Don't Have Italian Ancestry? Here's How to Live in Italy Anyway

As Italian citizenship by descent continues to change heading into 2026, many people are reassessing how they can legally live in Italy without relying on ancestry or jure sanguinis. Several residency based options already exist within Italian immigration law, including student visas, the Italian Golden Visa for investors, the digital nomad visa, the elective residency visa often associated with retirement, and residency rights connected to marriage to an Italian citizen, each with specific income, investment, or residency requirements. These pathways can allow individuals and families to establish lawful residence in Italy, progress toward permanent residency, and eventually qualify for Italian citizenship through naturalization after meeting long term residence rules. In this episode of the Italian Citizenship Podcast hosted by Italian attorney Marco Permunian and dual citizen expat podcaster Rafael Di Furia, we’ll learn more about alternatives to Italian citizenship by descent and how residency based paths to citizenship in Italy work as 2026 approaches.For help with the Italian citizenship process and more information about Italian Citizenship Assistance visit ICA's website:https://ItalianCitizenshipAssistance.comTo contact Italian Attorney Marco Permunian and his team of dual-citizenship experts and attorneys you can use the contact form on the Italian Citizenship Assistance website:https://italiancitizenshipassistance.com/contact/To see more from Rafael Di Furia about life in Italy and life as a dual-citizen expat check out his YouTube channel and website:Http://YouTube.com/RafaelDiFuriaHttp://RafaelDiFuria.com#italiancitizenship #italianvisa #movetoitaly Topics & Timestamps:0:00 – Intro & Opening Thoughts0:45 – Understanding the Italian Student Visa3:22 – Can You Work on a Student Visa in Italy?3:53 – What Is Italy’s “Golden” (Investor) Visa?5:23 – Investment Options Explained: Golden Visa7:11 – Italy’s Digital Nomad Visa: Who Qualifies?8:56 – Elective Residency Visa: Is It Right for You?10:15 – New Rules for Family Members of ERV Applicants11:15 – Spouses of Italian Citizens: Your Options12:14 – Applying from Inside Italy as a Spouse13:33 – Italian Citizenship Through Naturalisation14:40 – Citizenship by Descent vs. Naturalisation15:41 – Closing Thoughts & Outro