Italy
A solid all-round choice. Ranked 9 of 40, strongest on climate, softest on retiree visa.
Key facts
Visa & residency
Elective Residence Visa (visto per residenza elettiva), a national long-stay Type D visa
Consulates look for stable passive income commonly cited around EUR 31,000 per year for a single applicant (roughly EUR 2,600 per month), with more expected for couples; higher amounts and savings strengthen the application.
The Elective Residence Visa does not permit any work or employment in Italy. Applicants must prove steady, self-sustaining passive income not deriving from subordinate work, such as pensions, property rental income, or investment returns.
Healthcare
Italy runs a universal public health service, the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN), established in 1978, covering all citizens and legal residents. Outcomes are strong, with life expectancy among the highest in the OECD, though quality varies by region and public waiting times can be long.
Legal foreign residents can register with the SSN; many non-EU retirees carry private insurance for faster access and to satisfy visa requirements, and costs remain well below typical US healthcare expenses.
Cost of living
A single person's estimated costs are roughly USD 1,000 per month excluding rent; a comfortable all-in retirement budget commonly falls in the USD 1,800 to 2,800 range depending on city and lifestyle.
Rent in Italy averages about 48.9% lower than in the United States, and overall cost of living including rent is about 23.5% lower.
Safety & climate
Italy ranks 35th of 163 countries on the Global Peace Index with a score of 1.712, placing it in the upper-middle tier for peacefulness. Petty theft and pickpocketing in tourist areas are the main day-to-day concern.
Coastal regions and the south have a true Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and mild wet winters, while the Alpine north and Po Valley interior are colder and more continental, with cold winters and hot summers.
Community & language
Italy has a large and established foreign-resident and retiree community, especially in Tuscany, Umbria, and the lakes. English proficiency is moderate, scoring 513 (rank 59) on the EF English Proficiency Index, so English is more common in cities and tourist hubs than in rural southern towns.
Official language is Italian; some regions have co-official languages. English proficiency is moderate, so learning basic Italian is recommended for daily life outside major tourist areas.
Taxes
Foreign pensioners who become resident in a qualifying southern town (in regions such as Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise, and Puglia, with no more than 30,000 inhabitants since April 2026) can elect a 7% flat tax on all foreign-source income for up to ten years, versus standard rates of 23% to 43%.
Italy has a comprehensive network of double-taxation treaties, including with the United States, which generally prevents the same income from being taxed twice.
Compare Italy with its closest rivals
The three countries whose RetireScore sits nearest.
