The Italia Startup Visa is a national long-term visa that lets a non-EU founder enter Italy to set up an innovative start-up. It is a self-employment entry visa, cleared first by a Technical Committee at the ministry, and it needs at least EUR 50,000 dedicated to the start-up.
A reader who meant the investor route, often searched as the golden visa, will find it on the investor visa page. The two are different visas, and section 12 sets them side by side.
What is the Italia Startup Visa?
The Italia Startup Visa (ISV) is the Italian national long-term visa for a non-EU founder who will establish an innovative start-up under Art. 25(2) D.L. 179/2012, according to the consular checklist. In the statute it is not a separate visa class. It is a self-employment entry visa (visto per lavoro autonomo), which the consulate issues naming the activity, within the numeric limits of Art. 3(4) TUI (Art. 26(5) TUI).
The programme portal run by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) describes a 1-year start-up self-employment visa, issued at the embassy or consulate for the founder's area of residence (Italia Startup Visa portal). A parallel track, the Italia Startup Hub, converts the permit of a non-EU national who is already lawfully in Italy; this page does not cover it. Nor does it cover the remote-worker permit for non-EU professionals, which is a different permit.
Do you need the visa to own an Italian company from abroad?
No. The visa exists for the founder who moves to Italy. Owning shares in an Italian company, or directing it, carries no residence requirement: the Civil Code sets no residence rule for directors (Art. 2383(4) c.c., read with Art. 2380-bis c.c.), and the Register records each person's citizenship and domicile. These Civil Code articles are cited by number, not quoted.
An S.r.l. with its seat in Italy and cash capital can be formed by electronic public deed with the founders joining by videoconference. The notary must receive the deed when every party lives abroad (Art. 2(1) and 2(4) D.Lgs. 183/2021). Whether that route or the visa fits a given founder depends on where they plan to live and work; for the tax side of living abroad or in Italy, see how Italy taxes foreigners. This page lists conditions and leaves the choice to a conversation.
Which company does the visa assume?
The visa assumes an innovative start-up as defined in Art. 25 D.L. 179/2012. The conditions of Art. 25(2) in the text in force from 18 December 2024 are these. The wider rules are in the innovative start-up regime.
- An unlisted capital company resident in Italy, or resident in the EU or EEA with a production site or branch in Italy.
- Formed no more than 60 months earlier.
- Production value not above EUR 5,000,000 from the second year.
- No profits distributed.
- Not born of a merger, a demerger or a business transfer.
- At least one innovation criterion: R&D spending of at least 15 percent, a staff mix of doctorates, researchers or master's graduates, or a patent-type right or registered software.
The chambers of commerce keep a special section of the Register for these companies (Art. 25(8)), and the renewal of the permit asks for the entry. A project that is mainly agency or consultancy work fails the first question, because the 2024 reform excludes it. Meeting every line is a matter for the Committee and the Register, not for this page.
How much money must be shown, and in what form?
The programme's FAQ and the consular checklist both set the same floor: at least EUR 50,000 dedicated to the innovative start-up (programme FAQ; Chicago consulate). The programme's guidelines of 20 March 2018 say the funds may be the founder's own liquid money, third-party financing from venture capital, corporates or public or private agencies, or both. Own funds are proved by three months of bank statements. Real estate and stakes in companies not limited by shares are not accepted, and the in-kind services of a certified incubator may count. A signed cover letter on the use of the funds is mandatory.
For teams, the same guidelines say up to 5 non-EU founders may apply as of right and up to 10 by exception, with one EUR 50,000 threshold for the whole team. A founder who joins a registered start-up that has traded for at least 3 years, in an executive or control office, needs at least EUR 100,000 of own resources. The guidelines are a 2018 document that the portal still links; treat their figures as the programme's guidance, not as statute.
Is the startup visa inside the 2026 quota?
Yes. The visa is issued within the numeric limits of Art. 3(4) TUI (Art. 26(5) TUI). The D.P.C.M. of 2 October 2025 (GU n. 240 of 15 October 2025) sets 650 self-employment entries a year for 2026, 2027 and 2028, and the interministerial circular of 16 October 2025 prints the tables.
Foreign nationals who intend to form innovative start-ups under L. 221/2012 are a listed self-employment category. The circular prints 500 entries a year against that line and four other categories, beside 70 reserved entries (10 + 40 + 20) and 80 non-reserved: 500 + 70 + 80 = 650. That the 500 is one shared line is our reading of the table, not words the circular prints. The circular refers start-up entries to the ministry's guidelines. Nothing here states how often the line fills or promises a place.
500 + 70 + 80 = 650 self-employment entries a year, 2026 to 2028 (D.P.C.M. of 2 October 2025). That the 500 is one shared line is our reading of the circular's table.
