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BREXIT

LATEST: UK confirms Italian driving licence exchanges start on Thursday

The British Embassy in Rome has announced that UK licence holders living in Italy can begin the process of swapping their licences without taking a test from Thursday, March 30th.

Published: 27 March 2023 14:14 CEST
LATEST: UK confirms Italian driving licence exchanges start on Thursday
The UK is now one of a small number of countries which has a driving licence exchange deal with Italy. Photo: Damien MEYER / AFP

The British Embassy in Rome gave a long-awaited update on Monday about a deal allowing British nationals resident in Italy who hold UK-issued driving licences to swap for an Italian licence without retaking their test.

“We are very pleased to announce that the UK-IT Agreement on the exchange of driving licences for British citizens and UK licence holders living in Italy will enter into force on 30 March 2023,” the Embassy wrote in Facebook and Twitter posts.

“Once this happens, you will be able to start booking an appointment to exchange your licence with your local Motorizzazione Office.”

A long-negotiated UK-Italian deal reached at the end of December 2022 will allow holders of UK driving licences to obtain an Italian licence without retaking their test – as many feared would be the case following Brexit.

Details of the exchange process and the date from which it would be possible to apply were not immediately available after the agreement was signed in December.

READ ALSO: Who needs to exchange their driving licence for an Italian one?

On Monday, the Embassy said: “In order to exchange your licence, you will need to bring the right documentation” to an exchange appointment at the motorizzazione office.

The Embassy shared the list of documents on the Italian Transport Ministry’s website, which you can find here.

“Please also check directly with your local Motorizzazione Office for further enquiries relating to your exchange,” the Embassy said.

A list of contact details for Italy’s regional motorizzazione offices can be found here.

Only a handful of countries have agreements with Italy that allow a straight swap of driving licences. 

Most countries, including the US, Canada and Australia, do not have such deals in place meaning holders of licences from those countries must retake their driving test in Italian in order to get an Italian licence – a requirement after one year of Italian residency.

For more details on how the UK-Italy agreement will apply to your right to drive in Italy, see the British Government’s Living in Italy website here.

Find The Local’s latest Brexit-related news updates for UK nationals in Italy here.

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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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