Loopy12

I am resident here, and own a house here.
Due to my husband's job, we will probably have to leave Italy temporarily, for 2-3 years, leaving in mid-2018. Obviously I will then forfeit residency here.

I know nobody really knows what will happen with Brexit, and I believe that people who are already resident will be able to remain, but what is likely to be the situation when we want to come back given we'll be leaving while the UK is still in the EU and returning after Brexit?

I presume one option is to take Italian citizenship so I will always have the right to return. My Italian is definitely not up to that standard right now though and I already have two citizenships so my life is complicated enough already!

Any speculative thoughts?

Secondly, I won't have been resident for the full five years that is needed for the resident tax breaks on house purchases until December 2018. Given that you are allowed to be out of the country for six months before it affects residency, does that mean I could leave in June 2018? I don't want to get hit with a bill for tens of thousands just for the sake of falling a few months short of the five years (obviously).
Who could I consult for legal advice on these matters?

modicasa

You say you wont resident for 5 years untnil 2018. When you bought the house I assume you bought as prima casa and then got your residency. There is nothing that says that if you then leave Italy for some time they will come and ask for the tax you saved. It will still be your prima casa in Italy I assume, so there is no problem. If you sell, then you must have had your residency there for more than half the time you have owned the house to avoid plusvalenza.
When you have been residnet in Italy for 4 years you can ask for dual citizenship - and that will save alot of problems in the future

Loopy12

Yes, I bought the house and was told to become resident within 18 months of doing so, for the tax break to stand, which I did. They said I need to maintain that residency for 5 years. When we leave, I will be at around the 4.5 year mark. It won't remain my prima casa because we will rent the house out while we are away - 2-3 years is too long to pay the mortgage with it sitting empty, but I presume as soon as I rent it I will no longer have a home here and no longer be resident - ?

For citizenship its the language test, civic test and loads of paperwork I presume. If I applied for citizenship at the four year mark I doubt it would be completed before I leave.

I just want to be able to come back again after a necessary hiatus.

GeorgeYoung

If only the "out" campaign had had any sort of plan, eh? Months down the line and they're still trying to work out what they want.

Personally, I fully expect the rights of anyone living in the EU (or EU citizens in the UK) to be grandfathered but if you leave Italy and then want to come back at a point in the future, that might be tricky, depending on what plan the government finally come up with.

You mention you are married - does your husband have a different status (is he Italian or has he been resident in Italy for longer than you)? I just wonder if you can claim residency/citizenship through him?

philat98

[QUOTE=GeorgeYoung;12071349]If only the "out" campaign had had any sort of plan, eh? Months down the line and they're still trying to work out what they want.
[/QUOTE]
Yes what a mess. As Alex Brummer says in the Daily Mail "It will be in the interests of Prime Minister Theresa May and her government to stop the Brexiteers shouting about a hard Brexit, soft Brexit and the dozens of outcomes in the middle. Each could send the pound into a spin".

How can anyone with financial interests abroad make decisions with exchange rates so unpredictable.

Loopy12

Unfortunately my husband is only here under a permesso di soggiorno. He's American. He's even less entitled to be here than me unless he's working here. That's fine if we come back here for his job, but we had hoped retirement here would be an option.

I fear we may end up with our house here being a very pricey holiday home!
Also I can't sell my U.K. house to pay off some the mortgage here with the exchange rate as it is right now.

PSG2014

Could you take earlier residency and your spouse could maybe later (maybe) become a resident on the back of yours ? I thought one could do this ?


PSG

Loopy12

Well, I am resident, but, as I understand it, I will lose my residency if I leave the country for six months or more, unless I take Italian citizenship. I think there hat be a permanent resident step in between, but would need to be here five years for that (anyone know ???), but I won't make it to the five year mark anyway, only 4.5 years.

modicasa

your 'tax break' is on the house purchase, as you arent planning to sell before the 5 years are up, it makes no difference to you.

Loopy12

Really? I thought you had yo maintain residency for five years - ?
Otherwise, what's to stop people becoming resident for a few months, buying a house as a resident, with the tax break, then leaving straight away and renting it out instead?

Pica

Nothing.
It's about selling the house before 5 years are up from date of purchase.

modicasa

Because the 'tax break' is for your first house, not for your residency. You can only have one first house. and that requires residency, its not that your residency gives you a first house.... If you sell it you must buy another within 12 months or you lose your agevolazione forever. Buy a second house and you wont get the tax break but you will have capital gain on any profit for the first five years.

Loopy12

Ah, now that would make it all ok. Even if we sold the house, or if we rent it out, we will have owned it, and live in it as prima casa, for more than five years when we leave (I became resident a year after buying the house).

One less thing to worry about.
Now I just need to worry about regaining residency when we return.

Thank you!