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READER QUESTIONS

Reader question: What do I do if I lose my Italian tax number or health card?

Your Italian tax code will be needed for all sorts of things if you live in Italy - so what should you do if you lose the card?

Published: 5 July 2021 17:06 CEST
Updated: 13 March 2024 13:57 CET
Reader question: What do I do if I lose my Italian tax number or health card?
Photo: Mario Laporta/AFP

Question: “When I first moved to Italy I got my codice fiscale (tax code), but I have since lost the card with the number written on. Can I get it replaced and, if so, how?”

Your codice fiscale is one of the first things you’ll need to apply for when you move to Italy, and one of the most important – it will be needed for all sorts of aspects of life here. (See a guide to getting it here.)

When you register, you may or may not be issued a handy wallet-sized plastic card featuring your Italian tax code. Many local authorities only issue these on request.

Most Italians instead use their health card (tessera sanitaria) as a record of their tax code, as it’s also prominently featured on there.

As a foreign national living in Italy, you’ll be issued with a health card if you’re registered with the Italian National Health Service (SSN, or Servizio Sanitario Nazionale).

Not all of Italy’s foreign residents are eligible for SSN registration, and if that’s your situation you may want to request the tax code card (tesserino di codice fiscale) instead.

READ ALSO: Who can register for national healthcare in Italy?

Whichever card you get, your Italian tax code is needed so often in everyday life that being able to carry it around with you in some form will be helpful.

If either one of these cards is lost, damaged or stolen, the good news is that it’s easy and free to apply for a replacement.

You can order a new copy of either card online through the Italian tax agency (Agenzie delle Entrate) website here.

You will need to provide some personal details – including your tax number, so hopefully you’ll have it written down elsewhere.

The card should be sent out automatically to your registered address.

If you’ve made that request but nothing happened, the official FAQ advises that if you don’t receive the card “within a reasonable period of time” – although what sort of timeframe the agency considers reasonable is not specified – you should contact your local tax office, which issues the cards, to check that the registered address they have for you is correct.

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If you’re requesting a new tessera sanitaria, you can check the status of the application by entering your codice fiscale in the online portal here. You’ll need an electronic ID (such as a SPID) to access this portal.

You can also request a new copy of your tessera sanitaria in person by visiting your ASL, or Agenzia Sanitaria Locale (local health authority) office. Find the details of your ASL here.

A duplicate card can only be requested once per calendar year .

What if my health card is about to expire?

If you have ‘mandatory’ (free) SSN registration, you’re in luck: you don’t have to do anything to renew your tessera sanitaria. The local health authority should send the new card to you automatically when your current one expires, normally after six years.

If the new card doesn’t turn up however, there’s no way to request a renewal online. You will then need to go to your local ASL (health authority office) in person to request it.

If instead you don’t have free SSN registration, but need to pay an annual fee, your card is valid for a year and it won’t be automatically renewed.

In this case, you’ll have to apply for the renewal each year, a process which unfortunately can’t be carried out online.

For more information, check the official tessera sanitaria FAQ website here.

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For members

RESIDENCY PERMITS

Can you have your right to permanent residency in Italy revoked?

Applying for a permanent residency permit in Italy is often a lengthy process involving plenty of bureaucratic red tape. But can it ever be taken away from you after you get it?

Published: 21 June 2024 12:52 CEST
Can you have your right to permanent residency in Italy revoked?

After legally living in Italy for at least five consecutive years, non-EU nationals become eligible to apply for a EU Long Term Residence Permit – known in Italian as permesso di soggiorno per soggiornanti di lungo periodo or permesso di soggiorno illimitato (formerly knowns as carta di soggiorno).  

Unlike most other Italian residency permits, which are issued for a maximum of two years and then need to be actively renewed in order to remain valid, the Long Term Permit grants the holder a permanent right of residency and does not expire (the document itself should be updated every ten years, but failure to do so does not invalidate your permanent right of residency).

Besides sparing the holder annual or biannual trips to the provincial questura (police station), the permit comes with a range of other advantages, including the right to freely work or study in the country (this isn’t always possible under some types of permits), fully access healthcare and social welfare, and participate in some forms of Italian public life like referendums.

Applying for a Long Term Residence Permit can be an arduous process as, besides showing you’ve been legally living in Italy for at least 5 years, you’ll have to meet a number of other requirements, including having an A2 Italian language level, which for most applicants entails passing an Italian language test.

READ ALSO: ‘Arduous process’: What to expect when applying for Italian permanent residency

But after successfully completing all of the red tape and getting your permesso, can your right to permanent residency be revoked in any case?

According to Italy’s official immigration portal, your status as a permanent resident can be revoked if you spend more than 12 consecutive months outside the European Union, or stay outside Italy for more than six consecutive years. 

You can also have your right to permanent residency revoked if you:

  • Get another EU Long Term Residence Permit from another country in the European Union
  • Are considered a threat to public order and national security, and are subject to an expulsion order
  • Are proven to have acquired the permit with fraudulent methods

Foreign nationals who lose their right to permanent residency due to being away from Italy, or after getting an equivalent long-term permit from another EU country can re-apply for permanent residency after legally living in Italy for three years (as opposed to the usual five). 

READ ALSO: When and how should I renew my Italian residence permit?

It’s also worth noting that, if you’ve been stripped of your right to permanent residency for any of the reasons mentioned above, you can contest the decision by filing an appeal with your Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) within 60 days of first being notified of it.

Please note that The Local is unable to advise on individual cases. Find more information on the Italian Interior Ministry’s website or seek independent advice from a qualified immigration consultant.

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