Who decides: the Technical Committee
The decision on the project sits with a Technical Committee at the ministry, with representatives of five national associations: AIFI (private equity and venture capital), APSTI (science and technology parks), IBAN (business angels), Netval (university research exploitation) and PNICube (university incubators and business-plan competitions). It checks whether the business model can meet the innovative start-up requirements of Art. 25 and whether the founder has the financial resources. The programme applies no age, sector or region restriction (programme FAQ).
The Committee issues the Nulla Osta ISV, which includes the provisional police certificate of no impediment for entry. The programme says the process takes no longer than 30 days from the complete file. In the 2018 guidelines, a request for missing documents restarts the 30 days, 60 days without reply count as withdrawal, and after a refusal the founder has 10 days to send observations and the Committee 30 days to decide.
How does the application run, step by step?
Each term below is marked: law, programme term, or the programme's guidelines of 20 March 2018. The company-side step and the renewal are in sections 13 and 11.
Test the project
Check it against the innovative start-up conditions in section 3: capital company, an innovation criterion, and not mainly agency or consultancy work.
Assemble the file
The application form with business plan, the deck, the financial cover letter with three months of statements or the investment contract, and a passport copy. A certified incubator's undertaking can replace the form.
Email the Secretariat
The founder or a representative sends the file by email to the ministry's Secretariat; the address and subject line are on the programme portal.
Committee stage
A formal check (5 business days in the guidelines), the police check and the Committee's assessment. Clearance follows within 30 days of a complete file (programme term).
Go to the consulate
The founder attends in person with the Nulla Osta ISV and the originals, within three months of the clearance (guidelines). A priority appointment within 3 working days can be requested (guidelines).
Visa issued
The consulate issues the 1-year start-up self-employment visa inside the 2026 quota. No source read fixes how long the consulate takes.
Travel to Italy
The founder moves within 180 days of collecting the visa (guidelines).
Request the permit
In person at the questura, within 8 working days of entry (law, Art. 5(2) TUI); the questura then has 90 days to decide (law, Art. 5(9) TUI).
- Email the fileFounder to the ministry Secretariat
- Committee clearanceMIMIT Secretariat and CommitteeProgramme term: within 30 days of a complete file
- Go to the consulateFounder, with the Nulla Osta ISVGuidelines: within three months of the clearance
- Visa issuedConsulateNo published time
- Move to ItalyFounderGuidelines: within 180 days of collecting the visa
- Request the permitFounder at the questuraWithin 8 working days of entry (Art. 5(2) TUI)
- Permit decisionQuesturaWithin 90 days (Art. 5(9) TUI)
- Company side: notary filesNotaryWithin 10 days (Art. 2330 c.c.)
Renewal: the founder applies at least 90 days before the permit expires (Art. 5(4) TUI, law).
Could the company side start while you are still abroad?
The company can be prepared and coordinated while the founder is still abroad; the visa file stays the founder's and the Committee's.
What does the founder bring to the consulate?
The consulate for the founder's area of residence receives the visa application in person (Italia Startup Visa portal). The documents come from the portal and the Chicago consulate's checklist; a consulate may ask for more.
- The Nulla Osta ISV issued by the Committee.
- Proof of suitable accommodation, for example a hotel booking.
- Proof of income for the previous year, for example the tax return.
- Hard copies of the application form and the financial cover letter.
- The passport, valid at least three months beyond the visa.
- 4 passport photographs.
- Proof of residence in the consular district.
- The completed visa application form.
The income test is set out in Art. 26(3) TUI, which prints no amount. The Chicago consulate gives it as income above the level of exemption from health-contribution payments, EUR 8,400; that is the consulate's figure. No source read says whether foreign bank statements, tax returns or investment contracts need an apostille or a sworn translation, so this page makes no claim on it: ask the consulate.
What happens after arrival at the questura?
The founder asks the questore of the province for the permit in person within 8 working days of entry (Art. 5(2) TUI). The portal says no more than 8 days and asks the founder to fix the questura date in advance with the Secretariat. The founder gives fingerprints, and the questura decides within 90 days of the request (Art. 5(9) TUI).
The portal gives a 1-year first permit and 2 years at renewal. The statute caps a self-employment permit at 2 years and each renewal at 3 years (Art. 5(3-quater) TUI). Both are true together: the programme's period is shorter than the ceiling.
What does the state charge?
The charges below are the state's, not ours. Each row names its source and year. The portal and the statute differ on one line, and the table says which.
State charges at each stage of the Italia Startup Visa, with the source and its year.
| Stage | Charge | Amount | Basis and source year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consulate | National visa fee | EUR 116, cash in local currency | One embassy's requirements sheet, 2023; the Chicago consulate says only to check the current amount |
| Questura | Electronic permit card | EUR 30.46 | Polizia di Stato, permit over 90 days |
| Questura | Revenue stamp | EUR 16.00 | Polizia di Stato, same page |
| Questura | Permit contribution, permit over 3 months and up to 1 year | EUR 40.00 | Decree of 5 May 2017, notice of 16 June 2017 |
| Questura | Permit contribution, permit over 1 year and up to 2 years | EUR 50.00 | Decree of 5 May 2017; the portal prints EUR 50.00 for the 1-year permit |
| Company | Stamp duty and secretarial fees on the Register filings | Waived; no annual chamber fee while the start-up qualifies, up to the fifth year | Art. 26(8) D.L. 179/2012 |
| Company | Registration tax on the deed | EUR 200, not waived | Art. 26(2) D.L. 104/2013 |
Source: Polizia di Stato page on permit costs; Art. 26(8) D.L. 179/2012; Art. 26(2) D.L. 104/2013; the decree of 5 May 2017 as published by a questura; the Italian embassy in Mexico City, 2023.
