For British citizens considering property ownership in Sardinia, the post-Brexit landscape raises important questions. Can you still buy? What has changed since January 2021? How does residency work now that the UK is no longer part of the EU? The reassuring answer is that Brexit has not closed the door on British property investment in Italy; however, it has shifted the framework in ways that require careful planning, particularly around long-term residency, tax residency and visa requirements.
This guide walks UK buyers through what has actually changed, what remains the same, and how to structure a property purchase in Sardinia as a British citizen in 2026. Unlike generic guides written for all foreign buyers, this one addresses the specific legal and practical realities facing British residents post-Brexit, including visa options if you want to spend more than three months per year on the island, the mechanics of obtaining an Italian tax code, how mortgages work for UK non-residents, and the tax obligations in both Italy and the UK once you own Sardinian property.
Can UK Citizens Still Buy Property in Sardinia After Brexit
Yes, without restrictions. The UK and Italy maintain a reciprocity agreement on property purchases, underpinned by their obligations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), part of the World Trade Organisation. This agreement predates Brexit and was explicitly preserved after the transition period ended on 31 December 2020. The Italian government and the Italian Consulate in London have both confirmed that UK nationals can purchase property in Italy on the same basis as before Brexit.
What Brexit did change is your residential and immigration status in Italy. Before January 2021, UK citizens enjoyed freedom of movement as EU members and could live in Italy without a formal residence permit. After Brexit, this automatic right ended. Now, owning property does not grant you residency in Italy, and if you want to spend more than 90 days in any 180-day period in Italy (or the Schengen zone), you must obtain a separate visa or residence permit. Property ownership is useful for proving that you have accommodation, which can support a residency visa application, but it is a separate legal step from the purchase itself.
Property Purchase Rights and Reciprocity Explained
The principle of reciprocity means that UK citizens can buy property in Italy because Italy can buy property in the UK, and this is confirmed by the bilateral General Agreement on Trade in Services. There are no caps on the value of property you can purchase, no restrictions on the type of property (residential, commercial, agricultural, rural), and no requirement for special permits or approvals based on your nationality.
Unlike some countries where property ownership confers rights to business visas or investor visas, Italy does not offer a property-based “golden visa” that grants automatic residency or fast-tracked citizenship. However, Italy does have other visa categories, such as the Elective Residency Visa for those with sufficient passive income, which many UK buyers pursue separately if they want to establish legal residency.
The 90-Day Rule and Visa Requirements for UK Buyers
After Brexit, UK citizens are treated as non-EU nationals for immigration purposes. You can enter Italy and stay for up to 90 days within any 180-day period without a visa; this is the standard tourist allowance across the Schengen zone. This is sufficient if you plan to use your Sardinian property as a holiday home or to visit occasionally.
If you want to spend more than 90 days per year in Italy, or if you intend to make Sardinia your permanent residence, you must apply for a long-stay visa or residence permit before arriving. The most common pathway for property-owning retirees or financially independent individuals is the Elective Residency Visa (Visto per Residenza Elettiva). To qualify, you must prove stable passive income; current guidance from Italian consulates indicates approximately €31,000 per year for a single applicant, though this figure varies by consulate and may be indexed annually. You must also provide proof of accommodation, such as property deeds showing you own the home, proof of health insurance, and police certificates demonstrating good conduct.
The Elective Residency Visa is typically issued for six months but often serves as the entry document allowing you then to apply for a Permesso di Soggiorno (residence permit) at the Italian immigration office (Questura) within 8 days of arrival in Italy. This residence permit can be renewed and, after 5 continuous years of legal residence, can lead to a permanent residence permit that requires no further renewal.
Visa and residency options for UK citizens who want to spend more time in Sardinia
For many British buyers the real question is not only whether they can still buy property in Sardinia after Brexit, but whether they can actually live there for more than a few weeks per year. The 90‑day rule gives you a simple tourist allowance in the Schengen area: you can spend up to 90 days in any rolling 180‑day period in Italy and the rest of the Schengen zone without a visa, which is usually enough for one long summer stay or two shorter trips spread across the year. If you intend to use your Sardinian property only as a holiday home, and you are comfortable organising your visits within this 90/180 framework, you do not need a residence visa and your immigration position remains relatively straightforward.
