Health Insurance and Commune residency

If you are applying to be a full time legal resident, you don't have to show proof of coverage. In fact, you will automatically be covered by the Italian system once you are a resident. After you've got your residency papers from the Ufficio Anagrafe, you just go down to the local ASL office and get signed up. Your tessera di codice fiscale doubles as your health insurance card.If this is your second home and you are not applying for residency, but will rather have a permisso di soggiorno, you skip the Anagrafe altogether. You would have to apply for a permisso di soggiorno at the Questura, and they will most likely ask for your proof of coverage at that point.Good luck!

We have found the official EU website most useful in our 'quest' to find the answers about residency in Italy. Cut and paste this link into your browser:http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/06/179&form... You can post questions and they will write back to you (takes around 8 days) with the official version. Lots of other useful info on the site too.Good LuckTiramisu

We had a fairly easy time of it in Cosenza province. We are residents and the Carta D'Identita was a straightforward filling of forms, followed by a Commune police check and then a signature, about 5 days in all. The health card was applied for and granted at the administration centre for the local health authority. They had never done it before but looked it up and we had a card within a week. We have to renew every year for 5 years and then show proof that we have lived here for that time, then we get a full card. There were no questions about health insurance but we did have to show that we weren't vagrants by showing them the bank balance.One problem we did encounter which you may like to fix in advance was that our Codice Fiscale, which we had applied for when purchasing as required, was still registered to the address of our Immobiliare, as many are. It was a simple matter to change the address but it meant another visit, and queue, at the health centre after we had done it.

As said above every commune is different. We recently obtained residency and didn't have a private medical insurance, but had an E106. It wasn't an easy excercise getting residency, but as soon as we produced our E106, everything seemed very simple all of a sudden. As i have children we also had to have 15,000 euros in our bank. This figure was reduced about 2 months ago from 15,000 to 13,000, but again all of a sudden it was increased to 15,000, maybe to catch us out??We had to have birth certicates and marriage cert apostiled at the Commonwealth offices at Milton Keynes and have all documents translated, which could be done by yourself, but the had to be approved in court.On top of everything we had to have many marco di bollo stamps, about 200 euros worth, that's the trouble when you have 82 children!!!!If you need any more info, let me know, good luck.

I have lived here 5 years and have never been asked for bank statements or health insurance, maybe it depends on your commune.

What's the connection between legal residency and health insurance? I don't see it... I think you should focus on your residency and an affordable health insurance separately. I doubt there are areas that require mandatory health insurance for getting permanent residency.

Seems to me people have widely different experiences depending on comune requirements, so I would simply say ask your comune what they want, then provide it. My experience was that the comune had expected me to contract out of the NHS and into the Italian system through the E Form system (E121 in my case, as we are retired). We chose to not do that, so had to provide evidence of private cover. Our local insurance agent found a policy for about Euro 900 - which we think reasonable for two oldies (so please don't tell me we got ripped off ) - which we then presented to the comune. They didn't query what it covered (nor did we) but were happy they could tick the appropriate box and that was that. We won't continue the policy as I still don't know what it covers, and we do have cover elsewhere.  So it all depends on what you want your health cover for - just to get residency, or to cover your health as well. Terry

What's the connection between legal residency and health insurance? I don't see it... I think you should focus on your residency and an affordable health insurance separately.

The connection betwen the two is as follows.  Italy wish to ensure that residents of other EU countries are not an unwarranted drain on resources.  There are two factors, both viewed as short-term matters.  The first is that you have enough income to live on in, the second is that you won't be a drain on the SSN (i.e. Health Service).  The current legislation requires you to 'prove' both of these before you will be granted residency.  If you are neither state-retired in the UK nor working here in Italy, then you will have to prove both - the first by a bank statement showing enough capital (or, if you are lucky, self-declaration that you have it), the second by PHI (because intra-EU cover is emergency services only). Once you have got residency, you then have to wait 5 years before being admitted to the SSN (or if you start work in the meantime you go straight in at that point.  What happens if you pass retirement age during the 5 years I don't know).  In this interim period you aren't in the SSN, so you will only have emergency cover unless you renew your PHI. This is the current, theoretical system.  It didn't used to be like this (changed in 2007 I think), and not all comunes fully understand the legislation, so a few lucky people will slip through by mistake.

I doubt there are areas that require mandatory health insurance for getting permanent residency.

What you have written is true.  You don't require PHI to get permanent residence.  Other way round, in fact.  Permanent residence is what you get after the 5 years, that then entitles you to join the SSN.

Excellent and concise answer Saranno. There is a lot available on the official websites to confirm that - all of these are in English: British Embassy - obvious first place to look. Ministero del Lavoro - if you are wanting to work in Italy. Polizia di Stato - You need to comply. Agenzia delle Entrate - where you find out about (and pay) Italian taxes. Ministero Dell'Interno - Immigration and elections - and lots else.