A marketing manager who secured a golden visa in Italy by investing a quarter of a million in a start-up has said urged people to follow in his footsteps – as long as they make sure to get professional advice.
Tom Leonard, 69, decided to move abroad after his parents passed away a few years ago, and settled on the northern Italian city of Florence.
“After the passing of my parents I decided it was time for a new adventure. I always liked Italy even though I had never been here yet,” Mr Leonard told The i Paper.
“So in 2023 I came to Florence for a month to check it out. It felt really good to be here and I made the decision to make the move.”
He was attracted to the city by its history and culture, he said. “It is the sort of place – complicated – I will never be able to really know everything about it. I like that.”
Mr Leonard said he was attracted to Florence by its history and cultureHe started looking into his options for moving to the country, and came across the Italy Golden Visa, or Investor Visa, programme.
Launched in 2017 to attract foreign investment into Italy, the visa scheme is available to non-EU citizens who invest €250,000 (£215,856) in an innovative start-up, €500,000 (£431,712) in an Italian limited company, €2 million (£1.73m) in government bonds, or they can give a philanthropic donation of €1 million (£863,425), including the preservation of Italy’s artistic heritage.
Mr Leonard opted to invest €250,000 in an already-existing start-up and received the visa, which initially grants a two-year residence permit, and is then renewable for three years if the startup investment is still in place.
“I could also have invested €500.000 in an established company,” said Mr Leonard. “But I wanted to be involved with a start-up here as more than an investor. I wanted to contribute my [marketing] talent to them as well”.
Mr Leonard’s new house in the hills above FlorenceEven though a start-up is more risky, he invested in one, called Life Gate Way, which invests in other startups in order to minimse the risk compared with a start-up with one focus.
He said he had been fortunate to make a good return on his investment, which is not guaranteed with a start-up.
After securing his visa, Mr Leonard moved to Florence last year. Since then, he said that many Italian had reacted positively when they found out that he was there on an investor visa.
“I have been pleasantly surprised at times at the reaction from many Italians, such as at the Los Angeles consulate and the comune [town hall] here in Florence where they actually thanked me for making an investment in their country. It made me feel good.”
Mr Leonard’s new house has hundreds more square feet than his previous California homeMr Leonard sold his $1.4 million (£1.03m), 500 square-foot home with a pool in Burbank, California and bought a 288-square-metre (3,100 square foot) 1950s home in the hills above Florence, near Fiesole, for €1,070,000 (£923,864).
This “made it an even swap with my house in Florence. But I upgraded. Big time,” he said.
“When I showed the [Florence] listing to people in Italy, they were like ‘Whoa, that is expensive’. When I showed it to people in California, the were like ‘Wow, that looks like a great deal’.”
He is now spending a significant amount of extra money to furnish the house by sourcing light fixtures, carpets and wallpaper in Florence to take advantage of the local artisan skills. He has added an outdoor kitchen on the top terrace with a pizza oven.
Mr Leonard says he is very happy with his new homeMr Leonard now wants to encourage others to take advantage of the investor visa scheme if they are able. However, he warned other people considering the visa to get help from a reputable company.
For him, getting the visa was a straightforward process because he hired a company – called Smart Move Italy – to assist him.
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Although he secured his visa in less than a year, there were specific deadlines such as applying for residency in Florence within eight days after arriving. And he had 90 days to actually move his investment to the start-up in Milan.
Mr Leonard advised people who planned to apply for a Golden Visa by following in his footsteps not to be afraid of the risk of a start-up as long as they get solid advice on how to minimise it. This can be done by hiring experts and agencies that might cost a lot but are worth every cent, he said.
“Investigate the agency thoroughly. Talk to previous clients. Be wary of ones that have a low price, you get what you pay for.”
Now, Mr Leonard usually works remotely from home and says he is living like a local outside the expat bubble.
“I try to take advantage of all of the cultural opportunities in Florence. I like finding things that short-term tourists might not be able to enjoy. What is better than just getting lost walking through the city?”
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