Italy in 2026: La Dolce Vita & Endless Red Tape

Italy seduces expats with food, culture, and easy integration, but a dire job market and the infamous bureaucracy are heavy prices to pay.

➡️You’re welcome to use these 2026 Expat Insider results. Please remember to credit InterNations as the source, and where possible, include a link to www.internations.org.

In this article:

In Brief
Food, Culture & Easy Integration
One of the Worst Bureaucracies Anywhere
A Job Market to Avoid
The Typical Expat in Italy
Further Reading

In Brief

Italy ranks 24th out of 31 destinations in the Expat Insider 2026 survey. Its best results are the Ease of Settling In (14th), Personal Finance (14th), and Quality of Life (18th) Indices.

However, Expat Essentials (29th) and especially Working Abroad (30th) are major drags. About seven in ten expats (69%) are happy with life there, roughly in line with the global average (70%), and about a third (32%) want to stay forever.

Food, Culture & Easy Integration

Italy lands mid-field in the Ease of Settling In Index (14th), helped by a 12th place for making local friends and a 13th rank for getting used to the local culture. About one in three expats (32%) say their friends are mostly locals, nearly double the 17% global share. And the country ranks 12th for feeling at home.

There are some well-known pleasures: Italy ranks 10th for culinary variety — 83% praise the available dining options — 11th for both climate and the natural environment, and 12th for the freedom to express opinions.

Opinion

I like how in addition to the wonderful nature, food, and culture, people notice each other and know how to enjoy life. (Estonian expat in Milan)

Opinion

However, expats have less favorable views on other aspects of the Quality of Life Index, resulting in Italy’s 18th place here. For example, among respondents worldwide, 46% feel completely safe in their respective host country. In Italy, this is only true for 29% of expats.

One of the Worst Bureaucracies Anywhere

Practical life is dire, with Italy coming in 29th in the Expat Essentials Index and last (31st) in its Admin Topics Subcategory. Getting a visa ranks 30th, and as many as 63% of expats find it difficult to deal with the local bureaucracy (vs. 39% globally). In fact, bureaucracy was among the top pre-move worries, named by about a third (32%).

Opinion

Bureaucracy is dreadful in Italy. It takes ages to get anything done and it feels so illogical. (British expat in Piacenza)

Opinion

It surely doesn’t help that only 44% agree that administrative services are readily available online (vs. 61%). Digital Life in general lags at 29th, dragged down by bad results for the availability of high-speed internet (30th) and cashless payment options (26th).

The language further compounds things: according to 58% of respondents, you really need to speak Italian to get by (vs. 34%).

A Job Market to Avoid

For most, Italy is a lifestyle choice made in spite of, not because of, its labor market: the country only just escapes last place in the Working Abroad Index (30th).

Expats disagree that moving to Italy improved their career prospects (30th) or that they’re paid fairly for their work (26th). They also report low job security (24th) and are generally dissatisfied with their job (29th). In fact, only about a third of expats (36%) rate the Italian economy positively (vs. 59% globally).

And even satisfaction with the working hours is down (28th) — despite an average full-time week of 40.5 hours, 1.7 hours less than the global average of 42.2.

About one in six expats (18%) moved to Italy for love, above the 11% global share, a reminder that lifestyle and relationships, not careers, draw most newcomers.