4 Smart Steps for a Stress-Free Start in Italy

Are you moving to Italy with your Italian spouse?

This is a blessed time of your life: enjoy fully the beauty of living in Italy!

But don’t let the infamous Italian bureaucracy suck your energies. Just take these 4 right steps to deal with registrations effectively.

STEP #1  –  Marriage certificate

Before moving to Italy, your spouse should register your marriage at the Italian Consulate of your area of residence. They will send your marriage record to the Italian municipality in which your spouse is registered (on the Registrar of Italian citizens living abroad, so-called AIRE). This process may take up to 180 days.

As a result, you will be officially recognized as the spouse of an Italian citizen with all the benefits and rights attached to that status in Italy.

It is best to do this registration BEFORE moving: that prevents discussions with the Italian authorities and lengthy processing.

So you should hand in a certified copy of your original marriage record (not a marriage certificate, which is an abridged form) to the Italian Consulate of the area of your residence. They will need this document in a specific form:

Your marriage certificate must be in full form: i.e. including all the details registered on the original record, and particularly the spouses’ dates and exact place of birth as well as their parents’ full name/last names, and maiden name, previous marriages, possible notes. Check the information on the website of the Italian Consulate regarding marriage registrations.

If you do not register your marriage at the Italian Consulate before moving to Italy, you will need to hand the certified copy of your marriage record to the Italian municipality in which you will reside. In that case, the document will have to be valid internationally, i.e. bearing an Apostille by the competent authority in your country of residence, and be translated into Italian. The translation needs to be official bearing another Apostille).

Important! A marriage certificate is regarded as valid in Italy only for 6 months up from its issue date.

STEP #2   – Residence registration (Italian citizen)

It is crucial that the Italian citizen registers their address at the local administration. This application is to be completed before their family apply for a permission to stay

This registration happens enrolling on the Population Registrar (Anagrafe) held by the Municipality of your residence. They call this “iscrizione di residenza”.

The following documents are mandatory:

• Tax number (Italian Codice Fiscale)
• Italian passport
• a proof of your lawful residence: a statement by your host, a rental contract or another document concerning your accommodation on a long term

STEP # 3. Permission to Stay 

Check on the website of Italian Ministry of Foreign affairs if you need a visa. That is necessary for the nationals of most countries outside of the European Union.

In order to operate your right of residence in Italy (national level), as a family member you need to register at the Immigration Office. This is located at the police headquarters of every province (Questura).

You are expected to register within 90 days from your arrival in Italy (or the validity of your entry visa). By that time, the Italian citizen in your family is expected to have registered their residence with the local municipality

As a family member of an Italian citizen, you are entitled to obtain a permission to stay for 5 years and free of charge. Find more information here about the 5-year Residence Card / Permission

What happens at the office? The immigration office will give you:

– a receipt as proof of your application and

– an appointment for delivering your Permission to Stay

– your tax number (Codice Fiscale)

STEP #4  – National Health Care Insurance

Italian health care coverage is free and mandatory, so take full advantage and register for it: just show up at the local public health care office (called Azienda Sanitaria Locale, ASL) for your area of residence. Take the following documents:

– Municipality receipt for the application for “iscrizione di residenza”,

– Immigration Office receipt for the application for your permission to stay,

– your passport

– your tax number

What happens at this office?

You will have to fill out yet another application form (often available on the office’s website) and they will give you immediately the health care card.

Finally, you’re done!

Would you like to know more?

Download the Free “4-Step Strategy” to obtain a residence permit for family members, complete with the official forms: Invitation statement by the Italian citizen for the family member to show at the border (or to obtain an entry visa, where applicable): Dichiarazione di alloggio e garanzia

• “Dichiarazione di ospitalità” to be submitted to the immigration police within 48 hours
• “Dichiarazione di presenza” to be submitted to the immigration police within 8 days

+ the list of documents required by the police for the application.

Download the Free “4-Step Strategy” HERE

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