If, however, your project is to spend several consecutive months on the island every year, to retire to Sardinia, or to work remotely from your Sardinian home, you must treat residency as a separate legal step from the property purchase. The most common pathway for financially independent UK nationals is the Elective Residency Visa (ERV), which is designed for people who can show stable passive income from pensions, investments or other non‑employment sources. Consular guidance currently points to a minimum annual income of roughly 31,000 euros for a single applicant, with higher thresholds for couples and families, although exact figures and evidentiary standards vary slightly between consulates and are updated from time to time. In addition to income, you will need proof of accommodation (your Sardinian property or a long‑term rental), comprehensive private health insurance and a clean criminal record. The visa is requested at the Italian consulate in the UK before you travel and, once granted, allows you to enter Italy, register as a resident in your Sardinian municipality and apply for a residence permit (Permesso di Soggiorno) that can be renewed and, after five years of continuous legal residence, converted into long‑term EU residence.
Owning property in Sardinia does not guarantee any particular visa outcome, but it is a strong supporting element in your file because it demonstrates that you have stable accommodation and that your project is credible. From a planning perspective, this means that if your medium‑term goal is to live in Sardinia rather than simply to visit, it is wise to structure the purchase with the visa in mind from the beginning: choose an area where you can imagine being resident year round, factor in local services, healthcare and connectivity, and coordinate your purchase timeline with the consular visa calendar so that you are not forced to choose between overstaying as a tourist or leaving the country while your application is still pending.
Getting Your Italian Tax Code Before Purchasing
The first document you will need as a UK buyer is the Italian tax code, the Codice Fiscale. You can obtain this through the Italian consulate in the UK, which typically processes applications within a few weeks, or directly at a local Agenzia delle Entrate office once you arrive in Italy. The process is straightforward and requires your passport, proof of address and a completed application form. Unlike visas, which depend on your intended length of stay, the Codice Fiscale is mandatory for any foreign buyer and is needed to sign contracts, open a bank account and register the property.
The Purchase Process in Italy and How It Differs from the UK
The Italian property purchase follows three legal stages: offer and negotiation; preliminary contract (compromesso); and final deed (rogito) signed before a notary. For many UK buyers, the biggest surprise is that the preliminary contract is not a soft “agreement to agree” but a fully binding agreement that fixes price, deadlines and penalties. If you sign a compromesso and then want to withdraw, you can lose your deposit and be sued for damages.
This is radically different from the UK, where contracts are often subject to survey, mortgage offer and other conditions. In Italy, these conditions should be dealt with before you sign the preliminary, not after. This is why working with a real estate lawyer in Sardinia who can conduct full legal due diligence before you sign anything is essential.
Another key difference is the notary’s role. Italian notaries are highly trained public officials with much broader authority than UK notaries. However, they are neutral; they verify identities and basic ownership but do not perform exhaustive due diligence on planning history, building permits, cadastral discrepancies or hidden liabilities. Your lawyer fills that gap by conducting a comprehensive investigation before the preliminary contract, so that you know the full legal picture and can negotiate accordingly.
The typical timeline from offer to final deed is two to three months, though delays can extend this. As a UK buyer managing this from abroad, you can handle almost all legal work remotely using video calls and email, and you can sign the final deed through a power of attorney if you prefer not to travel to Italy for the closing.
Currency, financing and payment strategies for UK buyers in Sardinia
For UK citizens, the practical side of buying in Sardinia is shaped as much by the pound–euro exchange rate and by access to financing as by the legal rules themselves. Most Sardinian properties are marketed and sold in euros, while your income, savings and, very often, mortgage capacity are in pounds, which means that movements in the GBP/EUR rate between your first offer and the final deed can change the true sterling cost of your purchase by several percentage points. A structured approach begins with deciding how you will finance the acquisition. Some buyers use an Italian mortgage, where banks assess your income and liabilities and typically lend up to 60–70 percent of the purchase price to non‑residents, often requiring additional documentation and allowing more time for underwriting. Others refinance assets in the UK or use existing savings, which avoids Italian bank timelines but creates a more direct exposure to currency risk because you will be converting larger sums of pounds into euros at specific moments in the process.
