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Italia Pratica

All guides

20 procedures, grouped by area. The ones marked essential are the ones that unlock the rest.

Arrival and documents

Tax code, residency, digital identity, ID card, citizenship.

Codice fiscale — the Italian tax code

The 16-character code you need to sign a contract, open a bank account, switch on the electricity and see a doctor. It is free and issued the same day.

Essential6 min read

Residency and anagraphic registration

How to register in the municipality where you live: what changes for EU citizens, which documents you need, and why the officer ringing your doorbell is part of the procedure.

Essential6 min read

SPID, CIE and digital identity

Without a digital identity you cannot enter any Italian public portal. What SPID is, what the CIE is, which one is worth it, and why you need an Italian phone number.

Essential7 min read

Identity card, passport and lost documents

How to get the Italian identity card as a foreign resident, how the passport works, and exactly what to do when a document is stolen or lost.

6 min read

Italian citizenship

By descent, by residence, by marriage or by birth in Italy. The descent rules changed in 2025 and are far narrower than most of what you will read online.

7 min read

Housing

Renting, buying, utilities: electricity, gas, water, waste.

The rental contract

Which kind of contract you are being offered, what registration means, how much deposit a landlord may ask for, and how to get out before the end.

Essential5 min read

Buying a home in Italy

From offer to deed: who does what, what it really costs on top of the price, what the first-home relief involves, and which checks you cannot skip.

6 min read

Selling a home in Italy

The paperwork that has to be in order before the listing goes up, the steps through to the deed, when capital gains tax is due, and the trap of selling a prima casa too soon.

5 min read

Electricity, gas, water and waste

Transfer or reactivation, how to read an Italian bill, why the waste tax is yours to declare, and how to fight a contract you never signed.

Essential5 min read

Family and school

Enrolling in school, the right to education, homeschooling, allowances.

State school and enrolling your children

How the Italian school system is organised, how a newly arrived child is enrolled even mid-year, what it actually costs, and what the right to education covers.

Essential6 min read

Home education (istruzione parentale)

In Italy educating your children at home is legal and needs no authorisation, but it involves a notification every year and a proficiency exam every year. Here is how it actually works.

6 min read

Family allowances and benefits

The ISEE is the key to everything. Then come the single child allowance, the nursery bonus, parental leave and the regional and municipal schemes. What newcomers are entitled to.

7 min read

Health

The national health service, family doctor, hospital, emergencies.

The health service, family doctor and hospital

How to register with the national health service, who pays and who does not, how to choose a family doctor, and what actually happens in A&E.

Essential6 min read

Tax and benefits

Tax residency, the annual return, the 7% regime for pensioners.

Tax residency, taxes and the annual return

When Italy starts taxing your worldwide income, how the treaty with your country of origin works, which rates apply, and what happens if you hold accounts or property abroad.

6 min read

Pensioners: the 7% regime and a pension from abroad

The 7% flat tax for anyone bringing a foreign pension to a small town in southern Italy: how it works, the requirements, why the tax treaty with your country can wipe it out, and what changes depending on whether you come from an EU or a non-EU country.

9 min read

Insurance: car, home, liability

Motor third-party insurance is compulsory and costs more than you are used to. How to get the claims history you already have recognised, when a home policy is genuinely required, and what the health service covers for nothing.

5 min read

Institutions and daily life

How the bureaucracy works, who does what, police forces, fines and ZTL.

How Italian bureaucracy actually works

The written rules and the unwritten ones: self-declaration, revenue stamps, protocol numbers, tacit approval, proxies, apostilles. The method that saves months.

Essential6 min read

Municipality, province, region: who does what

Four layers of administration and no guide telling you which counter is yours. This map answers the question that comes before all the others: who do I go to?

5 min read

Police forces: who does what and how to report a crime

Why Italy has five police forces, which one to choose after a theft, the difference between denuncia and querela, and which numbers you actually call.

6 min read

Fines, ZTL zones and driving in Italy

Why the ZTL is the fine everyone gets, how to appeal and when it is worth it, and the rule on foreign-plated vehicles that catches out anyone bringing their car.

7 min read