Are you moving to Italy with your Italian spouse?

This is a blessed time of your life: enjoy fully the beauty of living in Italy!

But don’t let the infamous Italian bureaucracy suck your energies. Just take these 4 right steps to deal with registrations effectively.

 

STEP #1  –  Marriage certificate

Before moving to Italy, your spouse should register your marriage at the Italian Consulate of your area of residence. They will send your marriage record to the Italian municipality in which your spouse is registered (on the Registrar of Italian citizens living abroad, so-called AIRE). This process may take up to 180 days.

As a result, you will be officially recognized as the spouse of an Italian citizen with all the benefits and rights attached to that status in Italy.

It is best to do this registration BEFORE moving: that prevents discussions with the Italian authorities and lengthy processing.

So you should hand in a certified copy of your original marriage record (not a marriage certificate, which is an abridged form) to the Italian Consulate of the area of your residence. They will need this document in a specific form:

Your marriage certificate must be in full form: i.e. including all the details registered on the original record, and particularly the spouses’ dates and exact place of birth as well as their parents’ full name/last names, and maiden name, previous marriages, possible notes. Check the information on the website of the Italian Consulate regarding marriage registrations.

If you do not register your marriage at the Italian Consulate before moving to Italy, you will need to hand the certified copy of your marriage record to the Italian municipality in which you will reside. In that case, the document will have to be valid internationally, i.e. bearing an Apostille by the competent authority in your country of residence, and be translated into Italian. The translation needs to be official bearing another Apostille).

Important! A marriage certificate is regarded as valid in Italy only for 6 months up from its issue date.

 

STEP #2   –  Immigration

Check on the website of Italian Ministry of Foreign affairs if you need a visa. That is necessary for the nationals of most countries outside of the European Union.

In order to operate your right of residence in Italy (national level), you need to register at the Immigration Office. This is located at the police headquarters of every province (Questura).

You are expected to register within 90 days from your arrival in Italy.

As a family member of an Italian citizen, you are entitled to obtain a residence card. That is a document valid for 5 years and free of charge. Find more information here about the Residence Card

What happens at the office? The immigration office will give you:

– a receipt as proof of your application and

– an appointment for delivering your Carta di Soggiorno

– your tax number (Codice Fiscale)

 

STEP #3  – Municipality (Anagrafe)

The Italian administration requires multiple registrations and offices do not communicate with each other. So you are required to register with more offices to operate each of your rights.

At this stage, you have to register at the local administration by entering your data on the Population Registrar (Anagrafe) held by the Municipality of your residence. They call this “iscrizione di residenza”.

This step is necessary for ALL family members, irrespective of their nationality.

You will have to take the following documents:

– your Immigration Office receipt,

– your passport

– a proof of your lawful residence: a statement by your host, a rental contract or another document concerning your accommodation on a long term

 

STEP #4  – National Health Care Insurance

Italian health care coverage is free and mandatory, so take full advantage and register for it: just show up at the local public health care office (called Unità Sanitaria Locale, USL) for your area of residence. Take the following documents:

– Municipality receipt for the application for “iscrizione di residenza”,

– Immigration Office receipt,

– your passport

– your tax number

What happens at this office?

You will have to fill out yet another application form (often available on the office’s website) and they will give you immediately the health care card.

Finally, you’re done!

Do you need help?

A quick and professional advice is inexpensive and stops any waste time and money in long searches and mistakes. Clear your doubts and send me your question. I will reply with a private email. Start here

 

READ MORE ON RELATED ISSUES:

Italian citizenship by marriage. How to cut the waiting time?

Is your family member an Italian Citizen? Get your 5 years residence card