3063 What do we need for ...? Permits and Codices and Visas, oh my!

Ok,

I've seen a lot of talk about Permisso di Soggiorno, Codice Fiscale, Carte di Soggiorno, etc, but have not been able to find anything saying exactly what I need for what things. So...I'm gonna throw my questions out here, and hope somebody can lay it down specifically as far as the requirements, etc. I'm sorry if a lot of this material has been covered in other posts, but I'm starting to get overwhelmed trying to sort it out on all the different threads, etc.

Ok, so I am a British Citizen living in the US (have never actually lived in the UK, so I'm not familiar with UK government, social security, etc), married to a Canadian citizen. I am planning to go to Italy later this year with my wife, and we will be staying for 10 months.

First off, I know that as an EU citizen, I should not need a Visa to enter the country, but I'm not sure about my wife, as she is not a citizen of the EU. Does she need a Visa, and if so, which one should she apply for? It would be nice if she can work, but it really doesn't matter, so any visa that gets her in the country legally for 10 months is fine by us.

Ok, after the Visa, what permits do we need to apply for? I've heard references to the following: Permisso di Soggiorno, Codice Fiscale, Carte di Soggiorno. Which of those do we need to apply for in order to stay in the country for 10 months, where do we need to apply, and at what time (first 7 days, etc)? Also, how long does it take from the time of applying to the time of receiving it? We won't necessarily have a permanent address they can send it to, so it will be important to know when to expect it.

Once we have the permits we need to stay in the country, the same questions as above apply to which permits we need to (for me or her - whichever is easier):

I) Purchase and/or Insure a car that we will be driving
II) Sign up for a Cell Phone and Data plan
III) Work while there
IV) Use government provided medical (not sure if this is feasible?)
V) Travel in and out of the country

Anything that could be applied for and received prior to leaving the US would be great. If someone could provide a list of what documentation, etc is required for each permit/visa, that would be great as well!

I know this is a huge question, but I'm sure a lot of people would benefit from all this information consolidated into one thread as well. Thanks so much in advance!

Category
Legal

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/27/2006 - 16:43

My suggestion would be to contact the Canadian Embassy nearest you in the US and make an appointment with them to get it all sorted out. They are less crowded than the US or Italian Embassies, and I have it on good authority that you can get an appointment with them much quicker than the others. This is what I would do in your position, and will also give you a personal contact (in case of any emergency that might arise in the future).

Hope this helps.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/27/2006 - 23:56

I have the order of things listed here [url]http://www.expatsinitaly.com/arrival/paperwork.htm[/url] Thanks for asking these questions as it is an incentive for me to add on to that page.

The PdiS and the CdiS are interchangible and as you are an EU citizen you can apply right off for the CdiS but your spouse would have to apply for the CdiS.

Your most important "document" is getting your residency. This is done at the comune AFTER you get your PdiS/CdiS. Once you ave this you can buy a car and get on the health plan. With your CdiS/PdiS you can work. Getting a cell phone is the easiest, you can do this just with your passport in many places although you really should have a true codice fiscale on you to get it. Oh and the codice fiscale, although on the link I gave above says to get it second, you can also get it from your home Italian Consulate before coming over.

As for the visa for your wife. It all depends, some questura do not need them while others do. You should discuss this with your home Consulate.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/28/2006 - 11:40

Great, thanks for the replies! I think I will have my wife check with the Canadian Consulate to see what she needs. That link was really useful, Cristina, thanks a bunch!! I did have a couple of questions, though...

For a Permisso di Soggiorno and Residence Permit, it looks like you need to have an address...if we are going to be travelling around and probably not staying in any one place for more than 2-3 weeks (with the exception of 3 months in the Alps somewhere in the middle), how should we handle that? Are they going to insist that we have somewhere rented for longer, or can we apply without an address? Also, we have cousins there who would probably let us use their address, but if somebody comes by to verify we live there, chances are we won't be there.

Next question...what is the difference between a Carte di Soggiorno and a Permisso di Soggiorno? I know one is for EU citizens, but what is the difference in what it allows you to do, and what you need to do to apply for it?

Thanks again!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/30/2006 - 00:28

Yes you will need an address to get the permesso di soggiorno and then residenza. If you are travelling around this won't work though. You would have to show a rental contract or have your cousin fillout the form that says you are staying with them. For the permesso they do not come by but to get residenza they do need to come and check that you live there. It takes anywhere from a month to 9 months to get a permesso so after you get it you would have to go to the comune of residence and apply for residence and then they would come out within 30 days.

You can read about the permesso and carta from the link I gave but basically there are no differences. A non EU person can get a carta as well but they must wait until they have legally lived in Italy for 6 years first while the EU citizen can apply for it immediately.

If you are not planning on staying in any one place for more than a couple of weeks, getting on the national health system, buying a car and getting work would be impossible I am affraid.