Managing that currency risk is not about trying to predict where the market will go, but about reducing your vulnerability to short‑term swings at the worst possible time. In practice, this often means coordinating with a regulated currency specialist or with your bank to plan the timing and structure of conversions: some buyers choose to fix the rate for part of the expected euro amount through forward contracts, others prefer to convert in stages aligned with legal milestones (initial deposit, caparra confirmatoria at the preliminary contract, final balance at the deed), rather than leaving everything to a single conversion on the eve of completion. From the legal side, what matters is that every payment is transparent, correctly referenced in contracts and bank transfer descriptions, and aligned with Italian anti‑money‑laundering rules and notary requirements. Your Sardinia‑based lawyer can coordinate with the notary, your UK bank and, if relevant, an Italian bank, so that the sterling–euro logistics and the legal steps move together: you avoid last‑minute funding gaps caused by currency volatility or banking delays and you ensure that every pound you send is applied exactly as the contracts say, to the right person, at the right time.
Property Purchase Taxes and Costs as a Non-Resident UK Buyer
The main purchase tax in Italy is the registration tax, called Imposta di Registro, and it is where being a non-resident affects your costs significantly. If you purchase as a “first home” and are an Italian tax resident, the registration tax is 2 percent of the cadastral value. As a non-resident UK buyer, your property is classified as a second home or investment property, and the registration tax rises to 9 percent of the cadastral value.
Cadastral value is usually much lower than the market price agreed in the contract, so the 9 percent is calculated on a lower base, but it still represents a substantial amount. In addition to registration tax, you pay fixed cadastral and mortgage taxes of roughly 50 euros each, notary fees (typically 1 to 2.5 percent of the purchase price for non-residents), and any real estate agent commission, usually 2 to 4 percent.
Unlike in the UK, there is no equivalent of stamp duty charged on the purchase; however, Italy imposes these registration and cadastral taxes on all non-resident buyers. If you later change your tax residency to Italy and register your Sardinian property as your primary residence, you may be able to reduce or eliminate IMU (the annual property tax) but you cannot retrospectively adjust the purchase taxes you paid at closing.
Annual Property Taxes and Ongoing Costs for UK Owners
Once you own property in Sardinia, several annual taxes apply. IMU (Imposta Municipale Unica) is a local property tax based on the cadastral value and the municipality’s tax rate. Properties used as primary residences by Italian tax residents are typically exempt from IMU, but as a non-resident UK owner, you will owe IMU on your Sardinian property.
TARI is the waste collection tax, payable by all property owners based on property size and occupancy. If you rent the property out, rental income is subject to Italian income tax, though you have the option in certain cases to elect the cedolare secca regime, a flat tax of 21 percent for certain residential rentals, which simplifies reporting and can be more advantageous than ordinary income tax rates depending on your circumstances.
UK Tax Obligations for UK Citizens Owning Sardinian Property
From a UK tax perspective, owning property in Sardinia does not change your fundamental UK tax position. You remain a UK resident for tax purposes unless and until you formally change your tax residency to Italy. If you are still a UK tax resident and you rent out the property, rental income derived from Sardinian property must be reported to HMRC and is subject to UK income tax at your marginal rate, though you can claim a foreign tax credit for Italian taxes paid on that income to avoid double taxation.
If you sell the property at a gain, UK capital gains tax rules may apply to that gain depending on when you acquired the property, how long you owned it and whether the property qualifies for any exemptions. The UK and Italy have a bilateral tax treaty designed to prevent double taxation on capital gains; generally, gains from the sale of real estate are taxed in the country where the property is located (Italy) rather than the country of residence (UK), but proper tax planning is needed to confirm this applies to your situation.
