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BUREAUCRACY

Brexit: Italian government helps Brits to ‘cheat the system’ amid residency card chaos

After many Brits in Italy complained of not being able to renew work contracts, access healthcare, or buy a car or property after the UK left the EU, the Italian government has responded by providing a workaround.

Brexit: Italian government helps Brits to 'cheat the system' amid residency card chaos
Italian officials have found a workaround for Brits in Brexit limbo. Photo: Anna Monaco/AFP

Life in Italy post-Brexit has been an administrative headache for Brits. The introduction of a new biometric residency card was intended to evidence the rights of British residents in Italy – valid for those who had registered or applied for residency before December 31st 2020.

It aims to “guarantee easy recognition of the rights” as laid out in the Withdrawal Agreement, article 18, paragraph 4, stated the Italian Interior Ministry.

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However, the process has been far from straightforward with untold cases of Brits living in a “hostile environment in Italy, where lives have been brought to a standstill”, according to citizens’ rights group British in Italy.

In response to the bureaucratic crisis, the Italian authorities have revealed a loophole in the system.

One significant obstacle to Brits accessing work and services were the computer systems, which simply didn’t recognise the new special status of Brits living in Italy who were resident here pre-Brexit.

“Many public administration computer systems are programmed to require a ‘permesso di soggiorno’ number to be inserted for anyone who is not an EU citizen (which we no longer are),” said British in Italy.

As UK nationals who lived in Italy before Britain left the EU do not need a permesso di soggiorno – a residence card for other third-country nationals in Italy – they were left in limbo, unable to move forward.

Photo by Olivier HOSLET / POOL / AFP

The new electronic document is called a carta di soggiorno, which is different – and as yet seemingly unrecognised by government computer systems.

However, the Ministry of Work and Social Policy (Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali) has offered a lifeline to those Brits stuck in an administrative quagmire.

In a short statement on their website, they advise entering an expiry date of 2099 of your current ID document. In that way, you bypass the computer blocking you from moving forward in your documentation.

“British citizens legally resident in Italy before 31 December 2020 can use their current residence document by indicating it in ‘other measure’ (altro provvedimento), which can be selected from the drop-down menu,” states the department.

“As the insertion of the expiry date is compulsory, it is possible to enter ’31/12/2099′ to pass the check in the system,” reads the statement.

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

It’s not clear if the hack works for all official computer systems in Italy, or just the labour ministry’s.

But any help should come as good news to Brits left in a precarious situation after Brexit. Since The Local published cases of

UK nationals in difficulty, citizens’ rights group Beyond Brexit has compiled a document with even more instances of British people’s rights not being protected in Italy, including problems registering work contracts or as self-employed, difficulties enrolling in the public healthcare system, trouble buying a car or taking a driving test, delays in applying for citizenship and more.

“These problems are having a seriously detrimental effect on people’s lives and in many cases causing real hardship – solutions need to be implemented immediately,” says the group.

Further information on the biometric card can be found on the UK government’s website here, on the British in Italy website and Beyond Brexit page.

If you need help applying, you can contact the International Organisation for Migration by emailing [email protected] or calling 800 684 884.

Anyone who faces difficulties in accessing services in Italy is advised to contact the British Embassy via their Living in Italy website.

Member comments

  1. What constitutes as legally living? I was in an airbnb before December 31st, would that be proof enough?

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EASTER

‘No Friday off and food galore’: What to expect from your first Italian Easter

If you're spending your first Easter in Italy this year, how might it differ from your home country? The Local’s readers tell us about their first Pasqua in Italy and the things they found most surprising.

'No Friday off and food galore': What to expect from your first Italian Easter

For many Easter-celebrating people around the globe, this is a time to be with family, eat lots of chocolate, and maybe participate in a church service or two. But of course, traditions in each country are different.

After living in Italy for a while you might get used to seeing a certain dove-shaped cake (la colomba), the lack of a certain Easter figure (the Easter Bunny) and eating fish instead of meat on Good Friday.

But the first Pasqua (Easter Sunday) and Pasquetta (Easter Monday) you spend in the country will always come with its surprises.

No day off on Good Friday

Like many people who move to Italy, Robbie Sossi told us he was “absolutely astonished” to find that Good Friday was not a public holiday.

