Most people look forward to their retirement, it should be the most relaxing period of your life.  Worldwide travel has opened up far more destinations and opportunities for retirement and Italy is one of the foremost choices of country for British nationals to spend their retirement years.  if you are planning to retire to Italy there are fewer better environments for  with Italy's wonderful cuisine, cultural heritage and countryside and coastlines. Giambrone & Partners' lawyers can guide and advise you through all the steps you need to take for each eventuality you will have to consider and ensure that you do not have any unexpected problems, allowing you to enjoy a trouble-free retirement.

Carlo Ponti, a partner, commented "once the decision is made to retire to Italy you should plan every step with a view to being in a legally sound position throughout your retirement years.  With a lawyer by your side there will be no opportunity for any legal problems that could  impact on you or your family to rear up at a later date" Carlo further remarked "remedying a legal issue is far more expensive and problematic than making sure you have expert legal advice from the onset"

Visas

The first consideration is to ensure that you can actually live in Italy.  As a result of Brexit, British nationals are now regarded as third country foreign nationals and as such you will need to apply for a visa to enable you to live permanently in Italy. Individuals retiring to Italy can either choose an investment visa, also known as a Golden visa, or an elective residence visa.

Golden Visa

A Golden visa permits permanent residency and can lead to Italian citizenship after a short period of years.  The Golden visa is aimed at high net worth individuals (HNWI) and requires financial investment in Italy that can take the form of:

  • The purchase of unmortaged residential real estate to the value of €300,00 to €500,000
  • An investment in a start-up business to the minimum value of €500,000
  • A loan to an Italian limited company
  • A philanthropic donation

A minimum annual income of €100,000 is also required.

An Elective Residence Visa

The terms of an elective residence visa visto per residenza elettiva  have a lower financial requirement

  • A minimum income of €31,000 for an individual
  • A minimum income of €38,000 for a couple
  • There is no investment requirement

Both visas require identifying documentation translated into Italian and private health care and do not permit the holder to work in Italy.  There are further requirements, such as the language capacity, should you wish to apply for Italian citizenship after you have lived in Italy for the qualifying number of years.

Tax considerations

Italy has an extremely attractive tax regime aimed at high net worth foreign retirees.  A special tax regime was introduced in Italy, Article 16 of Law Decree no. 147, in  2015. There have been several amendments since the Decree was fist enacted and it remains one of the best tax regimes in Europe.

The Decree is commonly known as the flat-rate tax requires compliance with four separate categories.  The criteria applicable to a retired third country foreigners are as follows:

  • All income must derive from income outside Italy, such as pensions, income arising from investments.
  • The individual must have lived outside Italy for at least five of the preceding years.
  • The previous country of residence must have an international agreement on administrative cooperation with Italy.
  • The individual must commit to living in Italy.
  • The place of residence in Italy must be in the smaller cities in the Southern regions of Italy: Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Sardinia and Sicily in a region with a population that is less than 20,000 citizens

The flat rate tax amounts to a single annual payment of €100,000 for your entire income derived from your worldwide assets and family members can also be included in the scheme with regard to their global income for a flat rate single payment of €25,000.  There is no requirement to disclose foreign assets to the tax authorities, so-called fiscal monitoring.

Real Estate

Golden visa holders who wish purchase a property as their investment must buy in the designated regions in Southern Italy where they will enjoy the advantage of real estate at very reasonable prices.  Also the smaller number of residents creates a calmer environment well suited to retirement.

There are no regional restrictions for holders of an elective residence visa, the whole of Italy is open to them.

Giambrone & Partners has many years experience assisting British nationals to buy property in all regions of Italy.  Our lawyers will help you with all the steps required to buy your home in Italy.  It is most important to establish that the property is free from financial liabilities, has been built in accordance with the building regulations. and there is nothing associated to the property that could affect the viability of the purchase. 

Our lawyers will Undertake meticulous due diligence to establish that there is nothing that could impact on the property in future years.

Wills and inheritance

The vast majority of people wish to be certain that their estate will pass in a trouble-free manner to their beneficiaries.  The laws of succession are very different in Italy to those in the United Kingdom; the estate of a person who is a permanent resident in Italy who dies intestate will be distributed under the Italian laws of succession, also known as forced heirship.

This means that your estate will be divided into designated percentages delivered to your close relatives in a strict order, in accordance to their relationship with you, as dictated by Italian law. Your close relatives have an unreserved right of inheritance which cannot be rescinded.  

In order to ensure that your chosen  beneficiaries receive the inheritance you have selected for them, particularly if you would like to include individuals that are not related to you such as step-children or you wish to exclude a close relative deemed to be a forced heir, you will need to make an Italian will and an English will under the same terms stating that you wish your estate to be disposed of under the law of England and Wales, for the avoidance of doubt. 

Helen Teffere, a senior associate, commented " drafting comprehensive wills to protect your estate and ensure that your heirs and beneficiaries will  be able to be able to manage the probate and take possession of their inheritance as smoothly as possible is the final legal issue that you will have to manage to have complete peace of mind in your retirement" Helen further commented "however, as families expand and change you must remember to update your will to include or exclude family members as required. Few people would wish to leave their loved ones with a situation whereby an out-of-date will triggered a challenge to the will by disgruntled family members"

Giambrone & Partners can assist, guide and advise you on how to achieve a legally secure trouble-free retirement with no unexpected surprises. 

Carlo Pontei is a partner in the Milan office his expertise extends issues surrounding complex international cross-border or Italian-based real estate transactions.He advises our real estate clients in the expansion of their property portfolios both in Italy and internationally.  He has wealth of experience with international cross-border real estate purchases with a comprehensive understanding of the varying legal and regulatory issues globally.

Helen Teffere, Head of the Trust, Inheritance and Succession Disputes Team at Giambrone is a specialist international lawyer dealing with cross border estates.She regularly advises clients on international succession and trust planning as well as assisting with complex cross-border inheritance disputes with particular emphasis on Italian, English and American contentious legacy issues. Helen has extensive experience advising international high-net-worth individuals and families with Italian interests and investments on international succession and wealth planning. Helen has developed significant expertise in advising on structuring and restructuring of Italian real estate wealth, as well as dealing with probate and inheritance matters involving Italian assets.Helen also assists clients with Italian immigration matters and commercial disputes and is specialised in advising foreign citizens in cases of Jure sanguinis procedure.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.