3783 Bank ACCOUNTS/Mobile Phones

Coming to Italy for a holiday and to view property, soon to live full time in Italy -can i open a bank account on my holiday visit this time?
Mobile phones- are they expensive to buy'
Thanks Jock

Category
General chat about Italy

Hi jock, welcome!

I'd suggest that opening a bank account may be premature as the bank charges are quite high; you might like to wait until you need one! Opening one is not too hard, but it's good to have a codice fiscale (this can be done on line if you want; try the search feature on the forum [middle green bar on the right] as there should be a stack of info on it).

....I'd suggest you don't get too wound up about getting one for this visit; it's not too hard & not needed until you are a little clearer in direction ;)

Buying a mobile is simple & cheap; you could take your UK mobile over (assuming your form the UK!) & pop an Italian SIM card in it. To get a SIM I think you will only need your passport (but may need a codice fiscale....... so ignore everything I just said!)

It is possible to get an Italian SIM whilst you're in the UK....take a look at [url=http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/utility-services/3676-italian-sim-card.html]this thread[/url] for some more options.

Welcome again; where are you looking ay buying?

I've just found this on [url=http://www.laportaverde.com/pagina.aspx?pageid=378]obtaining a Codice Fiscale[/url] that may help.

[QUOTE=tuscanhills]Buying a mobile is simple & cheap; you could take your UK mobile over (assuming your form the UK!) & pop an Italian SIM card in it.[/QUOTE]

...With the relatively minor qualification that your phone first needs to be "unlocked". Generally speaking, a phone you bought in the UK with a SIM from T-Mobile, Orange, Virgin or whoever just won't work with another company's SIM unless it has been unlocked.

Unlocking is no big deal for most phones. In fact, my understanding is that if you have a Nokia, there are websites where you can get the codes you need to do it for free. Phones produced by other manufacturers require slightly more complicated procedures, and I believe there are some phones which simply cannot be unlocked, but it's usually not a major headache for anyone with a bit of techincal nous. And it's not illegal or anything.

Al

EDIT: Having looked at the link to the earlier thread by Kim & David, see that my comments are redundant since the unlocking point covered in detail. Nevermind...

Kim,that is right, all I needed was my passport to get my italian sim card, which I put in my english phone, no problem at all.

Good points, firstly we live in Spain with vodophone mobile and secondly we need the bank account to transfer our pensions, too late once we are there as they need 4 weks warning

I'm not sure how easy it is to open a bank account here without permesso di soggiorno or residenza. When we were going round various banks trying to find out information, we were told we would need both pieces of paper. Eventually we opened an account with BNL, where the bank manager accepted a permesso di soggiorno as documentation. In fact, Italian bank managers have a lot of autonomy, and can relax the rules much more than their UK counterparts would be able to do.

The Italian post office offer current accounts, and they may also be able to open accounts for you if you don't yet have a permesso.

[quote=English teacher]I'm not sure how easy it is to open a bank account here without permesso di soggiorno or residenza.......[/quote]

You're right that Bank Managers have a lot of automony; we opened our account without anything more than a CF & passport as there were a large number of Brits buying in the area & the bancario recognised this as a 'nice earner'.

D

It could well be that banks where there are already plenty of foreign held accounts are much less interested in documentation. Like tuscanhills, I have found a passport and a codice fiscale is enough to open an account.