“We sent Easter cards to everyone, only to be met with quizzical looks when we next saw them. Families try to outdo each other in the chocolate Easter egg stakes too. I had a chocolate overdose headache for a week afterwards.”

One reader, Karen Short, said: “I too was surprised Good Friday wasn’t a public holiday.”

READ MORE: Why is Good Friday not a holiday in Italy

Abruzzo-based Stephanie Elms agreed and said: “Good Friday was a bit of a surprise for me because I know Europe has a few more holidays than where I’m from in the States, so I assumed it would be a holiday, but it isn’t.”

“It would have been nice to get an extra day like they have in the UK, but I’m not complaining. I get to celebrate Easter in a beautiful country and that’s enough for me.”

Freezing cold and rainy weather 

When thinking of Mediterranean weather, sunshine and warmth is normally the first thing anyone would expect. But many people arriving in Italy for the first time are caught out by the unexpected cold.

Veneto-based artist Linda Winter said that, when she first arrived in Venice 18 years ago, she had a bit of a shock.

“The air was still chilly with the damp from the lagoon as I stepped onto the platform at Santa Lucia. Never having visited before I had imagined the fashion police would stop me from entering if I was anything less than elegant.

“The reality was that all the Italians were still wearing a heavy coat and at least two scarves. I froze.”

She advised anyone coming to Italy for Easter to wear a coat and wrap up warm. 

“Early Easters are by their nature cold, even though as I write this sunshine is pouring through my open door. Now I hang onto my coat.”

Easter eggs in a workshop.Photo by Fred TANNEAU / AFP.

Food galore

Food is of course a huge part of the celebrations in Italy. As in many countries, roast lamb is usually the meat of choice for an Easter Sunday lunch – but not everyone enjoys it.

Lazio resident Zoe Joanne Green said she finds the tradition of eating lamb “brutal”, adding: “I’ll spend Easter trying to distract myself so that I don’t get annoyed.”

Valeria La Capria said torta pasqualina instead is one Italian veggie option not to be missed.

“I’m also vegetarian, there are some great traditional dishes such as the torta di pasqua, made from spinach, ricotta and filo pastry.”

The tart is typical in the Liguria region of the country and traditionally had 33 layers of pastry, one for each year Christ was on earth. 

READ MORE: Nine lesser-visited Italian villages to see over Easter

Tuscany resident Andrew Green said la colomba, a dove-shaped cake, is different from anything back home. 

“For starters it’s a lot bigger and less sweet than what we usually eat in the UK,” he said. You can find them in pretty much every supermarket you go to.

“Back home we only really have hot cross buns and Easter cakes that are full of chocolate. There aren’t really any chocolate cakes here for Easter, but there is chocolate. Anyway, I prefer colomba instead and it was a nice surprise when I first ate it.”

Different regional events

That’s not the only thing Andrew prefers either. He said he loves the different events each Italian region has to offer. 

“I stayed in Florence during my first year and there was a huge parade which was really cool. Obviously I knew nothing about it at first.”

The parade Andrew referred to is the Scoppio del Carro (Explosion of the Cart); a centuries old tradition where an old wagon is filled with fireworks and set alight outside of Florence’s Santa Maria del Fiore on Easter Sunday.

“The atmosphere of the whole city was alive and there was a huge buzz to the place. It was stunning,” Andrew adds.

Abruzzo-based Heather May also enjoys the events different regions have to offer, and said the nearby Madonna che scappa (the Virgin Mary who runs away) in a town named Sulmona was her personal favourite.

“It was nothing like I’d ever experienced before,” she writes. “It’s like a pantomime – one of the saints knocks on the door of a church at one end of the piazza, to tell the Madonna that her son is alive, she begins to march across the piazza (held aloft by holy men clad in green and white).

“After a swaying march of some minutes, she spots Christ at the other end of the piazza and the men break into a run – it’s quite a feat of athleticism! Doves are released, her black cloak drops to reveal a white dress and Handel’s hallelujah chorus plays as she encounters her son. It’s quite exhilarating even for protestants like myself.

Wherever you’ll be celebrating, Easter is bound to be special, but we hope these tips and anecdotes are useful to anyone spending their first Easter in Italy this year. Buona Pasqua.

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