Retiring to Italy - Is it easy?

[@teacherzzzz]

Grazie Mille Rafael and Marco! ! great video! We have been living here in Italy for 5 months - ever since we were granted our Elective Residency Visa - the truth of the matter is (which we know now as we live here) the graduated income tax table boils down to this - up to 60K annual income you will pay about 36% tax to Italy (yes there is an agreement with the US so you will not pay double taxes to Italy but after you pay your US tax you will pay ADDITIONAL taxes to reach that 36% - and if your annual income is more than 60K - your percent that you will pay Italy will increase until it reaches 43%! - yes 43%. When you add in the cost for the National Health Insurance (no it is not free - you must pay a PERCENTAGE of your income and if that is around 60K you will pay about 7%) you are now giving 50% of your income to Italy (less the amount you already gave to the US (well Italy gives you a credit that is accepted by the US). And you may not want to buy a car since your US drivers license in invalid a year after you have you second visit to the Italian authorities (this is at the Comune where you must apply for residency on your one year anniversary of getting your elective residence visa. Sure you can get an Italian drivers license -IF... you can pass the Italian test which is ALL IN ITALIAN and it is meant to confuse you it is NOT easy by any stretch of the imagination - and even the driving portion of the test is with an authority that will be asking you questions in Italian. Even if you pass all of this and get your Italian drivers license - you STILL do not want to buy a car because - in Italy it doesn't matter if you have 40 years of driving experience - for the first 3 years you can only drive a car with a small engine - like the smallest engine available..... Why doesn't anyone come out and state all this .... well there it is....

[@dr.michaellittle5611]

…and don’t forget that Italy has a wealth tax that must be paid annually on both worldwide financial assets and real estate. Over a 20 year retirement, the cumulative effect in eroding those assets can be quite significant.

[@teacherzzzz]

Last sentence should read: in addition to the 50% of your income in taxes and health insurance.

[@janinejohnson5014]

I obtained an elective residency visa for Italy back in 2013. I worked through the consulate in Los Angeles. Before I applied, I spoke with someone at the consulate who advised me as to what I needed in terms of documentation. I followed that advice and applied. I was given my visa 11 days later, and was told by the same person I spoke with on the phone that the reason I got it so quickly was because I had prepared the application so well. I said, "I just did what you told me to do." She said, "I tell everyone the same thing, but very few people do what I tell them to do as well as you did." So, get your ducks in a row first! Secondly, once I arrived in Italy I learned I had to go through the process a second time, this time submitting everything to Immigration, and the second application must be submitted very shortly after arrival. The forms are all in Italian, so it's a bit more challenging, though not impossible. After submitting to immigration, I was given an appointment to return there, and they reviewed everything (including all required documents for the original application at the US consulate), and I was fingerprinted. After that, I waited to get another return appointment to collect the physical visa. I applied in Venice, and Immigration was located on Mestre, on the mainland, and it was quite crowded there, requiring long (sometime hours) waits for my number to be called. If you do not speak Italian well, it is helpful to have someone who does with you, though most of the officials I spoke with there did speak English. I was told after the fact that I could have applied for Italian medical coverage, but since I didn't know that, I had purchased coverage. So I would advise looking into how to do that and saving the expense of buying additional coverage, though as part of the original application I was required to show I had purchased outside medical insurance to cover me while in Italy.

[@musiccreation1198]

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[@johnk6316]

Happy to hear it worked out for you. You would think a country that is losing population at a record pace and has millions of empty and abandoned homes would make it a little easier to migrate. I know seniors are not the answer to the population decline, but they do bring revenue to the country.

[@davidmitchell7959]

The process of getting an Italian driver license with an elective visa and a driver license from another country, with the subsequent 3 year limitations placed upon a person as a " new driver" really seem to be arduous and absurd. It would be beneficial to hear this entire process discussed and explained in a future video.

[@boulderdamcottage4926]

wonderful! thank you for all the information very clear and precise! Much appreciated! New sub!

[@biff529]

Rafael/Marco - As a dual US/Italian citizen and residing in Italy for more than 183 days, what are the Italian tax implications for pensions, social security, and other passive incomes? And, how does that affect the person’s US tax consequences?

