Moving from United States to Italy
Moving from United States to Italy: United States passport holders get visa-free (90 days) for short stays and need a residence permit to settle. Italy is about 33% cheaper than United States, around $2,000/month for one person. Citizenship takes about 10 years of residence.
Last updated August 2026 · How we calculate this
Visa & entry
Visa-free (90 days) for short visits. To settle you'll need a residence route:
- Citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis) — An Italian ancestor — a 2025 reform limits it to an Italian parent or grandparent.
- Elective Residence visa — Prove ~€32k/year of stable passive income; you may not work locally.
- Investor Visa — Invest from €250k (startup) to €2M (bonds) for residence.
Digital-nomad visa: available, from $2,700/mo income. Digital-nomad visa (2024) for skilled remote workers with proof of income and insurance.
See all visa routes →Documents & apostille
Single apostille each end. Both countries are in the Hague Apostille Convention — one apostille from United States makes your documents valid in Italy.
Where in United States: Secretary of State of the issuing state (state-level documents) plus the US Department of State, Office of Authentications, for federal documents — official source
↳ Italy: Competent authority splits by document type: Prefettura for civil/administrative acts, Procura for court judgments and notary/registrar signatures
Check each document →Cost, tax & salary
Italy is 33% cheaper than United States — around $2,000/mo vs $3,000/mo for one person.
Citizenship & residency
10 yrs for non-EU (4 for EU nationals, 3 by descent); B1 Italian required. PR = EU long-term permit at 5 yrs.
Your path to a passport →Arrival checklist
- Register your address: Residenza — iscrizione anagrafica at the Comune (within ~20 days)
- Get a tax number: Codice fiscale
- Residence permit: Permesso di soggiorno (non-EU apply within 8 days of arrival via Poste kit)
- Healthcare: SSN registration at local ASL → Tessera Sanitaria
Codice fiscale first (free, obtainable at consulate before arrival). Non-EU file permesso within 8 days; residenza follows; SSN/tessera sanitaria and a resident bank account both need codice fiscale + permesso/residenza.
Your move, step by step →Driving
All EU/EEA valid until expiry, convert within 2yr if non-standard expiry; non-EU only with bilateral agreement (e.g. CH, JP, KR, TW, MA, and others on MIT list) convert directly; US no direct exchange (retest, save limited govt-mission cases); others retest
Miss the 1-year window (non-EU) and if no reciprocity agreement exists, you must sit the full Italian theory+practical exam from scratch; conversion is impossible without a bilateral agreement. Check the official MIT country list.
Exchange your licence →Pets
- Microchip: Required; ISO 11784/11785 (15-digit, 134.2 kHz). Must be implanted before/at rabies vaccination.
- Rabies: Required; valid rabies vaccination given after microchip, at least 21 days before entry.
- Quarantine: None if fully compliant.
Italy — quick facts
Start your move from United States to Italy
Save this corridor as your plan — tasks, documents and deadlines, on every device.
Full country guide →