Retiring in Italy
Non-EU pensioners enter with the elective residence visa, EU pensioners through free movement; public healthcare is accessible by compulsory or voluntary registration. Optional 7% regime on foreign income for those moving to small southern municipalities. Cheap houses in villages, services concentrated in cities.
Sections: Services · Housing · Health · Social life · Relevant procedures
Entry and residence
EU citizens can settle in Italy as pensioners with simple residence registration, showing sufficient means and health coverage. Non-EU citizens with pension income or assets can apply for the elective residence visa, which does not allow working and requires accommodation and a minimum passive income defined by the consulates; requirements and procedure are described in the Entry and permits section. In both cases Italian tax residence is triggered by spending most of the year in Italy, with consequences for the taxation of the foreign pension governed by double-taxation treaties.
Healthcare
For healthcare, pensioners from other EU countries who receive their pension from their home country register with the National Health Service using the S1 form issued by their institution, at the home country's expense. Non-EU citizens with elective residence are not entitled to compulsory registration and choose between voluntary SSN registration, with an annual contribution calculated on income and set nationally with minimum and maximum amounts, and private insurance valid in Italy; coverage is already required for the visa. Voluntary registration gives full access to a family doctor, specialists and hospitals with payment of co-pays. Those who reach long-term residence move to the ordinary regime. Details are in the Health section.
The 7% regime for foreign pensioners
Since 2019, recipients of a pension paid by a foreign institution who have not been tax resident in Italy in the previous five years and who move their residence to a municipality with a population not above the threshold set by art. 24-ter TUIR (30,000 inhabitants in the text that Normattiva shows in force from 7 April to 31 December 2026: check it for later years) in Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise or Apulia (plus some earthquake-hit municipalities) may opt for a 7% substitute tax on all foreign-source income, for the period of validity set by art. 24-ter TUIR (in the text in force, the nine tax periods following the one in which the option is exercised). The option is exercised in the tax return, can be revoked and lapses if the requirements cease or if the person moves to a non-eligible municipality; the Agenzia delle Entrate has clarified the details in orders and circulars. The regime excludes Italian income, which remains taxed in the ordinary way, and should be assessed with a professional against the tax treaty of the home country.
Where to live and services for the elderly
Foreign retirees concentrate in Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Liguria, the Lombard lakes and, more recently, Apulia, Sicily, Abruzzo and Sardinia, where property prices in inland villages are a fraction of those in cities. The trade-off is distance from services: hospitals, specialists and public transport concentrate in the regional capitals, and in small municipalities a car is indispensable. Climate shapes the choice: the coasts of the Centre-South and the islands have mild winters but increasingly hot summers, the Po valley foggy damp winters, the Tuscan and Umbrian hills something in between with cold winters at altitude. Municipal services for the elderly (home care, day centres, social transport) exist everywhere but with very variable quality; nursing homes (RSA) are fee-paying with the health share covered by the region and waiting lists.
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Reviewed: 10/20/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-04-14
No questions in the community · Ask the community