Recently, the Italian elective residence visa has become quite a popular visa. On the other hand, Italian consulates are becoming more strict when evaluating the ERV applications.
The elective residence visa (residenza elettiva) is regulated by inter-ministerial decree 850/2011, attachment A, paragraph 13. In order to obtain such a visa, the regulation requires that the applicant can demonstrate wide and autonomous economic resources, regular and stable, likely to remain steady in the future.
Such resources:
The required monthly income is not enough per se but is evaluated in the context of the general situation. It is considered the minimum economic requirement to start with. It is to be noted that this type of visa is aimed at people with a high availability of assets and economic resources.
Another key requirement is owning a property or a lease contract for an apartment or a house in Italy, and demonstrating the intention to relocate permanently. Declaration of hospitality from third parties, Airbnb, serviced apartments, or even boats are not considered sufficient.
The revenues are to be demonstrated not only by showing the last 12 months’ bank statements, duly stamped and signed by the bank (or with a QR code) but also by providing the tax returns the reason for this is that the consulate wants to make sure that the economic resources are not deriving from work and thus are available independently from the actual and daily work activity. Resources deriving from work, either subordinate or autonomous, even if performed and taxed outside Italy, cannot be taken into account.
Revenues generated from ownership of properties must be demonstrated by long-term lease agreements, signed well in advance, and likely to remain steady in the future. In any case, the sole revenues generated from properties are by no means enough for a positive evaluation.
Consulates may ask that the documentation submitted (such as contracts etc) are duly translated and legalised.
Consulate from sensitive countries may also ask to demonstrate that the financial resources are readily available and transferable in Italy.
With our Multilingual Service Desks with native English, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic speaking associates serving as a contact point, we offer a dense network of lawyers specialized in Italian Immigration and Citizenship law.
Giuditta Petreni has over 10 years of experience in assisting companies and business investors with relocation of managers and staff to Italy. Giuditta has extensive experience advising corporate and private clients on a full range of Italian immigration categories. She is fluent in Italian and English.
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