California woman details amazing life after bagging coveted visa that lets her live in Italy and work remotely

A California pistillate shared her unthinkable acquisition aft snagging a visa for her imagination beingness successful Italy - and moving retired successful lone a substance of days. 

Chelsea Waite managed to unafraid herself a visa to unrecorded successful Milan, Italy, as portion of a caller digital nomad visa launched successful April, but truthful acold precise fewer look to person been capable to bash the same. 

She joined respective groups connected societal media for those who are applying but is yet to find different palmy applicant. So wherefore are these visas truthful hard to get? 

Waite had lived successful San Francisco arsenic a nationalist relations adept and fell successful emotion with Italy aft her archetypal sojourn successful 2017 erstwhile she took a travel to Florence and Tuscany. 

Waite was alert of however hard it would beryllium to relocate and negociate to unafraid herself a visa, she told CNN: 'I truly fell successful emotion with everything Italy had to offer, but knowing I'd person to find sponsorship oregon employment, it didn't consciousness feasible.' 

She besides was holding down a full-time occupation successful San Francisco, that was until the pandemic. In 2020, Waite began her ain PR institution moving with tech startups. 

She past visited Milan successful 2023, and upon returning backmost to the states, she got successful interaction with an migration attorney. 

'I had this heavy feeling that I was meant to unrecorded here,' she said, '[But] they said that due to the fact that I was self-employed, it was adjacent much challenging now. 

Waite said she was advised to find an Italian institution to bash concern with and person a collaboration declaration stating that it would beryllium beneficial for her to beryllium successful Italy, but this wasn't thing she was capable to pursue.    

Then, arsenic luck would person it, successful April 2024, the nomad visa strategy was launched and abruptly the determination seemed similar a possibility. 

Waite jumped into enactment looking for immoderate information, but determination was fewer details disposable astir the process speech from telling her she needed an assignment with an Italian consulate - which are notoriously hard to get. 

For six weeks, she hunted, but it wasn't until May that her prayers were answered. 

'I randomly looked astatine a antithetic clip of time and it brought maine to a portal,' she said. The accustomed informing of a four-month hold wasn't the lawsuit for Waite, arsenic 1 was disposable conscionable 10 days later. 

With inactive arsenic small accusation arsenic ever, Waite scrambled to enactment unneurotic each imaginable documentation that could assistance overgarment her arsenic the cleanable candidate. 

'The deficiency of accusation was the biggest happening I struggled with. There's nary 1 online sharing their experience, thing showing what you needed to person the visa,' she told CNN. 

'I knew 10 days was a gangly order- I would request a lease [on an apartment], wellness insurance, taxation returns, lawsuit contracts and certification of my degree,' she added.

As luck would person it, Waite was capable to propulsion everything together. Her father, who works successful existent estate, was capable to enactment her successful interaction with an bureau successful Milan, and she paid a deposit of 3 month's rent. 

She bought wellness security and got her grade certified successful lone a substance of days and pulled unneurotic her taxation returns, arsenic good arsenic documentation of her distant enactment since 2020 and erstwhile employment contracts.  

Going the other mile, she besides included authorities and national inheritance checks and her resume, with a expansive full of 120 pages of documentation for her assignment successful June of this year. 

Ten days later, Waite had her visa, and she said: 'by thing little of a miracle, everything fell into place.'  

Still, the stressful portion was acold from over. Her visa arrived conscionable 2 days earlier her travel to London connected June 19, wherever she would beryllium staying for a month-long trip. 

Instead of seeing the travel arsenic a hold to her move, Waite decided to spot her enactment successful London arsenic a halt disconnected constituent arsenic she moved crossed the world. 

In conscionable 48 hours, she packed up her beingness into suitcases and organized for her 2 rescue dogs to alert retired with her. 

She officially moved retired of her San Francisco flat successful September by hiring an adjunct and enlisting friends to wide her things retired for her. Her last belongings were shipped to her successful suitcases by her friends. 

'I emotion Milan,' she said. 'I enactment successful tech, and I deliberation it's the astir business-minded metropolis successful Italy. I decidedly spot myself staying here. I've been capable to conscionable a fig of expats and foreigners and americium opening to make a community.' 

Waite has hardly been idle successful her attempts to physique her caller beingness successful Italy, she goes to workshops, gym classes and finds herself chatting successful section cafés to marque caller connections. 

She has besides recovered herself exploring Italy and beyond, making respective trips to Lake Como, Florence and Tuscany arsenic good arsenic taking a mates of flights to Greece. 

Her nomad visa lasts a year, aft that she tin renew for a licence to stay. Five years on, she tin suffice for imperishable residency, and aft 10 years, she tin use for an Italian passport. 

'So far, my acquisition is highly positive. I've made immoderate caller friends, different expats, and unrecorded successful a fantastic flat analyzable with precise benignant neighbors,' she said.  

Waite has said she is 'extremely grateful' she was palmy successful her application, but others person been little fortunate. 

The Italian consulate successful London unsocial has lone issued 13 to British residents. 

Waite said determination are galore steps that tin marque you retired to beryllium a amended candidate, specified arsenic securing semipermanent accommodation, she added: 'At first, I thought possibly I tin rent an Airbnb for a fewer months, past fig retired imperishable accommodation, but that wouldn't suffice.' 

Applicants would person to unafraid themselves a signed lease but would besides request to marque definite it details a clause allowing them to cancel should they beryllium unsuccessful successful their visa process. 

Waite besides thinks applicants should show a minimum wage of much than $27,000, reported CNN, arsenic she was capable to grounds exceeding for the past 3 years. 

Finally, she told the outlet that certified qualifications and certifications are a must.

'It's a immense request to asseverate your nonrecreational lasting and expertise,' she said, adding that it is acold amended to beryllium overprepared. 

However, the process, arsenic ruthless arsenic it seems, is besides not for those abbreviated connected savings. 

Waite estimated betwixt $5,000 to $10,000 was spent connected the full process, the visa exertion itself costing $124, and collecting her documentation arsenic good arsenic her deposit. 

She has started moving connected a usher for prospective nomad visa applicants, who whitethorn request a manus successful navigating the process arsenic she was incapable to find. 

Waite, contempt each trials and tribulations during the process, says it was worthy it: 'There are precocious highs and debased lows, and it was precise emotional. Just enactment positive.'