A DREAMY island is offering £13,000 to anyone who moves there and additional cash to those who set up a business or have a baby.
Sardinia is the latest Italian region to be hit by a declining population – forcing government officials to take action.
Sardinia is offering newcomers large amounts of cash to move[/caption]
The island has suffered from a declining population[/caption]
In a bid to repopulate the area, officials are offering couples up to €15,000 (£13,000) to buy or renovate a home and up to €20,000 (£17,400) to start a business.
They will also receive €600 for their first child plus €400 for each subsequent child until they turn 5.
To top it off, houses will also be sold for as little as €1 – a tempting offer to potential parents.
However, there is a slight catch for those choosing to move to the Mediterranean island.
The offer stands only for people willing to move to certain areas of Sardinia- including regions with fewer than 3,000 residents.
Residents must live in Sardinia full-time and register as permanent residents within 18 months.
But it might be worth it as people will have the chance to live a stress-free life on the picturesque island.
As the second biggest island in the Mediterranean, Sardinia boasts sandy beaches and breathtaking mountain views.
In 2023, a similar scheme was introduced which, Sardinian President Christian Solinas explained was all about creating new opportunities for locals.
He said: “We have created the conditions for young people to decide to stay and (develop) the economic fabric of the most fragile territories.
“Thanks to the contributions to their first houses, this is strengthened and becomes fertile ground for those who will move there or decide to build a family.
“There can be no growth without a real enhancement of the territories, of the interior and most disadvantaged areas, which must pass through new policies for their repopulation.”
Sardinia isn’t the only Italian town offering money to lure new residents.
Last year, Tuscany’s regional authorities announced they would pay people up to a whopping £25,000 to relocate to the breathtaking Italian mountain towns.
Previous worldwide destinations that paid applicants to move there
IT might surprise you to learn that there are some stunning destinations worldwide that have paid for people to move there
Antikythera, Greece
The island of Antikythera was looking for more people to live there, as the younger population left for more job opportunities on the busier Greek islands.
Located between Crete and Kythira, it is 45 minutes by plane from Athens.
The island planned to offer €500 (£450) per month for three years to people who moved there, which worked out to £16,200 over the three years.
Candela, Italy
Candela, a tiny town in Puglia, is offered up to €2,000 (£1,800) for people to move there after the population had dropped from 8,000 to just 2,700 people.
It was €800 (£723) for single people, €1,200 (£1,085) for couples, up to €1,800 (£1,600) for three-person families and €2,000 (£1,800) for four-person families.
You needed to become a resident, along with a house and a job of at least €7,500 (£6,700) a year.
Sicily, Italy
Sicily offered homes for just €1 (90p), with the only catch being the amount you need to spend to renovate them.
While they were not quite giving you money, they were giving a huge discount on homes.
The Palermo homes were in need of TLC, meaning at least €15,000 (£13,500) must have been spent to refurbish them within three years.
Vermont, US
The state of Vermont has one of the lowest populations in the US, which is why they hoped to lure remote workers to the area.
Their Remote Worker Grant scheme offered applicants $5,000 (£4,000) every year for two years to live there – working out to $10,000 (£8,000) to cover moving to the area.
The applicants needed to become a full time resident of the state to be eligible.
Santiago, Chile
The best offer to move abroad was to Santiago in Chile – which offered $40,000 (£32,700) to move there.
The government wanted tech entrepreneurs to launch their business there, with the Start-Up Chile programme that looked for female founders and founders with companies less than three years old.
The offer also included a year-long work visa as well as a free co-working space.
The money would be used to buy a house in a town in the picturesque province.
And in Greece, on the island Antikythera government officials offered to pay people €500 (£450) per month to live there.
They also offered new residents a plot of land to build their home or business.
Like in Sardinia, the scheme was aimed at young families and came about after the island suffered a significant drop in its population.
Meanwhile, Mussomeli in southern Sicily also offered 100 abandoned properties for just €1 to keen property hunters.
Buyers simply had to agree to renovate their new homes within a year of purchase or they would lose their $8,000 (£4,270) security deposit.
This tactic was also adopted in the quaint French village of Auverne in a bid to entice newcomers in to the area.
Sardinia boasts sandy beaches and breathtaking mountain views[/caption]
