I usually drive to Italy with my old style UK paper drivers licence with no photo. Back in early 2020 this was also good to show for car hire. Have the rules changed since Brexit? is an old style UK paper licence still valid for car hire? The
Just in case it might help anyone not already aware. My comune is discounting the costs of IMU by 37.5% for second home owners resident abroad who are in receipt of a recognized pension as proof of retired status.
Any recommendations on an Italian bank? I have used MPS for years and they are fine and I can manage stuff online but they seem expensive, I assume to pay for an extensive branch network.
Others will have more experience than me but perhaps the Italian land registry site catastoinrete.it might be useful. My own experience was going to the local land office and getting a copy of what is registered so useful if you have a local friend or relative.
I have been on the consular site 'serviziconsolarionline.esteri.it' where I had previously registered and opened an account. It has an English version. I don't know whether it is harder to open an account these days as there seems to be more verification. This tells me that my county is covered by London. The Birmingham office is no longer listed, which is a pain for me as I live near Brum. The other two consular offices are Manchester and Edinburgh.
I then clicked on 'Consulates and Institutions' and chose the option to take me to 'conslondra.esteri.it', you might be able to jump straight to this site. It is also available in English and has alot of information for foreign and Italian nationals. I then chose Servizi Consolari e Visti' and then clicked on 'Servizi per il cittadino straniero' then 'cittadinaza', then 'cittadinanza per discendenza'. I then had to register an account on 'Prenot@MI' which was a real pain and it took several attempts before I managed to register an account, very frustrating. They only release appointment slots at 17:00 on Monday and Wednesdays. Once the limited appointments are gone then you have to wait for the next release. My experience with Birmingham was that the slots are all gone in a very few minutes.
I have tried ringing Manchester consulate that still seems to be open but the number defaults to London. All I can find out is that Birmingham was closed during at least August but I'm not clear if it reopened. I used to know the previous vice consul but I've long lost his number as they used to be in Fiveways. Sorry I can't be more helpful but I am going to try and visit them one morning as I will need their services.
Depends on which consular office you want to use. The main consulate in London requires that you register on their site and book an appointment online, Tuesday mornings is one of the sessions. They will only see you if you turn up with an appointment confirmation booked via their site.
I've used Birmingham vice consulate in the past which was not a great experience. I notice that people were dropping in to get advice on citizenship without an appointment. Most people there were queuing to get a passport and it was after the Brexit vote so a bit chaotic.
I think there was a vice consulate in Manchester. It depends where you live.
Good luck as not an easy process. London seems under resourced and vice consulates rely on volunteers.
There are loads but a favourite is travel writer Eric Newby. He wrote at least two based in Italy. A book of escaping as a prisoner of war in Italy and another book of his time having a house in northern Tuscany during the 60s and 70s. Good for anyone who has a place in the Barga, Aulla, Bagni area. Captures a time when north Tuscany was still undiscovered.
Unfortunately Alan has beaten me to it and said everything I would have said except I don't have dogs. I travel to western Tuscany and the trip out is always a highlight. The trip back to blighty is nice but always feels harder! It must be uphill. We do it in 2 nights but we are thinking of doing it in 3 nights for the return trip to do a bit more French sightseeing.
We use basically the same routes as Alan via northern France and Reims or a northern variation via France, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, etc which is only 15 miles longer, faster but a bit dull. Yes fuel in Luxembourg. We cross over to Germany near Colmar as we love the town and it means we can enjoy more miles on the stretches of the no speed limit German motorway. Yes, always buy the vignette before entering Switzerland and yes avoid Basle.
We don't stop in Switzerland to avoid having to get Swiss francs. Toilets are free in Switzerland at motorways rest halts with room for dogs and they tend to be quieter but you pay for toilets at motorway service stations.
Our summer route is usually via Besancon, Gran San Bernard pass and along lake Geneva as so scenic, quieter but slower.
If you plan doing the trip regularly then consider getting a motorway tag either one from France or Italy. One tag covers several countries other than Switzerland. Otherwise you can use a debit or credit card to pay the tolls to avoid messing with cash.
Thank you. My MPS account is online but still feels expensive. People in the UK complain about not having bank branches, MPS has branches even in small towns which i guess is why they are expensive. I need to look at Fineco, Intesa, etc. Usual problem that more likely to change your wife than your bank account.
Driving in Italy is fine. Big cities like Rome have more assertive drivers just like London and Paris and you need to not dither as if in a hire car they will assume you're a local. Traffic is bad with scooters all over the place. Country roads are fine. Motorways, don't linger in the fast lane. Overtake and pull in otherwise you get aggressive tailgating. Dont forget to tske the ticket when joining a toll road as you'll need it upon exit, and a few toll roads around Milan and Rome you pay in advance as they are part of the outer ring road. You can use a credit or debit card for tolls but it might be cheaper to buy a token so can use the automatic gates. Parking, some places you need to use and display the clock card in your hire card and use Google Maps to warn you of ZTLs otherwise the charge will eventually be passed on to you. This might all be a bit unfamiliar but you'll soon get the hang of it and you'll see some lovely places off the tourist track.
