Italian Law and You

Moving to Italy comes with a long list of practical matters to deal with: residency, taxes, health care, perhaps buying or renting a home. For Americans, however, there is another deadline that can easily go unnoticed — the one attached to their U.S. driver’s license. A valid American license does not allow a person who becomes resident in Italy to continue driving indefinitely. Under Article 135 of the Italian Highway Code (Codice della Strada), a driver holding a license issued by a country outside the European Union or European Economic Area may generally drive in Italy for up to one …

Until recently, Italian citizen may hold an Italian passport, vote in Italian elections and own property in Italy, but if he or she resides permanently abroad and is registered with AIRE — the Registry of Italians Residing Abroad — registration with Italy’s National Health Service has traditionally ceases. For Italians living in the United States and other countries outside Europe, a new Italian law is now changing that framework. Law No. 111 of June 12, 2026, published in the Italian Official Gazette on June 27 and effective as of July 27, 2026, introduces a new system for Italian citizens registered …

Working from Tuscany: Can You Keep Your American Job and Live in Italy? For many Americans, remote work has changed not only how we work, but also where we imagine we could live. If your office is essentially your laptop and your colleagues are already scattered across different cities and nations, the thought is tempting: why spend another Chicago winter at home when you could be working from a house in Tuscany, an apartment in Rome, or perhaps the small Italian town your grandparents left generations ago? Until recently, Italy did not have a specific immigration route designed for non-EU …

  Many Italian Americans spend years restoring a family home in Italy, purchasing an apartment for retirement or holding on to property inherited from parents or grandparents. Far fewer stop to consider what will happen to that property when it passes to the next generation. While considerable attention is usually devoted to purchasing or maintaining property in Italy, less thought is often given to what may happen to that property in the future. Depending on the circumstances, the absence of coordinated estate planning may create additional formalities, delays or uncertainty for heirs. A U.S. will is not necessarily ineffective in …

For many Italian Americans, owning a home in Italy has always carried a special emotional appeal. A small apartment in Florence, a pied-à-terre in Rome, a house in Naples, a retreat in Bologna or another historic city: the dream is often simple. Use the property for part of the year, rent it out when not in Italy, and allow the home to help cover its own costs. Until recently, that model was relatively easy to understand. Not effortless, of course — nothing involving Italian bureaucracy is ever free hassle — but manageable. Today, however, short-term rentals in Italy have become …

For many Italian Americans, Italian citizenship by descent has long represented more than a legal status. It has often been seen as a way to reconnect with family history, preserve an Italian identity across generations, and formalize a bond with the country of origin of parents, grandparents or great-grandparents. After the 2025 reform, however, the legal landscape has changed significantly. Italian citizenship by descent has not disappeared, but it is no longer an almost automatic consequence of having a remote Italian ancestor who retained Italian citizenship when the first American generation was born. The key recent development is the long-awaited …

There was a time when Sicily meant departure. Today, it is quietly becoming a place of return. Across the island, something is shifting. Not just in the lifestyle narratives that have long drawn foreigners to southern Italy, but in fiscal policy itself. In a move that is both symbolic and surprisingly concrete, the Sicilian regional government has introduced a new incentive designed to attract residents from abroad — including Italians who once left and are now considering coming back. The idea is simple and striking: Move to Sicily, and the region will refund up to half of your income tax. …

For many Italian Americans, Sicily is more than just a place on the map. It is family stories, recipes passed down through generations, black-and-white photographs of grandparents who once left the island in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Now, in an interesting twist of history, Sicily is inviting people from abroad — including members of the Italian diaspora — to consider coming back. And yes, taxes are part of the conversation. Over the past few years, Sicily has introduced a special tax regime designed to attract new residents from outside Italy. The incentive allows qualifying individuals who relocate to …

For many Italian Americans with personal, family or investment ties to Italy, opening an Italian bank account is a necessary step, but it’s often one of the most complex obstacles they encounter. What appears, from the outside, to be an inefficient or overly rigid banking system is in fact the result of a precise regulatory choice driven by anti-money laundering rules, tax transparency obligations, and an increasingly cautious approach by Italian financial institutions. Italian banks operate within a strict national and European framework, particularly under legislation implementing the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives, which impose extensive Know Your Customer and Customer …

Italy’s special tax regime for new Italian tax residents — the one often compared to the UK “non-dom” concept — has long been one of the country’s most effective magnets for internationally mobile families, executives, investors and retirees. (For previous coverage, click here.) It sits in Article 24-bis of the Italian Income Tax Code (TUIR) and, in plain English, allows eligible individuals to pay a fixed annual substitute tax on most foreign-source income, instead of being taxed under Italy’s ordinary progressive rules. The regime survives intact in 2026. But the price of entry has jumped again. And this time, the …