BenC123

Hello everyone, in the near future I will be relocating to Rome from London for one year to study.
I hold a British passport, does Brexit affect me in any way or does it not change anything for me?
Is it recommended to open an Italian bank account?
Is it as easy as walking into a phone shop to get an Italian mobile phone?

Thank you for the help!

modicasa

As yet nobody knows about Brexit effects, but technically you are ok till Dec 2020.
To open a bank account you will need a codice fiscale which you can get from the local tax office (Agenzia dell'Entrate) taking a photocopy of your passport and the original and a completed AA4/8 form which you can download from the internet.

C.2s

If you have a uk phone contract then I believe that you can continue to use it in Italy (though this may change after Brexit). You'd be able to make calls and send texts to UK numbers within the terms of your contract, but it will cost more to contact italian phones. Of course you can use the Internet, and something like WhatsApp (which is very popular in Italy) instead. Plus because you'll appear to be in the UK (my EE phone thinks it's in Middlesex) you can access uk online TV. And also you won't need to cancel your contract (if you have one). But you will probably find there's a fair use clause in the contract that you must spend a certain amount of time in the UK. Although, from experience, I am not convinced that the phone companies have a system for enforcing this.

Another alternative is to get a sim from a phone shop here if you have an unlocked handset. The offers vary from time to time, but most of the main providers here have special schemes for foreigners, and I'm sure your fellow students will be able to advise you about which is best. They are usually pay as you go. They are reluctant to give contracts and handsets to foreigners who could just disappear taking the phone with them. It'll make phoning and texting italian phones cheaper, but conversely you'll pay more to contact uk numbers.

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Garbatellamike

you can also apply for your codice fiscale on the website of the Italian consulate before you go