Healthcare and Citizenship, Italian Style

July 12, 2018 8:02 AM

I'm thinking of moving to Italy. I'll be single. I've already determined that I will have no problem doing this, but have some questions about what comes next.

I'm looking for a professional (probably, but not necessarily, a lawyer) who can explain to me, by phone or FaceTime, if, when and how I would qualify for Italian citizenship and national health insurance. I don't mind paying a reasonable sum for what I imagine would be a half-hour consultation. The consultant can be in the USA or in Italy, but must speak English.

I will gladly read English-language documents instead, and I've already read a lot of them, but so far I have not been able to find anything that seems definitive and conclusive. Suggestions along these lines are welcome, but even if I found exactly what I needed, I would probably want to confirm my understanding with an expert.

posted by ubiquity to Law & Government (9 answers total)

Best answer: The US consulates have a list of regional lawyers they recommend for US citizen services. This is the list for Tuscany, the others can be found here. I had a 30 minute consultation with one of the lawyers in Lucca when we had questions about my wife's Family Reunion visa. He answered all of our questions, and actually didn't bill us in the end (just said "Benvenuti in Italia!"). Alas, I can't find his contact info to recommend him. Any lawyer with immigration in their interests on the consular list will probably be fine for your consultation. Buona Fortuna!
posted by bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated at 8:54 AM on July 12, 2018 [6 favorites]

Can you talk to your local Italian consulate in the US? They are certainly the ones to tell you when and how you would qualify for citizenship. Once you are a citizen and, most importantly, a resident, healthcare should be automatic.

(I am a dual Italian/American citizen, though I moved from Italy so I've always been a citizen. Currently in the process of getting my US born children and husband their Italian citizenship. Even though I am a citizen, since I am an expat I no longer qualify for public healthcare.)
posted by lydhre at 10:12 AM on July 12, 2018

There's a very helpful Facebook group called Ultimate Italy, where your questions (and many more) have already been answered by reliable lawyers etc. working in just this field, and where you'll probably find 90% of the info you're seeking, and where you can ask people about the 10% that hasn't already been discussed.
posted by aqsakal at 12:07 PM on July 12, 2018

Are you asking about citizenship because you have the right to Italian citizenship by descent, and want to know how to go about it?

If not, you should be much more concerned about whether you even have the right to live and work in Italy before even thinking about citizenship.
posted by ryanbryan at 4:26 AM on July 13, 2018

Hi, I went through getting my Italian citizenship recognized through descent. We did everything from initial application to printing of my passport booklet at our local consulate in Los Angele over a number of months/years as appointments were scarce. I later moved to Hong Kong, where I am registered at the local HK consulate in the AIRE, a register of Italians overseas, as an overseas person from the particular town (“comune”) in Sicily from which I am descended. I am mailed election material and am a full Italian citizen and have used my Italian passport to travel around Europe.

However, I do not have a codice fiscale (a number that serves as a health/ID number) or an identity card, only a passport. This means that I would need to obtain this - presumably from my original town of ancestry? it’s unclear to me... - or another place were I to move to Italy to reside/work. I doubt this would be a huge issue, but without it I imagine it would be impossible to do things like rent a flat or open a bank account.

The advice above about looking at forums is good; there are many people in this situation. But do see if you qualify for citizenship first on the website of the consulate of Italy that manages your jurisdiction.
posted by mdonley at 10:11 PM on July 13, 2018

mdonley, you can apply for a codice fiscale through your local Italian consulate. I'm not a citizen and got one with few problems.
posted by grouse at 5:27 AM on July 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

mdonley, this page explains how to obtain a codice fiscale (personal tax code). Beware of other websites which offer to calculate yours: only the code issued by the Ministry of Finance (or by a consulate) is valid.

Getting an ID card is simple once you have registered residence: the local city hall or municipality for that address will issue it at once. But until you have it, your passport is just s good.
posted by aqsakal at 2:50 AM on July 17, 2018

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. For those worried about it, I do not intend to work in Italy and have already verified (as I wrote above) that I have enough funds to be able to live there. I am not remotely Italian; I just like it there. But a long path to citizenship or a long period of paying for healthcare that would be cheap or free in the USA (I already qualify for Medicare) would be a problem for me.
posted by ubiquity at 10:57 AM on July 17, 2018

This page from the embassy would indicate you need to prove that you have income of at least $3,375.58 a month (along with other requirements) to get the visa you'd need to stay long term, and this page (along with everything else I've seen) indicates you have to reside in Italy for at least 10 years before you can apply for naturalized citizenship if you're not an EU citizen, refugee, or descendant of a citizen.
posted by lazuli at 9:49 PM on July 17, 2018