johnp77

I am asking for any info you can give me about moving to Italy to retire in the next 2-3 years I am a Brit and the wife is from the states

Garbatellamike

Hi John,

welcome to the Italy Forum, I would counsel that you have a thorough trawl around the earlier threads as many questions will have been asked (and answered) before and you will probably learn lots of helpful things.

The crocodile nearest the canoe maybe the fact that your OH is from the States and, therefore, her immigration status (you as an EU citizen will be fine) but that is something you may need to look at (if you haven't already).

If you have more specific questions then please ask away as people hre are always willing to help.

PS the forum may be abit quiet around Christmas with people away

ciao
Mike

Pica

Hmmmm this is a very broad question !
Get all your birth, and marriage certificates translated into italian by your local Italian Consulate. About £50.00 each document BUT you'll need them.
Good luck with your venture and whereabouts do you plan to move to?

Margaret M

Never been asked for this, and know of no-one in this area, and there are lots, who have been asked for translations. puglialife.com has lots of information on residential requirement and lots of people willing to help.

johnp77

Thank you for your timely replies, we are looking at moving to the Abruzzo region. We are still looking at property and have not finalized on an area. We are starting our Italian lessons after Christmas. My wife has been on American ex-pat website and it can was very disheartening.
Could anyone tell me if my wife as an American citizen would have any problems with getting the residency card? Do we have to get a private medical insurance?
We both enjoy history- sunshine and a slower pace of life. Thank you all once again.

37100

Hi.

Are you in the UK or Usa? Most of us on here are European so we don't know much about getting a visa, but there are some who have done it for their partners. Maybe they'll pop in after xmas. As Mike said, most of the regulars are away for the hols. From what others have said, getting a visa for a non-eu partner, is not that difficult. And is definitely easier than the new UK regulations! Both you and your wife will need medical insurance. If you are a UK pensioner you might be entitled to health care through the NHS.

Trilly

I have an American friend who is finally getting residency here - his maternal great grandmother was Italian so I think that helps. If you can consistently show financial independence I think you can eventually work through the beaurocracy.

For me being a Brit but way under retirement age I found a loophole in the system; I took out a partita iva to be an English teacher, my partner to be an olive farmer not earning more than 500 euros a year. This document was accepted as evidence that we would be paying tax and therefore did not have to take out private health care insurance as we were entitled to Italian healthcare. We got our residency no problem, I use my partita iva in order to pay my tax when I teach and as he hasn't produced much olive oil, my partner has never sold any oil and never used his partita iva (he took early retirement). After this we chose our doctor and visited Asl for our medical cards.

Good luck with it all and I hope this helps a little.

Ruby2

Hi John

Good luck with your plans for sun, history and relaxation. We took the plunge and moved to Italy 9 months ago so these comments to your queries are based on recent direct experience.

As regards the birth and marriage certificates, we did not need our birth certificates to be translated but we did need our marriage certificate ‘legalised’ (we were married in the UK) and then had to get a sworn translation into Italian.
This is the web-site for the ‘legalisation’:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/wh.../Legalisation/
The sworn translation is probably best done in Italy – I think the anagrafe (registry office) required the swearing to be done in an Italian court.

As regards private health insurance, you need proof of health insurance when you register at the local anagrafe. This can be private health insurance but it can also be evidence of entitlement to health care in Italy. As 37011 says, if you are in receipt of a UK state pension (or will be by the time you get here) you can apply to the International Pensions Centre in UK for a form S1 which transfers your entitlement for health care to Italy where you can access it on the same basis as an Italian citizen.
Here’s the web link for the S1 form:
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthc...ingabroad.aspx
My spouse isn’t yet in receipt of a UK state pension but was issued the form S1 as a dependent family member. The IPC were very helpful on the phone both before our departure from UK and after.

Encounters with bureaucracy in Italy may seem like wading backwards through concrete but getting forms S1 from the IPC in the UK and using them to register for health care in Italy were both very straightforward. A relative breeze!

Ciao!

Pica

I can only speak from personal experience and as of January 2012 it was law
(according to our Italian Consulate in the UK) that all comunes must have certified translations into Italian of these documents before residency would be granted.

Pica

Hi there, sorry I can't help with your wife's situation but we live in Abruzzo and the info I gave you re translations is true here but as with many things Italian the rules may differ from one comune to another. It's certainly worth being prepared because you only have 18 months from date of property purchase to avoid a hefty tax bill! Medical Insurance-we equipped ourselves with (free) EHICC cards and they were accepted by our comune. Once you are a resident you can register with the Italian Health system.

37100

The EHICC card isn't enough any more Connie. Of course, a lot depends on the town hall, but it definitely won't work here

Personally, I can't see the 'partita iva' route working - especially after recent changes in the law- for anyone who is not actually working and in which case, it's not a 'loop hole', but an entitlement.

Margaret M

I guess all the people I know did it before January 2012, so you may possibly be right - can't say.

johnp77

Good Evening All: I know you will all be busy in the upcoming days, and wanted to say thank you very much for your input. Happy Christmas and a prosperous new year to all and safe travels. I will continue to keep in touch and look forward to hearing from you as you have the time.

pugliese

what a great way of putting it

Domino

EHIC is only for Tourists, for those who are settling then the IPC will issue an S1 up to 2 years before retirement date, but you will then have to get a "different type" of S1 for retirement.
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-...insurance/ehic
and
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthc...-the-ehic.aspx

Note that EHIC isnt a full Travel Medical Insurance, and doesn't cover private medical nor repatriation

Once you have settled in Italy (or any other EU country) and become resident then when leaving that country you should have an EHIC issued by that country. The UK EHIC isn't to be used even though you are still British.

hth