ITALY 'DIGITAL NOMAD VISA' Good plan. My desk ? A Venetian palace!

A new program wants to encourage digital nomads and teleworkers to settle in Venice by providing them with breathtaking locations. A way to fight against the depopulation and aging of the Serenissima.

The authorities of Venice want at all costs to fight against mass tourism and especially against the aging of the population and have launched a program to attract digital nomads and teleworkers burned by the pandemi.

Indeed, the number of inhabitants has increased from 150,000 in the 20th century to 50,000 today and the Serenissima now has more people over 85 than under 30.

The Venywhere program therefore hopes to remedy this; it is in an experimental phase before being fully launched in September 2022. So far, 2,200 international workers have already benefited from it. According to Massimo Warglien, professor of management at Ca’ Foscari University and head of Venywhere, “the objective is to transform Venice from a city that we visit to a city where we work”. He will be helped in this mission by the new Italian law on “digital nomads”, which grants one-year visas to remote workers outside the European Union. Obviously, EU nationals can settle in the country without any particular formality.

Venywhere offers help with health insurance, visas and finding apartments for newcomers who expect to stay for around six months to a year. “We will set up workplaces in museums, gardens, on islands in the lagoon – the city will be your office,” Warglien said.

Cisco, an American company specializing in computer servers, has already sent 16 of its employees under this program. Pérez González is one of them. Cisco offers its employees to choose from four locations, including a 15th century palace.

Gianmatteo Manghi, General Manager of Cisco Italy, said:

"The Covid made us realize that we could work remotely and increase productivity. We think companies will start attracting staff by offering them one month a year in a beautiful city.”

Pérez González also found accommodation through his business, a roommate with an old lady. It also helps to help Venice's aging population. In fact, Venywhere will encourage newcomers to team up with local organizations such as Venice Calls, a youth network that started in 2019 to help older people cope with a devastating storm that had engulfed the city.

For Massimo Warglien, all of this is consistent with the values and history of Venice, since it has always seen foreign workers pass by. “A French diplomat who arrived in the 1500s wrote: Where are the Venetians? There are only foreigners here!” he says, before adding: “It’s the secret of Venice.”

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Romance is easy in Venice, Love is easy in Italy

Our days in Italy are what dreams are made of! From Dolomites to Venice, we really consider ourselves lucky.

We realized how great it is to just explore. Adventures help you remember what you’ve forgotten, they make you feel what you don’t feel at home, they open your eyes again to what you’ve been missing.

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DOLCE VITA

ITALIAN RESIDENCE BY INVESTMENT PROGRAM

Even without a real estate option, the dolce visa is seen as an up-and-comer in Europe’s residence programs. Considering the pressure faced internally and at the supra-national EU level by other programs - such as Ireland, Portugal and Malta - and the hiked investment threshold in Greece, Italy’s dolce vita visa could soon witness increased interest and popularity.

The Investor Visa for Italy is a two-year, renewable visa for foreign nationals intending to make a large investment or donation in Italy. Italy has taken action trying to paint itself with introducing a special tax regime as an attractive location for foreign investors.

You are eligible for an Italian Investor Visa if you are a non-EU citizen, and make a single investment into one of the following:

- A Government Bond issued by the Italian Republic.

-A company incorporated and operating in Italy.

- An innovative startup; or

- You make a philanthropic donation. You can support public interest in the fields of culture, education, immigration management, scientific research, preservation of cultural and natural heritage.