A US citizen needs a visa to
Submitted by modicasa on Fri, 07/24/2015 - 05:50In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
A US citizen needs a visa to be in the Schengen countries over a set period and then apply for a Permesso di Soggiorno to stay in Italy - in your mothers case it would be visa for dimora. As EU citizens you would need all the usual residential qualifications - private healthcare, bank balance to prove you wont be a strain onthe italian state, somewhere to live so act of purchase or rental contract. Your mother would need all of that too. So to recap: before she leaves the States she should get a Schengen visa. When she arrives in Italy applies for a Permesso di Soggiorno. You will arrive in Italy and ask for residence (once you have somewhere to live) which will require the same papework but no PdS. For the cats pet passports are fine, with the jabs (I think) within a month of travelling.
This information may be of
Submitted by Gala Placidia on Fri, 07/24/2015 - 07:46In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
This information may be of assistance http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/non-eu-family/index_en.htm
And concerning the cats..
Submitted by Gala Placidia on Fri, 07/24/2015 - 07:51In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
And concerning the cats...http://www.pettravel.com/immigration/Italy.cfm
see this pages
Submitted by Ugo on Sat, 07/25/2015 - 06:21In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec