Move to Italy Without A Job

So Italy has been on your mind for ages but you are having a hard time finding a job? Well, Italy isn’t exactly well known for its great employment usually. And job searching thousands of miles away can make that even tougher.  In terms of the order of things, finding a job should come a little later down on your to-do list, first you will want to see if moving to Italy is really for you. Don’t lose all hope! It is possible to move to Italy without a job, you’ve just got to be a little flexible…and have some funds saved up.

How can I move to Italy without a job?

Well, first things first to move to Italy you absolutely 100% need a visa, you cannot walk right in (unless you are an EU citizen). That being said there are a few different visa options available. Getting a job and also a work visa actually happens to be some of the most difficult things to get. 

But there are a few options you have available to you, such as just a long-stay visa, a study visa, or potentially an elective residency visa.

The long-stay tourist visa

A long-stay visit actually isn’t technically moving to Italy in the traditional sense, you’ll only be allowed to stay 90 days. But it does mean you won’t have to go through a stressful visa process and you can at least start to get a feel for living in Italy. 

There is no real visa for this process, you simply enter as a tourist. But be sure to count your dates of visiting Italy carefully, you can only stay in the Schengen area for 90 days, every 180 days. So really you can do 3 months on, 6 months off. 

As a tourist, however, you will have some issues with finding a job, health insurance, and rental contracts.

The study visa

Studying in Italy is really the best way to enter the country. This is one of the “easiest” visas to get and gives you quite a bit of freedom. Plus it also sets you up to convert or renew your permesso di soggiorno into something else, like one for work.

To be eligible for a study visa you will need to be enrolled in a full-time study program – either University or an upper-level language program.

Lower-level language programs, such as anything below a B2, usually will not fly and you will have your visa rejected. However upper-level serious programs are able to sponsor you to come over.

If you do have the choice – university is the best option. Graduating from an Italian University program will help you gain connections and enter the working world, but it also sets you up for a long-term permesso di soggiorno either for work, or freelance.

A little bit of a stretch – the Elective Residency visa

If you want to move to Italy without a job, the other option you might be able to apply for is the elective residency visa. This is often known as the retirement visa, as it is much more appealing to retirees.

The Elective Residency visa requires you to have a large, constant passive income, or savings, that could cover their requirements. Then under this visa you actually are not allowed to work or study, in any way shape or form. It is just to kick back and enjoy retirement in Italy (and pay their taxes). Find out more here.

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