The waiver applies to a start-up formed by public deed with its special-section entry made at the same time. The notary's fee has no official scale, so no amount is given.
How do renewal and reporting work?
The founder applies to the questore of the province of residence at least 90 days before the permit expires (Art. 5(4) TUI, as amended by D.Lgs. 83/2026 from 22 May 2026), and the questura decides within 90 days (Art. 5(9) TUI). The programme portal still prints 60 days; it is behind the statute, and the statute is the rule. Renewal is in person and needs the visura camerale of the innovative start-up and evidence of adequate annual income. A founder who moves also meets the tax questions in our guide to the flat tax for new residents.
The guidelines of 20 March 2018 add a report: within 90 days of the permit application the founder tells the Secretariat about the investment made, the office, the permit status and the company details. If the company stops qualifying as an innovative start-up after a renewal, the guidelines say the permit is not revoked, but the next renewal needs the status again.
Startup visa or investor visa: what the statute separates
People searching for the "golden visa startup" often mean the investor visa. The two visas rest on different articles and carry different amounts. The table sets out the conditions only and does not say which one suits a reader.
The Italia Startup Visa and the investor visa, side by side by statute.
| Point | Italia Startup Visa | Investor visa |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Art. 26(5) TUI | Art. 26-bis(1)(b) TUI |
| Quota position | Inside the Art. 3(4) quotas | Outside the quotas |
| Amount | At least EUR 50,000 dedicated to the start-up | At least EUR 250,000 into an innovative start-up in the special section |
| Who runs the company | The founder who applies | An investor in a company run by others |
| First step | Committee clearance by email | The investor-visa route, set out on the pillar page |
Source: Art. 26(5) TUI; Art. 26-bis TUI; the interministerial circular of 16 October 2025.
The two names are never synonyms on this site: "startup visa" means the self-employment visa above, "investor visa" the one in Art. 26-bis. The choice between them, or a third route such as the elective residence visa page describes, is a conversation about a founder's facts. Contact us before you decide.
How does the company side run?
A start-up S.r.l. is formed by notarial public deed, in person or by videoconference, and the notary files it within 10 days (Art. 2330 c.c.). The 2016 notary-free start-up deed model was annulled by the Consiglio di Stato (Sixth Section, n. 2643 of 29 March 2021) and is not an option. The company can be formed before or after the founder arrives, and the special-section entry is made through the Comunicazione Unica. The route to the deed is described on the page about opening an S.r.l. in Italy.
We prepare and coordinate the company side. The visa file is the founder's and the Committee decides it; the notary receives the deed. Nothing here promises a formation time beyond the statutory 10 days.
- The notary receives and files the deed.
- The Register enters the company and its special-section status.
- The founder keeps the visa file; the Secretariat and Committee decide it.
- We prepare the company papers and coordinate the order of the steps.
- The special-section entry is needed by the first permit renewal.
From our practice: we put the company papers in the order the visa file needs them, check which steps wait on the founder and which on the notary, and keep the calendar after entry. The decisions stay with the Committee, the consulate and the questura. Valentina Orsini and Federica Conti are accountable for this work.
Sources
The official texts this guide rests on, each with what it supports.
- Italia Startup Visa portal: steps, documents, 1-year visa, renewal needs.
- Programme FAQ: the Committee, five associations, 30 days, EUR 50,000.
- Interministerial circular 8047 of 16 October 2025: the 2026 to 2028 quota tables.
- Art. 26 TUI: self-employment visa within the quota.
- Art. 5 TUI: permit request, caps, renewal and decision terms.
- Art. 25 D.L. 179/2012: the innovative start-up test.
- Chicago consulate checklist: EUR 50,000, documents, EUR 8,400.
- Polizia di Stato, permit costs: permit card and revenue stamp.
- Art. 26-bis TUI: the investor visa.
Also cited by name: Art. 26 D.L. 179/2012, Art. 2 D.Lgs. 183/2021, the programme guidelines of 20 March 2018, and the Italian embassy in Mexico City's 2023 sheet for the visa fee. Arts. 2330, 2380-bis and 2383 c.c. are cited by article, without quotation.
Related service
- Golden Visa Italy and the Investor Visa Route: the founder-immigration service, with the visa file the founder's and the decision the ministry's. Questions on your file go through our contact page.