Affordable Italy: Living la Dolce Vita on a Bootstring Moving to Italy: Innovative Startup Visa in Piedimonte, Etneo, Sicily
Jan 1, 2024
Jen Mason, an entrepreneur and cheese enthusiast, shares her inspiring journey of obtaining Italy's Innovative Startup Visa, which allowed her and her husband to move to Sicily while still running their US businesses. She discusses the joys of adapting to a slower lifestyle, vibrant community life, and navigating the complexities of the visa process. Jen also delights in her recent villa purchase in Sicily, detailing their renovation plans and how they are making profitable investments in Italian startups—all while savoring local traditions like the Vendemia wine festival.
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Startup Visa Is A Fast Residency Path
- The Innovative Startup (250K investor) Visa lets non-Italians obtain fast residency by investing €250k in an approved Italian innovative startup.
- Jen emphasizes speed and flexibility: approval moves faster than other visas and residency can follow without 90/180 Schengen constraints.
Sold House Funds Fueled The Investment
- Jen moved savings from a renovated US carriage house into the startup investment rather than touching retirement funds.
- They accepted the possibility of losing the money but saw it as investing in their future life in Italy.
One Investor, Full Family Rights
- Spouse benefits mirror the investor's rights: the investor applies but the spouse receives equivalent residency and work rights.
- Only one person must undergo background checks and fingerprinting as the primary investor.