[@musiccreation1198]

Crazy levels of risk imo. So, for example, my wife and I apply for the Elective Visa using social security and 401k investments to meet the requirements . We buy a home for $300,000 euros. Invest in a remodel, invest in furniture, we buy a car. We return to the consulate the next year to obtain a renewal. Only this visit, the consulate unpredictably decides my wife has to meet the individual requirements of $31,000 in passive income regardless of our combined assets...which she cannot meet. We're fucked. It sure sounds like a deal-breaker to me. Am I missing something? Why the Italians, by these visa requirements, reject this massive injection of "passive income" into their economy is very, very strange to me.

[@PJ33333]

Exactly what I was thinking. Why do they make it so difficult for retirees? I just scratched Italy off my list and still looking at Malaysia and France.

[@musiccreation1198]

@@PJ33333 I'm entirely focused on France now...and it's looking great

[@PJ33333]

@@musiccreation1198 Sounding more promising. I’m looking at southern France affordability now. Back to KZbin!

[@musiccreation1198]

@@PJ33333 we might end up as neighbors ;)

[@lucchese20]

Great summary. Grazie.

[@TheEMWD]

There is another way I've heard that foreigners could possibly be allowed to live in Italy. There are eight regions of Italy that allow this type of residency (for 10 years) and the income tax is a flat rate of 7%. Only a 10-year thing though, so not as good and no guarantees after that. Requirements: * Passive income * Non-resident previous five years * Move to a town or village less than 20,000 population - must live there at least 6 months of the year * Good for 10 years attached resident year and then following 9 years Regions: * Molise * Campagna * Calabria * Sicily * Basilicata * Sardinia * Puglia * Abruzzo

[@longgowhereto]

Great info! I am holder of an EU pp, but 30k passiv tells me a lot about the future tax ideas of the gov. I just watched a vid, in which a UScit bought a house in southern Italy for 19k. So Italy accepts people whose PASSIVE income is two houses a year. In active - let me guess - five houses a year? :-) It shows how Italy sees herself. I could go there easily, if I were vaxxed. So unvaxxed stay out and less than 30k passive stay out - not too many left then in depression times. Thanks a lot for this eyeopener!!! I am seriously flabbergasted.

[@jaybeaton9301]

They still require a jab given the ton of info showing that it’s bad for our health?

[@annettecinquemanifalbo17]

So if I live in America soley on my SS, and it's below 30 grand a year I wouldn't be eligible to apply for citizenship? My ancestors, great grandmothers and grandfathers are from Palermo, Sicily.

[@riorosaaustria9158]

can I ask that age requirement there in Italy

[@Pakeezamughalvlogs]

we also want to go to the Italy can you help us

[@metalgirl]

So if you retire early and you just have a crap ton of money, but you don’t have a steady stream of money you can’t get a Citizenship because you don’t have a steady stream of money? That seems really stupid and shortsighted.

[@peterscalata]

So if I get a resident visa Can I then get an Italian Passport? And become Italian citizen. And also buy a house

[@musiccreation1198]

It seems buying a house BEFORE you're approved for the visa helps to get approved, but far from any guarantee. Crazy.

[@tracyblack9983]

Are you allowed to work with a elective visa?

[@janinejohnson5014]

No. Look into this further as even working for a US company being paid in US dollars to US bank accounts violates this, something I learned after the fact. If you are considering living in Italy on an elective residence visa, I would strongly recommend consulting with an expert on the tax implications. Taxes in Italy are much higher, and you will also be required to file US taxes, and can have additional tax liabilites for Medicare and Social Security. My effective tax rate for the year I lived in Venice, Italy under an elective residence visa ended up being nearly 50%, as I paid both in Italy and in the US for Medicare and SS. Be sure to understand all the financial ramifications before you get a visa and move to Italy, so you don't have any unhappy surprises later!

[@musiccreation1198]

@@janinejohnson5014 The reality makes want to cry. Time to start learning French .

[@johnk6316]

So, after watching the video, the answer seems to be, no. It is not easy to retire to Italy.

[@musiccreation1198]

Damn near impossible unless you are very wealthy

[@Pakeezamughalvlogs]

Plz help

[@mvp019]

Buy a car is nothing compared to the nightmare of getting the patente!

[@jaybeaton9301]

Portugal is easier.