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EXPLAINED: What are the different documents Italy’s British residents need after Brexit?

Don’t know your ‘carta’ from your ‘attestazione?’ Don’t worry, you're not alone. Here's a rundown of the post-Brexit Italian paperwork you'll need to be aware of.

Published: 23 February 2021 14:16 CET
EXPLAINED: What are the different documents Italy's British residents need after Brexit?
Brits living in Italy may still have more work to do to get their paperwork in order. File photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP
There has been plenty of confusion among British nationals recently about the different documents needed to prove their Italian residency status after the UK's exit from the European Union.
 
Some readers have contacted The Local to ask for clarification about the new biometric ID card for those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, which is called a carta di soggiorno – similar to the name of an existing residency document.
 
 
“The variety of documents issued to non-Italians resident in Italy is truly bewildering, not helped by the similarity of their names,” said citizens' rights group British in Italy.
 
Here we take a look at the difference between this important document and some of the many others we may need, or have been issued in the past.
 
EU biometric carta di soggiorno 
 
“The new biometric card for those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) is called a carta di soggiorno and is valid for 5 years,” British in Italy explain.
 
If you are entitled to permanent residence (ie. you have 5+ years of legal residence) you get a carta di soggiorno permanente which is valid for 10 years, but can be renewed right at the end of that period.”
 
You can obtain the card from your local Questura, or police headquarters. Find details of the application procedure in English here and Italian here.
 
The biometric carta di soggiorno is a new document, and it's not the same as any other residency documents despite several of them having similar names.
It has a similar purpose to the WA attestazione, a paper form that many of Italy's British residents obtained from their comune last year in order to prove their status.
 
British in Italy notes that the attestazione document is now “not always being accepted (by Italian authorities) as the necessary proof that we are covered by the WA.”
 
“These documents are not to be confused with any of the following:
  • Permesso di soggiorno – the permit to reside issued to Third Country Nationals (ie nationals of a non-EU country) now, and which those of you who arrived here before 2007 were given at the time.
  • Attestazione di iscrizione anagrafica di cittadino Ue – the certificate of registration of residence of an EU citizen or family member in a Comune.  From 2007 until 31st December 2020 this was the document issued to UK nationals who took up residence in Italy.
  • Attestazione di soggiorno permanente per cittadini dell’UE– certificate of permanent residence as an EU citizen, issued also to UK nationals with 5 years legal residence until 31st December 2020.
  • Attestazione di iscrizione anagrafica ai sensi dell’Art. 18.4 dell’Accordo sul recesso – the paper certificate issued between February and the end of December 2020 to UK nationals and their family members covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.
  • Carta di soggiorno di familiare di un cittadino dell’Unione – issued to non-EU family members of an EU citizen including of a UK citizen until 31st December 2020.
  • Carta di soggiorno permanente per familiari di cittadini europei – issued to those non-EU family members of an EU citizen who have permanent residence including those of a UK citizen up to 31st December 2020.
  • Permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo – issued to third country nationals with at least 5 years legal residence (and on some additional conditions) and their family members.Unlike the Withdrawal Agreement, it confers some rights of mobility between EU countries and those who need such mobility (eg for work) should think about applying for it, though no guidelines have yet been issued in Italy on how this can be done by a British citizen covered by the WA.
  • Certificato storico di residenza anagrafica – a certificate issued by a Comune to prove the residence of a person at some point in the past.”

For now, British in Italy is urging people to apply for their biometric carta di soggiorno as soon as possible.

For more information, check the British government's Living in Italy website and the British in Italy website.

See The Local's Dealing with Brexit section for more updates.

 

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BREXIT

‘We are desperate’: Why the UK must help Britons with Italian healthcare charges

A 74-year-old British woman has explained the "frustration and fear" Britons in Italy are facing when trying to access healthcare and appealed to the UK government for help.

Published: 11 April 2024 09:53 CEST
'We are desperate': Why the UK must help Britons with Italian healthcare charges

Pat Eggleton, a teacher and writer from the UK, appealed to the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron in the letter sent April 9th about the “desperate” situation faced by UK citizens entitled to free healthcare in Italy – but unable to access it.

British nationals residing in Italy before Brexit, and covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), are in many cases being told by Italian health authorities that they must pay steep new fees at a minimum of €2,000 a year – even though they are exempt from paying at all.

READ ALSO: ‘Life or death situation’: Brits facing high Italian healthcare costs amid rule change uncertainty

In her open letter seen by The Local, Ms. Eggleton, who has lived in Italy since 2005, highlighted that the current minimum is a huge jump from the previous €387, and said that the sum was “difficult, or even impossible, for some to find when there had been no prior notification and there is no option to pay in instalments.”

“A great deal of undeserved worry, frustration and even fear has ensued,” she wrote.

“Some of our group have serious, ongoing health conditions. All we require is for one sentence from the Italian government confirming that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries do not have to pay for healthcare access to be circulated to all regional health authorities.

“We implore you to act before this becomes even more serious. As someone put it, “This is a matter not only of money, but of health.” 

Ms Eggleton’s letter came exactly one month after the British government confirmed that all WA agreement beneficiaries are exempt from paying the €2,000 fee, provided they were living in Italy before January 1st 2021.

But there were no details available at the time from the Italian government setting out how the rules would be implemented or communicated to local health authorities around Italy.

Since then, there has been no further information released by the Italian government on any official platform. 

One Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary, Graham Beresford, told The Local last week how he was having trouble accessing healthcare, even though he has a right to it.

Mr. Beresford suffers from blood cancer and needs access to the Italian healthcare system to obtain his medication. 

“Every time I go to my ASL (local health unit) office, I always feel like I’m dismissed,” Graham said. “I told the ASL worker I need medication for my cancer and she replied lots of people come in here with sob stories.

“There genuinely seems to be no compassion whatsoever.”

The Local has written to the Italian health ministry for comment.

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