# EEA National with American spouse moving from the UK to Italy



## Norsk (Jun 13, 2012)

Hello my dear friendly forum-users. This forum has always been so helpful and encouraging in the past, and once again I'm at a crossroads in life and could need a few pointers. 

I'm an EEA national, my spouse is American, and we have been living in the UK for nigh 5 years. In the wake of Brexit, and as it slowly evolves, we are pondering what would hopefully be one last resettling and root-digging. 

We are both self employed and have sufficient means I would believe. We have been through visa processes before, and have adjusted to being tedious about keeping any kind of documentation and evidence that might prove fruitful in a future visa process. 

In fact, we met and later got married in Italy, hence our wedding certificate is correctly filed in the city of Florence. I bring this up because I wonder whether this specific piece of facts would tip any application in our favour, proving a tie to Italy? To further the question about objective ties, my spouse can prove family ties to Abruzzo, having great grandparents who were born there. 

Is it likely that we can simply arrive in Italy, settle and initiate the process once there, or must we sort out any applications prior to our initial arrival?

Must we register our businesses in Italy prior to initiating any process?

Is the process for the two us different? Ie. can I as the EEA national get away with simply showing up at the designated office and inform them about my intentions to stay, whereas my spouse has a more long-winded route to go? Or can my spouse remain as well provided a registration as I would, on the basis that we are in fact married? 

What is the name of a visa for a non-EEA citizen married to an EEA-citizen (but alas not an Italian)?

I will try not to pester you with many questions in one go so this will be the last one for now: if we can pay 6 months rent up-front, how likely are we to be accepted as tenants?

Tante grazie a tutti!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Officially, the spouse of an EU national has access to a "simplified" process for obtaining a residence permit. Generally, this means that the EU national can simply relocate, and once established, the non-EU partner can apply directly for a residence permit as long as they have entered the country legally and show their relationship with the EU partner.

The catch can be that the EU partner has to have established themselves - i.e. have a job or have set up their business or otherwise justify their source of income, plus have a residence and the appropriate health insurance. Not sure what Italy's specifics are on this part of the deal, but this is an EU policy so should be fairly sure. Start here for the general regulations on this: Your non-EU spouse and children's residence rights in the EU - Your Europe
Cheers,
Bev


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## Arturo.c (Aug 15, 2010)

You can first check on the website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs whether your spouse needs a visa or not, and then plan accordingly.


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## accbgb (Sep 23, 2009)

Also, I don't know the particulars of your business, but be forewarned: Italy can be very unfriendly to small businesses and, coming from almost any other country, you may be quite taken aback by the burdens of setting up and maintaining your business in Italy.

Just one example: the government will estimate your annual business income, and thus your anticipated tax burden, and require you to pay the estimated amount *up front*. When you file your tax return the following year, you can request a refund for any tax overpayment or pay a penalty for any underpayment. Expect the refund to take forever or the penalty to be immediate and painful, as the case may be.


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## Norsk (Jun 13, 2012)

Thanks guys, greatly appreciate it!

A special thanks to @accbgb. I already knew that small business conduction would be hard_er_ in Italy. Alas, I looked into more after your friendly pointer, and it now looks like it might make more sense to stay in the UK. Not the outcome I was hoping for, but small business are offered so easy conditions here, and it seems that I took that for granted.


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## JLeeB (Jan 30, 2017)

Hi
Your situation sounds a bit like my husband and I who now live in northern Italy which is a stunningly beautiful area at the foot of the Alps. My husband is from the UK and I am from the US. One big difference is that we are retired so do not work or have any income from Italy. I do not know what your businesses are but is it possible for you to continue to conduct your business in the UK and receive your income from there but live here? Maybe that is not a possibility but if it is then this is what you need to do. If you have a EU passport then yes you can just show up and inform them of your intention to stay get the codice fiscale ( like a tax file number) and you are on your way. You can open a bank account which you will need to rent an apartment, open your electricity account, phone, gas etc. However your wife needs to go to the Italian consulate in London and get what is called an extended visa. Then you can both come here. She will have to go to the Questura which is the immigration division of the police department. You will have to show your marriage certificate which being married in Italy will save a lot of paperwork, show your ability to support yourselves, show a health insurance policy for her that covers for a year. And the very first thing after arrival and getting your codice fiscali is to find an apartment after you open your bank account as you will need to show a contract to the questura that proves you have an address. The Questura at a later date will actually come to your apartment to make sure you are living there. The Questura will give you a date and time to go to a different office for your wife to be photographed and finger printed. For you coming to Italy is not a problem at all as you can just show up but with an American wife it will be more of a hassle, been there done that! However even though this sounds like a royal pain and it is, we have never regretted coming to this beautiful amazing country. It was worth every problem we encountered and overcame. The people are lovely, the food and wine are wonderful and the scenery around here is spectacular. Switzerland is 20 minutes up the road, the Alps are our back yard, and a glorious lake is right around the corner. Heaps of shops and cafes are only a block away and best of all we do not have to have a car which is a huge savings as buses, ferries and trains are very close by and can take us anywhere we want to go. There is even a special bus that goes to Malpensa the international airport outside of Milan from here. From there anywhere in Europe is on offer. Like you my husband and I are upset about the Brexit situation. We are stunned it actually happened at all as I do not believe the UK people really had any idea of what they were voting for but just voted as a protest against government policies. So now we are all left to wait for the repercussions. Anyway I have waffled on a bit, whatever you decide to do I hope you are both very happy. If you do decide to come here let me know as I am happy to help if I can.


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## