Brexit: Living in Italy

Visas and residency

Check the entry requirements for Italy.

You must register as an Italian resident (in Italian) if you want to stay in Italy for more than 3 months. You will get one of the following from the local town hall or comune:

• an attestazione di regolarità di soggiorno
• a certificato di residenza
• attestazione di iscrizione anagrafica or attestazione di soggiorno permanente (if resident for 5 years or more)

Residency after Brexit

If the UK leaves the EU with a deal, the Italian government will recognise the rights of all UK nationals legally resident in Italy before the end of the implementation period. On 21 December 2018, the Italian government made an announcement about its plans for UK residents if there is a deal: ‘the Italian Government continues its preparation for Brexit’ (in Italian).

If there are changes to residency rules or registration processes after Brexit, we will update this guidance as soon as information is available.

The Italian government has passed legislation stating which measures will be put in place if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

If there’s no deal, UK nationals resident in Italy will need to get a new non-EUresidence permit before 31 December 2020. This will protect your rights, including access to healthcare, rights to work and access to social benefits.

If you have lived in Italy for 5 years or more, you will be eligible for a permanent residency permit. If you have been living in Italy for less than 5 years, you will be eligible for a temporary residency permit, which will be valid for 5 years.

After Brexit, you will have to go to your local police station in person to get the new residence permit before 31 December 2020. Your current EUresidency certificate, temporary or permanent, will stay valid until you get your new non-EU residency one.

If you are a UK national applying for Italian citizenship and you have the required 4 years residency in Italy before the UK leaves the EU, then your Italian citizenship application will be considered on the basis of EUnationality if it is submitted before 31 December 2020.

Passports and travel

You can apply for or renew your British passport from Italy.

Passports and travel after Brexit

After Brexit, the rules on travel will change. Check your passport is valid for travel before you book your trip. You’ll need to renew your passport before travelling if you do not have enough time left on your passport.

If there is a deal, nothing will change until the end of 2020. During this time you can continue to travel freely in the Schengen area with your UK passport. What happens after 2020 will form the next part of negotiations.

If there’s no deal, you must have at least 6 months left on an adult or child passport to travel to most countries in Europe (not including Ireland). If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months needed.

If there’s no deal, UK nationals will not need visas for short stays elsewhere in the EU. You will be able to stay up to 90 days in another EU, EEA or EFTA country, within a 180-day period. You must retain evidence of travel (such as train and plane tickets), in case these are requested by national authorities. If you hold a residence permit from an EU, EEA or EFTA country, you will be able to transit through other EU, EEA or EFTA countries to reach your country of residence.

Healthcare

If you’re staying in Italy for more than 3 months, you must register with the Italian National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN)) through your local Azienda Sanitaria Locale.

You can register for free with the SNN if:

• you have a work contract, are self-employed in Italy or are an immediate family member of someone who is
• you are an immediate family member of an Italian citizen
• you have been officially resident in Italy for 5 years or more
• you are unemployed, registered on the employment lists (liste di collocamento) or registered for a professional training course
• you hold a UK social security form, such as an S1 form for pensioners

If you are not eligible to register for free, you can pay an annual fee to receive state healthcare. Contact your local Azienda Sanitaria Locale.

Read the NHS guidance on accessing healthcare in Italy and how to register.

If you live in Italy and receive an exportable UK pension, contribution-based Employment Support Allowance or another exportable benefit, you may currently be entitled to state healthcare paid for by the UK. You must apply for a certificate of entitlement known as an S1 certificate.

If you are resident in Italy, you must not use a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) from the UK for healthcare in Italy.

When you travel from Italy for a temporary stay in another European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland, you can use an EHIC to access state-provided healthcare in that country. During that short stay:

• the EHIC covers treatment that is medically necessary until your planned return home
• an EHIC is not a replacement for comprehensive travel insurance
• for more information, read the travel advice pages and advice on foreign travel insurance pages

If you are registered for public healthcare as a resident in Italy, and are travelling outside of Italy, carry your Italian health card (tessera sanitaria) with you.

If you are a student, read the NHS guidance on healthcare and studying abroad.

You can find an English-speaking doctor in Italy.

You must check your prescriptions are legal in Italy.

Healthcare after Brexit

If there is a deal, your current rights on access to healthcare in Italy will remain the same until the end of the implementation period, as long as you remain a resident in Italy.

If there’s no deal, your access to healthcare may change. If you are a permanent or temporary resident, review your healthcare cover.

The new Italian legislation, on measures that would be put in place if there’s no deal, includes a commitment to continue social security coordination and access to healthcare until 31 December 2020 on a reciprocal basis. We will update this guidance when more information becomes available.

You must confirm your residency status and decide how you will ensure access to healthcare if there’s no deal. UK nationals will be able to return to the UK for treatment.

Your EHIC may not be valid if there’s no deal. The UK has offered to maintain the EHIC scheme if there’s no deal, however this relies on Italy continuing to accept UK EHICs.

Read the NHS’s guidance on healthcare for UK nationals in Italy and how it may change after Brexit.

Working in Italy

If you are registered as a resident in Italy, you have the right to work in Italy. Read the guidance on working in another EU Country. To apply for a job, you may need to provide a:

• UK criminal records certificate
• Italian criminal records certificate (Certificato del casellario giudiziale) issued by the Italian Law Court (Ufficio Casellario Giudiziale c/o Procura della Repubblica, Tribunale)

Working in Italy after Brexit

If there is a deal, your right to work will stay the same until the end of the implementation period.

Read the guidance on providing services after Brexit if you’re planning to start a business, provide a service, or do a job in a regulated profession after Brexit.

Money and tax

The UK has a double-taxation agreement with Italy to make sure that people do not pay tax on the same income in both countries.

Read guidance about:

• telling HMRC if you leave the UK to live abroad
• the tax on your UK income if you live abroad
• paying income tax in Italy

You should get professional advice on paying tax in Italy. You can find a tax adviser or business consultant (commercialista) at the British Chamber of Commerce for Italy or Centro Assistenza Fiscale – Tax Assistance Centre (CAF), or find an English-speaking lawyer.

Declaration of overseas assets

Check if you need to file an annual declaration of overseas assets using the Quadro RW form (part of the annual Unico tax form). There are severe penalties if you do not file, or give incorrect or incomplete information.

You can get more information from a tax adviser or business consultant (commercialista) at the British Chamber of Commerce for Italy or Centro Assistenza Fiscale – Tax Assistance Centre (CAF).

National Insurance

Find out if you can pay National Insurance while abroad so that you protect your UK State Pension and entitlement to other benefits and allowances.

Money and tax after Brexit

Brexit will not change existing double taxation arrangements for UK nationals living in Italy. Send your questions about double taxation to the relevant tax authority.

If there’s no deal, it may become more expensive to use your UK bank card in Italy. Read more about using a bank card, insurance or other financial service in the EU.

Pensions

You will need to tell the UK government offices that deal with your benefits, pension and tax if you are moving or retiring abroad.

If you retire in Italy, you can claim:

• your UK State Pension or new UK State Pension. Contact the International Pensions Centre to claim
• your Italian and UK State Pension from the Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (INPS), if you have worked in Italy
• pensions from working abroad, if you have worked in other EU countries

Life certificates for UK state pensions

If you get a ‘life certificate’ from the UK Pension Service, you need to respond as soon as possible. Your payments may be suspended if you don’t.

Pensions after Brexit

The UK government will continue to pay a State Pension to those eligible in the EU after Brexit. Your UK State Pension will be uprated in April 2020, 2021 and 2022 if you live in the EU, EEA or Switzerland.

If there is a deal, and you work and pay social security contributions in Italy, you will still be able to add your UK social security contributions towards your Italian pension. This will happen even if you claim your pension after the end of the implementation period.

If there’s no deal, we will seek agreement with the Italian government for them to take into account periods of work in the UK before Brexit when calculating your Italian pension. We will update this guidance when there is a formal agreement on this.

Read the guidance on pensions if there’s no deal.

Benefits

You may still be able to claim some UK benefits like child and disability benefits if you live in Italy.

• read the guidance on which benefits you can claim if you live abroad
• use the tool to check which benefits you can claim while you’re abroad

Many income-related benefits such as pension credit and housing benefit cannot be paid to you if you’re abroad for more than 4 weeks.

You can request proof of the time you’ve worked in the UK from HMRC if you are asked for this.

Italian benefits

You may be eligible to claim some Italian social security benefits.

• read the EU’s guidance on claiming benefits in Italy
• visit your nearest Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (INPS)

Benefits after Brexit

The UK government will continue to pay the UK state pension, child benefits, and disability benefits to eligible people living in the EU after Brexit.

If there is a deal and you work and pay social security contributions in Italy, your UK social security contributions will be taken into account when applying for Italian contributions-based benefits. This will happen even if you claim contributions-based benefits after the end of the implementation period.

If there’s no deal, we will seek an agreement with the Italian government for them to continue to take periods of work in the UK before Brexit into account when claiming Italian contributions-based benefits. We will update this guidance when there is a formal agreement on this.

Read the guidance on benefits and pensions if there’s no deal.

Driving in Italy

If you are resident in Italy, exchange your UK licence for an Italian one before Brexit. You can still use your Italian licence in the UK for short visits or exchange it for a UK licence without taking a test if you return to live in the UK.

For information on driving in Italy, read the guidance on:

• what you need to drive abroad
• driving licence exchange and renewals
• contacting an Ufficio Motorizzazione Civile

If you are in Italy and your UK driving licence is lost, stolen or expires you will not be able to renew it with the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). You will need to apply to the DVLA for a ‘certificate of entitlement’ in Italian to be able to apply for an Italian driving licence.

Bringing a UK-registered vehicle to Italy

Read the guidance on taking a vehicle out of the UK.

If you move to Italy with your UK-registered car, you must register your car with Italian licence plates within 60 days of being officially resident in Italy. If not, your car may be impounded.

Be aware that from the moment you start the process of registering your car in Italy you will not be able to use your car, until you get your new documentation and licence plates. For more information, contact an Ufficio Motorizzazione Civile.

You can read the European Union’s guidance on car registration and taxes in Italy. You may be exempt from some of these taxes. If so, you will need certificates of exemption.

Driving after Brexit

If there is a deal, driving licence rules will stay the same during the implementation period.

If there’s no deal, UK driving licences will likely be considered as third country national licences. To continue using your licence, you may need to re-take your test, including passing a theory test in Italian. We will update this guide when there is more information.

Read the guidance on driving in the EU after Brexit.

Voting

If you’re resident in Italy, you can vote in local municipal and European Parliamentary elections.

You may be able to vote in some UK elections. You can:

• check if you are able to vote
• register as an overseas voter

Voting after Brexit

UK nationals resident in Italy will no longer be eligible to vote or stand in local and European elections after Brexit. We are pursuing bilateral arrangements with individual Member States to secure voting rights for UK nationals living in the EU, and EU citizens in the UK.

Births, deaths and getting married

If your child is born in Italy, you will need to register the birth abroad.

If someone dies in Italy you can:

• read the guidance on what to do after someone dies abroad
• read guidance for UK nationals on bereavements in Italy
• find a list of English-speaking funeral directors in Italy

Find out how you can get married abroad.

Find out about notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Italy.

Getting married in Italy after Brexit

Brexit will not affect the right of UK nationals (resident in Italy and elsewhere) to get married in Italy. However, there may be some changes to the documentary process required for getting married.

Read the guidance on getting married abroad for the latest information.

Accommodation and buying property

Read guidance on how to buy a property in Italy.

Buying property after Brexit

You can buy property or land in Italy if you are:

• an EU citizen
• a national from outside the EU who is fully resident or has a valid permit of stay in Italy
• a national from a country that Italy has a reciprocal agreement with and who is resident outside of Italy

We will be seeking a reciprocal agreement to make sure that UK nationals who are not resident in Italy can continue to purchase property in Italy after Brexit. We will update this guidance when there is more information.

Pets

You will still be able to travel to and from the UK with a cat, dog or ferret after Brexit, but the rules will change. Read guidance on pet travel to Europe after Brexit.

While the UK is still an EU Member State, you’ll be able to travel with your pet to the EU under the current pet travel rules using your current EU pet passport. If you’re travelling with your pet for the first time, you must visit your vet to get a pet passport.

Read guidance on returning your cat, dog or ferret to the UK.

For moving pet horses and other equines read guidance on export horses and ponies: special rules.

Emergencies

You can dial the European emergency number on 112 or:

• 113 for police
• 115 for fire brigade
• 118 for first aid

If you’re the victim of crime, have been arrested, or are affected by a crisis abroad, contact the British Embassy in Rome or the British Consulate General Milan.

Returning to the UK

Read the guidance on:

• access to benefits and services in the UK if there’s no deal
• bringing your family to the UK
• access to higher education, 19+ further education and apprenticeship funding
• importing vehicles back to the UK
• bringing your pet back to the UK
• checking your tax status after returning to the UK

Tell the UK and Italian authorities if you are returning to the UK permanently. To help prove you are now living in the UK, de-register with your:

• local town hall (comune)
• the Italian State Police (residenza)
• your local health centre (ASL)

If you get UK State Pension or benefits payments, you must tell the International Pension Centre and the Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (INPS). You must also contact the Agenzia delle Entrate before you return to the UK.

If you get healthcare in Italy through the S1 form, you must contact the Overseas Healthcare Team on +44 (0)191 218 1999 to make sure your S1 is cancelled at the right time.

Disclaimer

Please note that this information is provided as a guide only. Definitive information should be obtained from the Italian authorities.

Source: gov.uk