Here at The Local, we're an international team living in Italy – which means we've either grown up navigating Italian bureaucracy or been through the simultaneously exciting and nerve-wracking process of moving countries. You can sign up to receive our special Moving to Italy newsletter in your inbox before we publish. Just use the sign-up box below or go to your newsletter options.
When Italy’s government tightened the restrictions around ancestry-based citizenship early last year, many would-be Italians found themselves abruptly locked out of the application process from one day to the next.
While Italian citizenship could previously be claimed by anyone who could prove an unbroken line of descent from an Italian citizen going back as far as 1861, the new rules established that only those with an Italian parent or grandparent were eligible.
That left a large number of descendants of Italians who had planned to acquire citizenship with the aim of relocating to Italy scrambling to find alternative paths to residency.
Thanks to a recent rule change that waives Italy’s strict annual work visa quota for descendants of Italian citizens from seven countries – the US, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Uruguay – that process has now been simplified for these groups.
It’s by no means a free ticket to an Italian visa (you’ll likely need a job offer from an Italy-based employer to apply), but the reform opens up an important new avenue for many foreigners with Italian ancestry to relocate.
How descendants of Italians can move to Italy under new rules
For those who do succeed in finding a path to Italian residency, it might feel like the hardest part is over – but the work doesn’t end there.
Being a resident of Italy comes with a range of responsibilities, from ensuring you have adequate healthcare coverage to meeting your tax obligations.
If you don’t have EU citizenship, you’ll also likely need to renew your residency permit every one to two years – a process that can challenge even the most battle-hardened veterans of Italian bureaucracy.
Drivers will need to either convert their licence within the first year of moving or take a test (in Italian) if their home country doesn't have a reciprocal arrangement with Italy – so wherever you are in the process, it's not too early to crack open that Italian grammar and vocab book.
What are your responsibilities as a foreign resident in Italy?
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