Faced with the end of the Portuguese regime and the rise in the cost of living, Hammamet seduces a new generation of autonomous and well -equipped Italian retirees.
They are discreet, but there. More than a thousand Italian retirees chose, between 2019 and 2023, to Transfer their tax residence in Tunisiaaccording to a report by the INPS published yesterday by Corriere della will be. A silent but revealing migration in a European post-retirement landscape in recomposition.
The profile of these mature age migrants has changed: younger, mostly men (61 % in 2023), former civil servants or executives, they no longer leave for family or historical reasons, but by economic and climatic arbitration. Tunisia, and more particularly Hammamet, checks several boxes: Cost of moderate living, stable climate, geographic proximity and advantageous taxation.
Since the abolition of the Portuguese diet in 2024, Tunisia has gained attractiveness. In Hammamet, Nearly 4,000 Italian retirees It would now live year -round, according to cross estimates, representing a significant part of the 6,000 Italians present in the city.
The impact is visible but measured. No “Little Italy” closed on itself: Italian retirees integrate, renovate old houses, frequent private doctors, local shops, or bilingual clubs. Tunisian taxation, on the other hand, remains advantageous: 80 % of exempt pensionseffective imposition that can descend to 5 % in some cases.
For Tunisia, this presence is a source of Stable currenciesin a context where the euro remains precious. But the country does not yet seem to structure a clear reception policy. Unlike Morocco, no national agency oversees this flow, or anticipate its side effects on housing or health services.
If Hammamet is not (yet) the new capital of European retirees, it embodies the beginnings. A gentle geography of agingcarried by individual choices, tax adjustments, and a sea that remains within youth.
To read also: Italian retirees in Hammamet: a fiscal exile which has become reality
