u/Any_Zookeepergame_15

Planning a move to Italy and want to walk into my upcoming meetings with an Italian immigration lawyer and commercialista with good questions, not a blank slate.

• My grandfather was born in Italy (I have his Italian birth certificate). This should qualify me for the 2-year accelerated citizenship-by-residency path rather than the standard 10-year non-EU track.
• I plan to register residency (anagrafe), sign a 4-year continuous lease, and become a full Italian tax resident.
• My income: SEPP distributions (IRS Rule 72(t) equal periodic payments from IRA) and distributions from my own business. If I go the ERV or student route, I'd step back from the business entirely, not just scale down. If I go the DNV route, I'd work part-time for the business I co-own to meet the visa's minimum income requirement, while still drawing SEPP distributions at the same time.
• I'm targeting a "7% region" town (Mezzogiorno, under the new 30,000-population threshold) for the Art. 24-ter foreign pensioner flat tax regime.
• I have flexibility on visa type since I'm not tied to working: I could potentially qualify for ERV, DNV, or a student visa (pending program admission).

My question:

Given that I can structure my situation to fit any of these three visas, which one would make the most sense for someone in my position — citizenship via the 2-year ancestry track, the 7% tax regime as the goal, SEPP as primary income, and full flexibility on whether to work?

Specifically: does the visa I choose have any bearing on whether I can use the 7% tax regime? For example, if I take the DNV and work part-time in my own business to satisfy the visa's income requirement, while my SEPP keeps flowing the whole time, does that mixed income picture cause any issue with electing the 7% regime as a "retiree"? Or does the visa type just not matter for tax regime purposes once I'm a registered, qualifying resident?

Has anyone actually combined an ancestry-based citizenship track with the 7% regime, and if so, which visa did you use to bridge the gap?

Planning a move to Italy and want to walk into future meetings with a commercialista with good questions, not a blank slate.

• My grandfather was born in Italy (I have his Italian birth certificate). I'm pursuing citizenship through naturalization by residency, using the accelerated 2-year continuous residency track available to applicants with an Italian-born parent or grandparent as a backup plan to Jure Sanguinis recognition.
• I plan to register residency (anagrafe), sign a 4-year continuous lease, and become a full Italian tax resident.
• My income: SEPP distributions (IRS Rule 72(t) equal periodic payments from a 401k/IRA) and distributions from a business I co-own. I can step back from the business entirely if I enter via a route that doesn't allow me to work or can work part-time while still drawing SEPP distributions the whole time. I also have the option to study if, pending program admission, as a third possible route.
• I'm targeting a "7% region" town (Mezzogiorno, under the new 30,000-population threshold) for the Art. 24-ter foreign pensioner flat tax regime.

Given that I am able to be flexible and structure my situation to enter Italy in different ways, what do I really have to consider to ensure I can use the the 7% tax plan? Has anyone here actually been able to do this (use the 7% flat tax) and if so, how exactly did you do this and what advice do you have for me? Is there anything in particular I should be aware of?

Hey everyone, I have an confusing scenario and would love to know if anyone else has dealt with something similar.

I am pursuing J.S. via a judicial petition in Italy. My GF was born in Italy and immigrated to the U.S. (likely as a teenager), but I can't find definitive evidence of his exact arrival date.

I have my GF’s Italian birth certificate, plus proof that he never naturalized in the U.S. This includes:

• A CONE (Certificate of Non-Existence of Records)
• NARA "no records" letter
• Negative search results from a FOIA request, USCIS Genealogy, state archives, county clerks, and the local Federal Court where he lived.

But I also can't find him on any census records before 1960s and my request for 1960s search was returned to me since U.S. Census Bureau paused their searches in March. And an email from CER@NARA states no Form I-11 or AR-2 exists for him (noting they could have been destroyed).

The potential issue is that my Great-Grandfather (GGF) traveled back and forth between Italy and the U.S., but appears to have traveled alone on all the manifests I've found. These manifests all pre-date my GF's birth. I haven't yet found anything pointing to my GGF naturalizing, but since I don't have his full timeline yet, it's a grey area.

Because I have my GF's Italian birth certificate, CONE, and NARA letter, I assumed I had everything needed to prove the line wasn't cut. I’ve had consultations with a few Italian attorneys who all said I have a solid case and am ready to file. However, none of them asked about my GGF's status. 

My Questions:

1. During a judicial petition in Italy, do the courts check or ask for the GGF's naturalization status if I've already provided my GF's Italian birth certificate, CONE, and NARA letters?
2. Should I be concerned/surprised that none of the attorneys asked about my GGF?

I'd love to hear your experiences with this or if anyone has been in a similar boat. Thanks!