If you hold the property in a company structure or hold it together with a spouse or partner, different rules may apply. Proper tax planning before you buy can prevent unexpected liabilities, so consulting with a cross-border tax specialist or accountant familiar with both UK and Italian law is advisable.[web::155]
Mortgages and Financing for UK Non-Residents Buying in Sardinia
Obtaining a mortgage in Italy as a UK non-resident is possible but more restrictive than for Italian or EU residents. Italian banks typically view foreign non-residents as higher risk and impose stricter conditions: minimum down payments of 40 to 50 percent of the purchase price; maximum loan-to-value ratios around 50 to 60 percent; higher interest rates; and extensive documentation requirements including proof of UK income, tax returns, employment contracts and sometimes personal guarantees.
The application and approval process can be slow, taking several weeks to several months, and not all Italian banks actively lend to non-residents. For these reasons, many UK buyers choose to purchase with cash from savings or investments, or to arrange financing in the UK through a mortgage on a UK property or other means of borrowing in sterling. If you do pursue an Italian mortgage, ensure your timeline is realistic and that your offer to purchase the property is contingent on mortgage approval, not a firm obligation regardless of financing.
Managing a Sardinian Property Purchase from the UK
Most UK buyers do not relocate to Italy before purchasing. The entire transaction can be managed remotely using email, video calls and remote legal assistance. Your lawyer in Sardinia obtains documents, performs due diligence, negotiates the preliminary contract and coordinates with the notary. You review reports, approve decisions and, where necessary, sign documents via email or through a power of attorney granted to a trusted representative who can sign on your behalf at the notary.
Many UK buyers find a hybrid approach effective: visiting Sardinia once to view properties and meet advisors in person, then managing subsequent stages remotely. A notarial escrow account adds security when paying large sums remotely; funds are held by the notary until specific conditions are met, such as successful registration of the deed.
Frequently Asked Questions for UK Buyers in Sardinia
Can a UK citizen buy property in Sardinia after Brexit
Yes, without restrictions. The reciprocity agreement between the UK and Italy on property purchases remains valid post-Brexit, confirmed by both the UK government and Italian authorities. UK citizens can purchase any type of property in Sardinia on the same terms as before January 2021.
Does buying property in Sardinia give me the right to live there
No. Owning property does not grant you residency or a visa. You can visit as a tourist for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. If you want to stay longer or establish permanent residence, you must apply for a separate long-stay visa, such as an Elective Residency Visa, which requires proof of stable passive income of at least approximately €31,000 per year and is applied for through an Italian consulate before you travel.
What is my tax residency if I own a property in Sardinia as a UK citizen
Owning property in Italy does not make you tax resident there. You remain a UK tax resident unless and until you establish Italian tax residency by meeting specific criteria such as living in Italy for more than 183 days in a calendar year or having the centre of your vital interests there. Simply owning property is not sufficient to trigger Italian tax residency.
What taxes do I pay on the purchase
As a non-resident, you pay 9 percent registration tax on the cadastral value, plus fixed cadastral and mortgage taxes of roughly 50 euros each, notary fees, and agent commission. UK stamp duty does not apply to Italian property purchases, but you cannot avoid these Italian purchase taxes.
If I rent out my Sardinian property, what tax do I pay
You must report rental income to both Italian and UK tax authorities. In Italy, income is generally taxed at ordinary rates or, in some cases, at a flat cedolare secca rate of 21 percent. In the UK, rental income is added to your other income and taxed at your marginal rate. The UK-Italy tax treaty provides a foreign tax credit to prevent double taxation, but the detailed calculation depends on your overall tax situation.
Can I get an Italian mortgage as a UK resident
Yes, but with stricter terms than for Italian residents. Expect to provide a 40 to 50 percent down payment, face a maximum loan-to-value of 50 to 60 percent, and provide extensive UK income documentation. The process can take several months, so many UK buyers purchase with cash or arrange UK financing instead.