Practical Living in Italy
Thinking of living in Italy?
Here are some interesting tips regarding practical living in italy for a UK citizen who is considering living in italy on a permanent or semi-permanent basis :
• NHS cover for UK
citizens
• Transferring Currency
• Importing your
car
Importing your car.
Here are the current regulations for registering
a British vehicle in Italy :
1. Take the Registration Book (V5) to the Italian Consulate and request
a certified photocopy of it (for further use in Italy).
2. Have the enclosed form, giving technical specification
of the vehicle, filled, signed and stamped by the manufacturer or a reputable
dealer. The manufacturer's or dealer's signature must be authenticated
by the local Chamber of Commerce.
3. Send the original Registration Book (V5) to the D.V.L.A. (Driver and
Vehicle Licensing Agency) and request a certificate of permanent export
(V561).
4. Submit the technical specifications form, duly signed; the mod. V561
and its translation in Italian (a list of translator is available on demand
at the Consulate), the M.O.T. and its translation in Italian to the Legal
Office of this Consulate General for legalization of the local Chamber
of Commerce's official signature.
CLASSIC CARS :
Import and re-registration: in theory, you are
obliged to reregister the car within one year of taking up formal residence.
This would signify that if you did not take formal residence (residenza
anagrafica), you would not have to reregister the car. However, if you
wanted to sell the car in Italy, the fact that it has a UK numberplate
would be a problem.
Import and re-registration: in theory, you are
obliged to reregister the car within one year of taking up formal residence.
This would signify that if you did not take formal residence (residenza
anagrafica), you would not have to reregister the car. However, if you
wanted to sell the car in Italy, the fact that it has a UK numberplate
would be a problem.
BOLLO D'AUTO (ROAD TAX) :
(Also known as ownership tax in Italy - i.e. you still have to pay even
if the car is off the road). This is paid yearly and the obbligation depends
on possessing an Italian number plate. On vintage cars most regions allow
you to pay a reduced car tax. Lombardy Region in particular recognises
the vintage status for road tax purposes once the car is over 20 years,
allowing you to pay a substantially reduced amount (around 25 euro instead
of maybe 5-6 times that). In general avintage car is considered such once
it is 30 years old.
INSURANCE :
You may wish to contact one of the insurance companies that are beginning
to offer time-related insurance policies. One of these is SARA, which
belongs to ACI, the Italian Automobile Club. There you can pay 50% of
a normal policy and then pay by the day that you actually use the car.
Another is RAS, which let's you insure the car for weekend, holiday and
August use. AXA, on the other hand, insures you according to actual use
(followed by satellite). However, they may refuse to insure a car with
a foreign numberplate. Another company worth contacting is Direct Line,
which recently bought out Royal Insurance - also operating by telephone,
this is a UK company.
DON'T RISK IT :
If you do find that importation and reregistration is either impossible
or prohibitive, then keep it registered in the UK, but don't do what some
people do which is to think they're being clever and successfully avoiding
a whole series of taxes.
The risks are :
(a) if the police stop you and take a poor
view of the situation - perhaps knowing that you live in Italy more or
less permanently - then they can confiscate the car and make you pay all
the taxes evaded plus fines and interest
(b) if you have a serious accident causing damage to third parties, you
may find that the insurance company refuses to reimburse the costs because
you are not 100% legal.
Either of those risks is not worth what
you might save up front. So it's advisable to be 100% legal in Italy,
or 100% legal in the UK, even if the car is in Italy.
All in all, you will be able to find an 80/20 solution paying road tax
and insurance in the UK, and getting it tested in Italy. This would be
the ideal solution as you wouldn't have to import you vehicule nor trail
it back and forth for its MOT, especially if you intend to live more or
less fulltime in Italy.
Transferring Currency:
You've travelled to Italy on numerous occasions to select your ideal property and at last, you've found it. You're own piece of Italian perfection that oozes everything you love about the country with just enough work required to add your own personal touch.OK, now what?
You know the purchase price, but what is the cost in 'real money'? The fluctuating exchange rate means that until your currency is exchanged and you have a 'fist' full of Euro's, you won't know the 'true cost' of the purchase. At some stage in the emigration process you will need to convert some or all of your assets into the local currency of your new country.
For illustration purposes, let us assume that you are UK resident buying a new villa in Italy. The developer will require a deposit in Euros straight away, and then further "stage payments" during the construction over the next 18 months, with a final payment upon completion. You will know the price of the property in Euros and this should not increase unless you upgrade the specification of the villa.
The actual cost in Sterling will be determined by the timing of your currency purchase. Naturally, if Sterling strengthens during construction, the cost will decline but if the Euro strengthens then your costs will increase - i.e. a stronger Euro means your property will be more expensive!
