Residenza and codice fiscale: the Italian order that determines everything

The residenza: two working days — and then 45 days of silence

For EU citizens there is no residence permit. The Polizia di Stato, the national police, writes it itself: for up to three months you don't even have to report your presence. Whoever stays longer has only the duty to register with the anagrafe, the population register of the municipality.

Since the law on "residenza in tempo reale" (residenza in real time) that is surprisingly fast. The residenza takes effect on the day of your declaration and is processed within two working days.

What you show at the declaration:

• Workers show their contract.
• Whoever does not work shows means. The guideline is the annual amount of the assegno sociale (the Italian social allowance for older people), around € 7,100 for a single person, shown with a simple self-declaration.
• Whoever does not work also shows health insurance covering all risks. The blue EHIC card does not count; the S1 form from the CAK does.

Then follows the part that surprises the Dutch. Within 45 days the municipality has the declared address checked to see whether you really live there: in Rome by the Polizia Locale, elsewhere by the vigile (the municipal police). It also reviews the documents.

Put your name on the doorbell and the letterbox, and know how the silence works:

• If you hear nothing within those 45 days, your registration is tacitly final.
• If the application is rejected, you can appeal to the prefect within thirty days.

Anyone occupying a home without a valid title cannot apply for residenza at all. So a registered rental contract is literally your entry ticket.

The residenza is the starting gun for three clocks. From the declaration date you have three months to put your car on Italian plates, and from that moment the ASL and the municipality ask for your address. So don't arrange the residenza "once things are calm", but as soon as the contract is registered.

After five years: the certificate of permanent residence

Whoever has lived legally in Italy for five uninterrupted years has the right of permanent residence. You don't have to do anything for it, but you can ask your municipality for a certificate confirming that status. That is useful for the bank, a mortgage or an employer asking about your status. And it is the only document the Italian government issues about your right of residence.

The digital key: first the CIE, only then SPID

The Italian online government runs on SPID, the Italian equivalent of DigiD. Every SPID provider requires a valid Italian identity document, and a newcomer by definition does not yet have one. The way out is once again the order.

After your registration you apply at your municipality for the CIE, the electronic identity card:

• It costs € 16.79 in issue costs from the ministry plus the municipal fees, in Rome € 22.21 in total.
• The card is delivered to the stated address within six working days.
• For EU citizens it carries the note "not valid for the border"; you keep travelling on your Dutch passport.

With the CIE and the CieID app you log in directly to the government. With it you activate free SPID if you wish: using it costs citizens nothing, only some of the providers' activation routes are paid.

In the intervening weeks your Dutch DigiD bridges the gap, via the European eIDAS button for logging in with a foreign account. The Italian tax agency and INPS (the Italian social security institute) have that button, most municipalities don't.

And the bank? The conto di base, the basic account, is a legal right for anyone legally residing in the EU. Codice fiscale and passport suffice, and a refusal must be justified within ten working days; see banking and paying in Italy.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but on your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Italy.