I'm sure I'm not the first

Tinadc24 Image
11/03/2014 - 14:07

I'm sure I'm not the first person to be in my current situation, so I'm hoping someone on the boards can help me out...I've searched high and low and can't find answers to these questions!I'm an American and my husband is Italian. He lives in Italy and I live in the States, but I'm moving to Italy in January.I work for an American company and will continue to do so from Italy. My company does not have an Italian office (that is to say, I won't be going to an office in Italy everyday--don't know if this matters!). I will continue to receive my salary in US dollars to my American bank account.I plan to go to the questura as soon as possible after arrival to get the ball rolling for my permesso di soggiorno!Questions:1. Do I have to take Italian residency? What are the pros and cons to this? Is it smarter to maintain American (or dual?) residency for some reason (ie. taxes)?2. How will healthcare work for me over there?3. Do I have to pay Italian taxes? Do I just continue to file American taxes from over there?4. Can I open a bank account? If I wire transfer money a few times a year from my American account to my husband's Italian account (or to my Italian account, if I open one) will he/I have to pay Italian taxes on that (ie. will that appear suspect/appear to be income, even though it's not)?5. Any insight into the permesso di soggiorno process would also be most welcome!6. Are there pros/cons to getting Italian citizenship?I just want to do what's most financially saavy without breaking the law!Thanks so much!

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I can't give you specific answers but you may want to start with the Italian consulate where you live for answers.You will be liable for taxes in the US on your US income.You will also be eligible for dual citizenship since you are married to an Italian citizen.I'd recommend you start on your end with the consulate and your husband should inquire here at the Questura.

Hello,We are in a similar situation...my husband is an American who came over to Italy. Answers to your questions:1) As far as we know, if you plan to be here for more than 90 days, you must have a visa (like a work visa) OR permesso di soggiorno, which you can get for "motivi familiari" (family reasons) since your husband is an Italian citizen and lives in Italy. The steps for the permesso di soggiorno, like most things in Italy, are long and arduous.  You will need to go to your towns "officio per stranieri" (foreigner's office) to ask what you need to do to get the permesso di soggiorno.  Do this ASAP as it's a long process.2) Health care should be attainable pretty quickly. You have to go to the "Officio di Entrate" to get a "codice fiscale", which is kind of like a social security number here in Italy. This codice fiscale will be your tax id number. Your husband probably has one. It also is found on your national health care card, which you register for. Once you have the healthcare card, you will be assigned a public physician for general care. If you need specialized care, your primary physician will have to refer you (if you don't want to pay for it) or you can go to a private doctor at any time (and pay for it out of pocket). The codice fiscale is probably going to be your first step, as you will need it for your application for the permesso di soggiorno.3) BOTH!  When you register for the codice fiscale, which you need for virtually everything in Italy, you will be announcing your presence to the Italian goverment, and therefore will be expected to pay taxes in Italy, since you will be benefiting from the services the Italians provide (like healthcare). You have the added bonus of being an American, and America, unfortunately, does require payment of taxes from individual citizens residing outside the USA. You will have to file USA taxes every year, but the bright side is that the US government will give you a credit for what you are paying in Italy....4) You can probably open a bank account once you have a codice fiscale. Any transfers to your or your husband's bank account will have to have an explanation, and the Italian banks are very sensitive to this at the moment.5) As I stated earlier, the permesso di soggiorno process is long and arduous.  But it is possible, as long as you get all the papers and stamps that you need.  You will need to be guided through this process by your local "ufficio stranieri"...they can help you with this.6) Italian citizenship will be unattainable for at least 3 years after you get residency, or one year if you have an italian child.  But even then, this is a long and arduous process that takes months to complete and then years to process once it's turned in!  Hooray for bureaucracy! In short, you or your husband should talk to a "commercialista" who has experience with your situation ASAP to get all the money advice.  You will probably have to change your pay into Euros and it will probably have to be posted to an italian bank account as soon as possible to avoid tax penalties.Good luck!Chiara