Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

SECOND HOMES

Reader question: Will Italy consider scrapping the 90-day limit for Brits?

Following reports that Spanish authorities are under pressure to extend the time Brits can now stay in Spain, readers with second homes in Italy have asked whether the same thing could happen here.

Published: 9 November 2021 13:13 CET
People outside the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.
Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

QUESTION: Recent articles in the UK media describe growing pressure in Spain to extend or scrap the 90 day rule for British nationals because it is hurting Spanish tourism. Is there any chance we will see this being considered in Italy?

When Britain left the EU, British citizens lost the right to freedom of movement within the bloc – and the new 90-day limit has been a particular problem for those with second homes in European countries.

The change has hit some parts of Europe hard, too: including the region of Valencia in Spain, which is now campaigning for UK nationals to not have their time on Spain’s Costa Blanca limited or determined by the 90-day Schengen rules that now apply to them.

This is because the impact of Brexit on freedom of movement is affecting one of the Valencian economy’s driving forces: UK nationals who spend extended periods of time in Spain.

READ ALSO: How Brits can properly plan their 90 out of 180 days in Italy and the Schengen zone

Regional authorities have called on Spain’s Tourism Ministry to help make it easier for British nationals to spend more than 90 out of 180 days in the Valencia region without having to apply for a visa.

For anyone who is not an EU citizen – including UK nationals since January 1st 2021 – the 90-day rule comes into play. You can find a full explanation of how it works here, but essentially it limits trips into the Schengen zone to 90 days out of every 180. These rules apply equally across the bloc.

Photo: Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

UK nationals who don’t hold an Italian or EU residency document following Brexit are now wondering if the Italian authorities might look at changing the rules.

But so far, there are no reports than any regional authorities in Italy have put pressure on the government to give British nationals an exemption to the post-Brexit rules.

READ ALSO: Where do all the Brits live in Italy and how ‘Italian’ are they?

Tourism figures appear to offer an explanation for the fact that Spain is the first place to see this push for a change.

UK tourism is worth far more to Spain than to Italy – and Spain is also more reliant on tourism overall.

Before the pandemic sent numbers tumbling across the board, figures for 2019 showed that Spain was the second most visited country in the world, coming just behind France. Italy ranked fifth.

Although tourism is important to Italy’s economy, the country counts almost 20 million fewer annual visitors than Spain – and the largest share of tourism to Italy (14.1 percent) comes from Germany, Italian government figures show, followed by the US. The UK accounts for about three percent of all tourism to Italy.

With UK visitor numbers being lower, they have less economic significance to the country.

There are also far fewer British nationals living in Italy than Spain. The most recent demographic data for UK nationals living in the EU revealed that more Brits live in Spain than any other member state.

Italy, on the other hand, ranked sixth with almost 260,000 fewer UK nationals living in Italy compared to Spain.

Number of British citizens living in the EU.
Source: Statista

Is there any way Brits can stay in Italy for longer?

Many British people who have a second home in Italy have contacted The Local to ask how they could spend four or five months in a row here as they used to.

But with the 90-day rule in place and no sign of this changing soon, the only way for non-residents to spend more time in Italy is now to get a long-stay visa.

At the moment, if you plan to stay longer, most people from outside the EU would need to apply for a visa and residency permit (permesso di soggiorno).

READ ALSO:

While some countries such as France have made special residency permit provisions for second home owners, and certain other EU member states have so-called ‘Golden Visa’ schemes available to those who can afford them, Italy has no such process.

There has been widespread confusion about this for British nationals, but the post-Brexit immigration rules remain the same whether you own a property in Italy or not.

You’ll need to consider whether getting residency, in order to spend longer periods in Italy, is right for you.

Aside from the visa process, this involves paying income tax in Italy and other considerations which mean many people are opting to continue to follow the 90-day rule.

For more details about the process of applying for an Italian visa and residency permit, see the Italian Interior Ministry’s website or the EU immigration portal.

See The Local’s Brexit section for more details and updates. 

Member comments

  1. While I thank you for the view concerning the attitude of the different European states on the 90 day rule. I am bewildered by the talk of Spain and France making independent decisions regarding an EU piece of legislation.
    Surely Europe states must all agree to change the rules not individual countries as chaos would rule over the policing of this differential
    Of course I love my chosen and owned home in Italy. but the issue of a visa is not as straight forward as may be suggested, as the Embassies use an agency to filter and guide the process of application and to my cost the agency in the UK has demonstrated little grasp of the process and zero guidance

  2. I don’t see why Italy would choose such an option, especially given the small numbers involved. And then there’s the fact we made the decision to acquire residency here (a somewhat fraught process!), and don’t see why those who haven’t should be ‘gifted’ an extension…

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but among many questions that remain is the situation for non-EU nationals who live in the EU or Schengen zone.

Published: 27 April 2024 07:59 CEST
Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is not unlikely) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is basically an enhanced passport check at external EU borders, including a facial scan and fingerprinting.

You can find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Travellers crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities including that facial scan and fingerprinting.

There are, however, several groups exempt from EES and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

So if you’re a foreigner living in the EU or Schengen zone, here’s what you need to know.

Exempt

One of the stated aims of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – IE, people who stay longer than 90 days in every 180 without a visa, or those who overstay the limits of their visa.

Obviously these limits do not apply to non-EU nationals who are resident in the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They will instead be required to show their passport and residency permit/visa when crossing a border, just as they do now.

In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Commission is clear – exempt groups include non-EU residents of the Bloc.

A Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

How this will work

How this will work on the ground, however, is a lot less clear.

Most ports/airports/terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It does seem clear that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths. However it is not clear whether these will be available at all airports/ports/terminals or how non-EU residents of the EU will be directed to those services.

There’s also the issue that individual border guards are not always clear on the processes and rules for non-EU residents of the EU – even under the current system it’s relatively commonly for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect information about passport stamping by border guards.

Brits in particular will remember the immediate post-Brexit period when the processes as described by the EU and national authorities frequently did not match what was happening on the ground.

The Local will continue to try and get answers on these questions. 

READ ALSO What will EES mean for dual nationals

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

Delays 

Although residents of the EU do not need to complete EES formalities, they will be affected if the new system causes long queues or delays at the border.

Several countries have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a particular cause for concern.

READ ALSO Travellers could face ’14 hours queues’ at UK-France border

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

SHOW COMMENTS