20 UGLOBAL IMMIGRATION MAGAZINE
ITALY ’ S DIGITAL NOMAD VISA PLANS : FACT VS FICTION
BY ALESSIA AJELLI
What is the status and requirements of the proposed Italian visa for remote workers ?
Up until early 2022 , Italy had no specific provisions regulating the influx of remote workers from outside the EU ( aka digital nomads ) – meaning that no such workers could enter the country on a visa specifically designed for foreign remote workers . Those entering the European country on tourist or business visas with intention to stay there and pursue remote work risked breaching Italian laws .
In March 2022 , however , the situation was beginning to change – at least on paper . It was then that the Italian government officially announced amending the country ’ s immigration laws , making available , for the first time , new types of visas and residence permits that specifically cater to digital nomads and remote workers from outside the EU .
ITALY IS FOLLOWING THE GLOBAL NOMAD VISA TREND
The decision came following the successful examples set by other countries , some of which integrated these types of visa and residency permits within their immigration systems years ago , including Romania , Brazil , Malta , Croatia – just to name a few . Such countries were successful in attracting foreign digital nomads who wanted more freedom to move and live in other countries around the world , while supporting themselves through remote working .
Formally , the proposal submitted to the Italian Parliament has been approved and converted into law by Article 6-quinquies of Law No . 55 of March 28 , 2022 . However , since that date the process experienced a significant backlog since the decree implementing the changes ( Decree 286 / 98 – Testo Unico dell ’ Immigrazione ) failed to be approved within the following 30 days provided by the same Law 55 / 2022 .
The implementation decree is still pending and there is no grounded or reasonable indication of when it will be finally approved and published . As of today , therefore , we only brief information and references on how this new visa and residency permit category will be shaped and what the