Job Discussion Forums

[H]

Hello,

I hope someone out there can help me. This isn't exactly teaching related but about living with Italian bureacracy. I'm British, teaching in Italy with a permesso di soggiorno and have decided to buy a car here. I thought this would be pretty easy given the EU free market etc but have been told by the garage I want to buy the car from that I need to have Italian residenza to buy a car here. Firstly, I think this is illegal as I am an EU citizen and therefore supposed to have the same rights as an Italian - has anyone managed to buy a car without obtaining residenza? How? Secondly, if I'm going to have to accept Italian law is so outdated that I do need to get residenza, how do I go about doing this?

I really hope someone can give me some advice!

Thanks,
H
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[Teacher in Rome]

If you have a permesso, you can get residency automatically from your local comune. Once you request residency, they'll send someone round to check you live at your address. It doesn't matter if you're not in - they leave a note for you to take to the local vigili urbani. Once you have their receipt, you take it back to the comune.

Residency is a good thing to have! You get the same rights as Italian citizens (access to the National Health Service etc), plus you pay 20% tax, rather than 30%.

[sidhbhra]

Italians must also be resident and have a fixed abode in order to do anything, therefore they themselves are no exception.There is no way round this.A permesso di soggiorno usually lasts 8 years but there is now a new system for EU members whereby they can apply for a permanent permesso in the questura (To obtain this no doubt you you will lose weight and drown in the plethora of paper).It's just a question of photocopying your passport and permesso, bringing them to the Ufficio Stranieri in your nearest Comune. They give you the residency receipt immediately (this will be accepted in some cases in lieu of residency) and will send a Vigile round (which will take from a week to ten days) to see if you live there.
If your car is second hand, you will have the further joys of going the�rough the 'passaggio di propriet�' (change of ownership) wherby you must refer to an ACI agency where there is a notary present who must sign a document.If your car is new then you won't have these problems but don't forget to pay your Bollo Auto (this depends on the horse-power) as the Vigilii cannot ask you for that but the Guardia di Finanza can.

[Caroline]

One possible kink in applying for residency may be your landlord. When I applied (three years ago), my landlord also had to sign a form. If your landlord isn't declaring your rent on his/her taxes, this could be a problem.

Also, from my general experience of living here and getting almost all my documents (permesso, residenzia, libretto di lavoro, health insurance card -- all worth getting) I have found that enforcement of the rules vary from comune to comune.

I agree with the others that residenzia is worth getting. Also, it's not a good idea to spend too much time comparing how things are in the UK to how they are here! You're not in the U.K.! I had a British colleague who spent three years in Italy with that mindset and made herself thoroughly miserable. She was always saying "But in England we don't do things this way. In England I wouldn't need.." She is now back in England!

[Teacher in Rome]

Caroline's right - the comune also told me I'd have to get my landlord's signature. But then they said that the landlord wasn't legally entitled to object to my getting residency. In fact, they said that even if the landlord didn't declare the rent income, it was no problem, as they never "grassed up" landlords to the Ministry of Finance.

It seems as if none of the various ministries or governmental organisations ever talk to each other... Not always a disadvantage, either!