ITALIAN RED TAPE, VISAS AND PERMITS IN ITALY
Visitors to Italy from the European Union shouldn’t find
themselves tangled in red tape. British, Irish and other EU
visitors can enter the country and stay as long as they like,
providing they are carrying a valid passport. It seems rather
obvious but do check that your passport is up to date before
you leave home – we have first-hand experience of a friend
being turned back at an Italian airport because his passport
was due to expire during his stay; not the ideal start to anyone’s
holiday. American, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand citizens
also need only a passport – no visa – but stays
are limited to three months. Visitors from other countries
should contact their local Italian embassy or consulate; addresses
can be found at this
site.
Italian law does still (technically) demand that you register
with the local police within three days of entering the country.
If you are staying in a hotel, this will be done as a matter of
course. Otherwise it’s a piece of red tape more breached
than observed – rousing the carabinieri from a duty desk
to register your presence in the area might cause a little surprise.
One thing you should acquaint yourself with is current customs
allowances. These can of course change almost without warning,
so if you are unsure, you can check with your travel operator.
At time of writing, passengers aged over 17 years from non-European
Union countries can bring the following: 200 cigarettes or 50
cigars or 100 cigarillos or 250g of tobacco; 750ml of spirits
over 22% or 2 litres of fortified or sparkling wine; 60g of perfume
and 250ml of eau de toilette, 500g of coffee or 200g of coffee
extract, 100g of tea or 40g of tea extract. There are no limits
on importing tobacco and alcohol products for personal use within
the EU, but ‘personal use’ is obviously subjective,
and anyone who’s obviously flouting the spirit of the law
is likely (as in any country) to find their smokes and booze
confiscated. Commonsense is the key.
If you are going to be driving in Italy, you’ll require
a valid driving licence of course, plus an International Green
Card or other insurance. UK driving licences or EU pink format
licences are valid, but green-coloured licences must be accompanied
by an International Driving Permit. It’s compulsory to carry
your documents in the vehicle – US visitors will be used
to this but British holidaymakers less so. It’s not unusual
to be stopped by the police, so save yourself time and hassle by
making sure you can present your papers.
EU visitors will find that their home health care privileges apply
in Italy – in short you should get the same treatment as
an Italian. But of course not every national health service is
the same, nor does it provide the same benefits. Britons, after
all, may enjoy free visits to the GP, but they don’t get
free dental treatment. Safer to ensure you’ve adequate health
insurance, it invariably comes as part of your travel insurance
anyway; (what do you mean you don’t have travel insurance!).
Trust us, you only realise how cheap insurance is when you travel
without … and then need it. Also check that your travel or
motor insurance protects you against injuries to other parties;
accidents can happen and you don’t want to be dealing with
both a foreign language and a foreign legal system single handed.
And then you find you’ve enjoyed your stay so much you want
to stay – to live, to work, to study! For EU citizens this
is pretty straightforward. You are entitled to work here, with
the two requirements being a libretto di lavoro (work permit) and
a permesso di soggiorno (residence permit). Pay a visit to the
Questura (police station) and they’ll furnish you with the
papers. A work permit requires a written confirmation from your
new employer. The residence slip requires your passport and some
passport photos, and an E111 form; after which you will wait, and
wait. Life’s a lot simpler for non-EU aspirant workers, as
the chances of getting a work permit are almost zero. Should you
have a written offer of a job that no Italian can fill, you can
then apply to the Italian embassy in your home country.
For specific questions about any bureaucratic issues, contact
the Italian State Tourist Board (ENIT) office in your home country,
or its website at www.italiantourism.com.
UK visitors will find
ENIT’s office at 1 Princes Street, London W1B 2AY, tel: 020
7408 1254 or fax 020 7399 3567, or you can email italy@italiantouristboard.co.uk.
North American visitors can of course email this address too. And
there are North American ENIT offices at the following addresses:
Chicago
500 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2240, Chicago, IL 60611, tel 1
(312) 644-0996, fax 1 (312) 644-3019
Los Angeles 12400 Wilshire
Boulevard, Suite 550, Los Angeles, CA 90025, tel 1 (310) 820-0098
/ 9807, fax 1 (310) 820-6357
New York 630 Fifth Avenue, Suite
1565, New York, NY 10111, tel 1 (212) 245-4822, fax 1 (212) 586-9249
Toronto175 Bloor Street East, Suite 907 - South Tower, Toronto,
ON M4W 3R8, tel 1 (416) 925-4882 / 3870, fax 1 (416) 925-4799.
Embassies and consulates can be found at the following addresses:
For
the UK, 14 Three King’s Yard, W1Y 2EH, tel 020 7312 2000
or www.embitaly.org.uk.
North
American embassies are as follows:
The Italian Embassy in Washington
DC is at 1601 Fuller St, NW,
20009 (DC), tel (202) 612-4400, fax (202) 518-2151.
The Italian
General Consulate in Chicago is at 500 N.Michigan Ave, Suite 1850,
60611 (IL), tel (312) 467-1550, fax (312) 467-1335
The New York
City Consulate is at 690 Park Avenue, 10021 (NY), tel (212) 737-9100,
fax (212) 249-4945
The Los Angeles Consulate is at 12400 Wilshire
Blvd, Suite 300, 90025 (CA), tel (310) 820-0622, fax (310) 820-0727.
Canadian visitors can visit the Italian Embassy in Ottawa, 275
Slater St, 21st Floor (Ontario) K1P 5H9, tel (613) 232-2401,
fax (613) 233-1484
The Toronto Italian General Consulate is
at 136 Beverley St (Ontario) M5T 1Y5, tel (416) 977-1566, fax
(416) 977-1119
The Montreal Consulate is at 3489 Drummond St
(Quebec) H3G 1X6, tel (514) 849-8351/2/3/4, fax (514) 499-9471
The
Vancouver Consulate is at Standard Building #1100, 510 West Hastings
Street, (British Columbia) V6B 1L8, tel. (604)
684-7288, fax (604) 685-4263.