To illustrate the potential volatility:
A property priced at EUR200,000 would have cost £ 129,870 in January 2003 but increased in cost by £12,980 to £ 142,850 by May (10% increase in just 5 months).
Your strategy is semi-dependent
upon when you will have liquid funds. You may be awaiting proceeds from
the sale of your house in the UK, or waiting to realise other investments/shares,
etc. If you have full funds available you have two choices: one being
'risk free' and one being 'high risk'.
The 'RISK FREE' solution would be to sell all of your sterling now, thus
fixing the amount of Euros you will own at the outset. You can then deposit
the bought currency to earn some interest and send this to your new bank
account as and when you require.
If you think that Sterling's value against the Euro will rise, then you
can arrange a 'stop loss' order. This mechanism guarantees you a certain
exchange rate with the possibility of improving the rate if Sterling strengthens
in the future.
The other mechanism that is available is a 'limit order' or "target
price" whereby you specify the exchange rate that you want to achieve.
When (and if) the market reaches your target, you will automatically buy
the Euros.
For both 'stop' and 'limit' orders the minimum transaction amount is £20,000.
The 'HIGH RISK' strategy would be to buy the currency at the last minute,
just before you leave the UK, leaving you no option but to buy at the
prevailing exchange rate
What if you want to 'PLAY SAFE' (buy the currency straight away because
you are happy with the current exchange rate) but do not have all of the
money at the outset? There is a solution that is employed daily by international
businesses to protect their profit margins: a 'FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACT'.
In essence, a 'forward contract' means that you can buy the currency now,
and pay for it later (when you are ready to leave the UK or receive funds
from your house sale). You will be required to pay a 10% deposit straight
away and the 90% balance upon the maturity of the contract. For example,
if you wish to buy £50,000 worth of Euros but do not need them for
3 months, you can agree the exchange rate now, place a £5,000 deposit,
and pay the remaining £45,000 balance in 3 months. If the exchange
rate moves at all in that 3-month period this will not affect you at all,
as you have bought currency at the originally agreed rate. You can combine
a FORWARD CONTRACT with a TARGET EXCHANGE RATE (limit order).
Remember: You are risking your future wealth! Without fixing the exchange
rate or taking out a 'forward contract' at the outset, you are taking
a gamble. Until you actually buy the currency, you will have no idea how
much money you will have to spend on your new house, car, etc.
For further information.
You can send your funds to Italy for no charge contacting this company .
NHS cover for UK citizens
NHS Cover > E111 > Permesso / Carta di Soggiorno
> Codice Fiscale > Health Authority Registration > Doctor Registration
All UK citizens are part of the 'National Health Service' and you should
be in possession of your 'National Health Service' Number.
E111 - This form entitles UK citizens to emergency health cover whilst travelling through European Member States. Generally the E111, when 'stamped' by your local UK Post Office, only covers for Emergency Treatment whilst 'travelling through' Europe, however, you can send the completed form to 'The Department of Work & Pensions' prior to your leaving, they will then register your 'move' and return the authorised form. It's probably best to use two forms. Send one to 'The Department of Work & Pensions', with a reply address of a friend or family member in the UK and have one stamped at your post office. You can then at least have something to take with you should you not receive the completed form back before leaving
N.B. It should be noted : the E111 is only valid until the 31st December 2005, after which time all UK citizens should have received their European Health Insurance Card. This card will be sent to the address listed on your E111 application.
Permesso / Carta di Soggiorno (Stay permit) - Within 8 days of your arrival in Italy, you must register with your local Police Station.
You will need:
UK Passport (valid for at least 3 months)
4 passport sized photo's
An authorised E111 form
Address in Italy (Deeds or Rental Agreement)
Bank Statements showing you have 'Independent Means' (at least 5000 Euros).
An official stamp called 'Marca da bollo'available from any tobacconist's
shop.
The Carta di Soggiorno is normally valid for 5 years.
Codice Fiscale
- It is possible to arrange your Codice Fiscale prior to leaving for Italy,
in this case contact the Italian Consulate in London. To arrange it once
in Italy you need to visit your local Tax Office, normally situated in
the Capital of your Province.
You will need:
UK passport
Marriage certificate (if applicable)
Birth certificates
Health Authority Registration
- Once you have received your Residence Permit, you may then register
with your Local Health Authority (“L’Unita Sanitaria Locale”
or USL) at which time you will be provided with a 'National Health Number'.
National Health
Number - will enable you to be registered and receive
treatment.
Doctor Registration - Finally,
you must register with the local doctor. Presenting your Italian National
The above information was taken and adapted from the site : http://www.livinginitaly.co.uk