Thank you both. Food for thought. I was on the verge of an enclosed wood burner until the next day they cancelled sconto in fattura. It will have to be something standalone that takes up less space than my corner open fire.
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Others will have more experience than me but perhaps the Italian land registry site catastoinrete.it might be useful. My own experience was going to the local land office and getting a copy of what is registered so useful if you have a local friend or relative.
I have been on the consular site 'serviziconsolarionline.esteri.it' where I had previously registered and opened an account. It has an English version. I don't know whether it is harder to open an account these days as there seems to be more verification. This tells me that my county is covered by London. The Birmingham office is no longer listed, which is a pain for me as I live near Brum. The other two consular offices are Manchester and Edinburgh.
I then clicked on 'Consulates and Institutions' and chose the option to take me to 'conslondra.esteri.it', you might be able to jump straight to this site. It is also available in English and has alot of information for foreign and Italian nationals. I then chose Servizi Consolari e Visti' and then clicked on 'Servizi per il cittadino straniero' then 'cittadinaza', then 'cittadinanza per discendenza'. I then had to register an account on 'Prenot@MI' which was a real pain and it took several attempts before I managed to register an account, very frustrating. They only release appointment slots at 17:00 on Monday and Wednesdays. Once the limited appointments are gone then you have to wait for the next release. My experience with Birmingham was that the slots are all gone in a very few minutes.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
I have tried ringing Manchester consulate that still seems to be open but the number defaults to London. All I can find out is that Birmingham was closed during at least August but I'm not clear if it reopened. I used to know the previous vice consul but I've long lost his number as they used to be in Fiveways. Sorry I can't be more helpful but I am going to try and visit them one morning as I will need their services.
Depends on which consular office you want to use. The main consulate in London requires that you register on their site and book an appointment online, Tuesday mornings is one of the sessions. They will only see you if you turn up with an appointment confirmation booked via their site.
I've used Birmingham vice consulate in the past which was not a great experience. I notice that people were dropping in to get advice on citizenship without an appointment. Most people there were queuing to get a passport and it was after the Brexit vote so a bit chaotic.
I think there was a vice consulate in Manchester. It depends where you live.
Good luck as not an easy process. London seems under resourced and vice consulates rely on volunteers.
There are loads but a favourite is travel writer Eric Newby. He wrote at least two based in Italy. A book of escaping as a prisoner of war in Italy and another book of his time having a house in northern Tuscany during the 60s and 70s. Good for anyone who has a place in the Barga, Aulla, Bagni area. Captures a time when north Tuscany was still undiscovered.
Another good endorsement. I will have to look at them. Thanks.
Unfortunately Alan has beaten me to it and said everything I would have said except I don't have dogs. I travel to western Tuscany and the trip out is always a highlight. The trip back to blighty is nice but always feels harder! It must be uphill. We do it in 2 nights but we are thinking of doing it in 3 nights for the return trip to do a bit more French sightseeing.
We use basically the same routes as Alan via northern France and Reims or a northern variation via France, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, etc which is only 15 miles longer, faster but a bit dull. Yes fuel in Luxembourg. We cross over to Germany near Colmar as we love the town and it means we can enjoy more miles on the stretches of the no speed limit German motorway. Yes, always buy the vignette before entering Switzerland and yes avoid Basle.
We don't stop in Switzerland to avoid having to get Swiss francs. Toilets are free in Switzerland at motorways rest halts with room for dogs and they tend to be quieter but you pay for toilets at motorway service stations.
Our summer route is usually via Besancon, Gran San Bernard pass and along lake Geneva as so scenic, quieter but slower.
If you plan doing the trip regularly then consider getting a motorway tag either one from France or Italy. One tag covers several countries other than Switzerland. Otherwise you can use a debit or credit card to pay the tolls to avoid messing with cash.
Thank you. My MPS account is online but still feels expensive. People in the UK complain about not having bank branches, MPS has branches even in small towns which i guess is why they are expensive. I need to look at Fineco, Intesa, etc. Usual problem that more likely to change your wife than your bank account.
Driving in Italy is fine. Big cities like Rome have more assertive drivers just like London and Paris and you need to not dither as if in a hire car they will assume you're a local. Traffic is bad with scooters all over the place. Country roads are fine. Motorways, don't linger in the fast lane. Overtake and pull in otherwise you get aggressive tailgating. Dont forget to tske the ticket when joining a toll road as you'll need it upon exit, and a few toll roads around Milan and Rome you pay in advance as they are part of the outer ring road. You can use a credit or debit card for tolls but it might be cheaper to buy a token so can use the automatic gates. Parking, some places you need to use and display the clock card in your hire card and use Google Maps to warn you of ZTLs otherwise the charge will eventually be passed on to you. This might all be a bit unfamiliar but you'll soon get the hang of it and you'll see some lovely places off the tourist track.
Thank you both. Food for thought. I was on the verge of an enclosed wood burner until the next day they cancelled sconto in fattura. It will have to be something standalone that takes up less space than my corner open fire.