You likely have visited Italy before and dreamed of what it would be like to live there. The weather, food, architecture and friendly people make every day an experience when you are on vacation. Imagine that being your existence all the time! When you are working and still saving for retirement, Italy can be a challenge. The economy has been stagnating for a while now. But, once you are retired and don’t need to rely on a local job then Italy makes a lot of sense as a perfect destination. You can live a perfectly laid-back lifestyle and enjoy the savings from your years of labor in style when you retire there. In this article, we will go over some of the things you need to take care of to retire in the Bel Paese.
Sort out your health insurance
Italy has one of the best healthcare systems in the world and it is paid for by taxes. It costs almost nothing for Italian citizens and residents to get top notch health care no matter how much money they have. However, as a retiree coming from another country, you don’t qualify for the public option. After all, you haven’t been paying into the system for your whole life. Your best option is to buy international health insurance before you leave and then assess what your options are for private health insurance when you arrive. No matter what route you decide to go, the care you get will be very high. And since Italians have a preventative approach to their healthcare you are less likely to need a lot of care since you will probably be healthier while living there.
Residence visa
To be able to live legally in Italy you will need a visa to do so. And the type of visa you need is specific to being a retiree from a non EU country. There is an elective residence visa for people who want to retire to Italy. The requirements are that you not only have savings, but that you have a passive income from investments or retirement accounts. The point is that you will not be working or depending on a salary, even if you are planning to work remotely. A married couple, for example, will need an annual income from investments and pension that equals at least €38,000. Ironically, the cost of living is likely to be far less than this if you are retired so don’t feel like you need to have a lot more than that to get by. Of course, this depends on your lifestyle, too.
If you can make a claim for citizenship for an EU member country then this is the best route to go as you will be able to stay visa free in Italy and also take advantage of the public health system as a citizen. If you have an unbroken chain of citizenship, called jure sanguinis, from an Italian ancestor to when you were born then you likely qualify and is something to consider.
Photo by Reuben Teo on Unsplash
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