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How Italy has changed its travel rules for certain countries

Italy has revised the rules for several countries in its latest emergency decree, though the news is better for some than for others.

Published: 4 December 2020 17:22 CET
How Italy has changed its travel rules for certain countries
Italy has updated its international travel rules with extra restrictions over Christmas and New Year. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

The new decree, effective December 4th to January 15th, updates Italy's travel restrictions for the first time since November.

It's marked by tougher rules as the government seeks to discourage residents from taking ski trips or other holidays abroad, wary of seeing another spike of the kind that followed the easing of restrictions over the summer.

READ ALSO: What are Italy's new rules for Christmas travel?

They notably include a requirement for all EU travellers to test negative before arriving in Italy, and mandatory quarantine for anyone travelling to Italy between December 21st and January 6th – regardless where they're departing from.

But the latest measures also reclassify specific countries, in some cases making it easier to enter Italy even as a visitor from outside Europe.

In others, however, the barriers to entry just got even higher.

Here's a guide to how the rules have changed.

The countries on which Italy has eased or lifted its restrictions

  • Romania: previously on Italy's mandatory quarantine list, the country has been reclassified in line with other EU countries including France and Spain. Starting immediately, people arriving in Italy from Romania can now avoid quarantine by showing a negative test result – until quarantine becomes mandatory for everyone from December 21st to January 6th.
     
  • Singapore: the city-state has been added to the list of 'safe' countries outside Europe where travel is allowed for any reason, including tourism. That means Singapore residents can visit Italy, but they will still have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival (even outside the Christmas period).
     
  • Armenia, Bahrein, Bangladesh, Bosnia Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Kosovo, Kuwait, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Peru: these countries were formerly classified as no-go areas, with travel to and from Italy all but banned. Now travel is permitted for essential reasons of work, study, health or family emergency, or for people who usually live in Italy and are returning home – so long as you quarantine for 14 days on arrival. 

The countries on which Italy has tightened its restrictions

  • Canada, Georgia, Tunisia: these countries have been removed from Italy's non-EU 'safe' list, meaning that residents now have to prove they have an urgent reason such as work, study or family emergency in order to travel to Italy. If they're eligible to travel, they'll have to quarantine for 14 days.
     
  • UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic: travellers from these countries already required a coronavirus test to enter Italy, but while it used to be possible to get tested on arrival at the airport or within two days of landing, you'll now have to show a negative test result before boarding your flight, or spend 14 days in quarantine (outside December 21st to January 6th, when everyone has to quarantine). This aside, people from these countries can continue to enter Italy for any reason. The same rules apply to Romania (see above).
     
  • Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco: Italy has effectively upped restrictions on travellers from most other EU and Schengen countries, who from December 10th onwards have to show a negative test result before entering Italy or self-quarantine (outside December 21st to January 6th, when everyone has to quarantine). This aside, people from the EU or Schengen Zone can continue to travel to Italy for any reason.

The countries on which restrictions remain unchanged

  • San Marino and Vatican City: there are no restrictions on travel to or from these two tiny  enclaves, which lie entirely within Italy's borders.
     
  • Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Rwanda, Thailand, Uruguay: these lucky few countries (plus Singapore) are the only ones outside Europe from which tourism to Italy is permitted, though travellers still have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. 
     
  • Everywhere else: people in any other country can travel to Italy for essential reasons of work, study, health or family emergency, but not as a tourist. If you are eligible to travel, you'll have to quarantine for 14 days.

 

Italian citizens and residents still allowed to return

People who are officially resident in Italy, no matter what nationality they hold or what country they're departing from, are still allowed to travel to their Italian home. You'll have to observe whichever testing and/or quarantine rules apply to the country you depart from.

The same goes for Italian citizens, who are allowed to enter the country even if they don't usually live here. Quarantine and testing rules apply.

For more information about which rules apply to you, use the Foreign Ministry's interactive questionnaire, available here.

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BREXIT

Are Italy’s British residents still getting their passports stamped?

UK residents of Italy protected under the Withdrawal Agreement reported having their passports wrongly stamped at border checks following Brexit. Has that issue now been cleared up, or are some Brits still experiencing issues?

Published: 22 May 2024 15:53 CEST
Updated: 23 May 2024 09:08 CEST
Are Italy's British residents still getting their passports stamped?

In the months after the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement was finalised, many UK citizens in Italy with permanent Italian residency reported having their passports wrongly stamped on leaving and entering Italy.

Italy is one of a handful of “declaratory” countries in the EU where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory, though UK authorities advised obtaining the card as “evidence of your rights”.

The lack of clarity caused widespread confusion, with many Italian officials wrongly insisting that the carta di soggiorno elettronica was the only valid proof of pre-Brexit Italian residency.

Meanwhile, many travellers initially reported that border officials in Italy were not clear on the purpose of the card and had stamped their passports regardless – leading to concerns about erroneous stamps causing problems on future trips.

The issue appears to have been largely resolved for British citizens who finally gave in and applied for the document, with most cardholders saying they no longer have issues with their passports being stamped at the country’s major airports.

READ ALSO: What’s the deal with passport stamping in Italy?

However, some UK nationals resident in Italy say they’re still wrongly having their passports stamped at smaller airports in Italy, especially when travelling alongside large groups of British holidaymakers.

And others report routinely having their passport stamped when entering the Schengen zone via a different EU member state to that of Italy – for example, when travelling by car from the UK via France.

UK national David Prince commented in response to a recent article on passport stamping that a border official had stamped his passport on arriving in Calais, despite his presenting an Italian residency permit.

“When I asked why he simply said “Article 50,” Prince said, “which I knew was rubbish but I couldn’t be bothered to argue.”

According to European Commission rules in place since 2022, Schengen border agents have been told that they shouldn’t stamp the passports of anyone with a valid EU residence permit – but there’s no EU law stopping them from doing so.

Even if your passport is stamped, it doesn’t carry any official weight.

“The Commission recommends – notably as regards beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement – that Member State border guards refrain from stamping,” the rules say.

“In any case, should stamping nevertheless take place, such stamp cannot affect the length of the authorised long-term stay.”

READ ALSO: Can I use my Italian carta d’identità for travel?

If you arrive at any Schengen border, it’s advisable to hand over your passport already opened to the photo page, with your residency card on top, and say that you’re resident in Italy.

If you’re at an Italian border checkpoint, you might want to say ‘sono residente in Italia’ – I’m an Italian resident – and be prepared to answer questions about your reasons for being in Italy.

One additional source of confusion for some residents has been the difference between a carta d’identità and a carta di soggiorno.

The carta di soggiorno elettronica is the post-Brexit residency card which proves your status as a legal resident in Italy, wheres a carta d’identità is simply your Italian ID card.

The ID card is valid for ten years, but that doesn’t automatically give you the right to stay in Italy for all that time. Some non-EU citizens on certain visas might have a ten-year ID card, but a one-year Italian residency permit.

For that reason, your Italian ID card isn’t considered proof of your right to be in the country; as a British citizen resident in Italy and covered under the Withdrawal Agreement, you’ll need to show your carta di soggiorno elettronica to a border agent to stand the best chance of avoiding having your passport stamped.

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