Financial law introduced a new category of visa, reserved to foreign investors investing at least €2 million in state bonds, or €1 million in equity representing the capital of a company (public or private) incorporated and operating in Italy. The required amount drops to €500,000 for equity investments into an innovative start-up company, duly registered in the appropriate section of the Companies' Register. The permit may be granted, also, upon a philanthropic donation of at least €1 million.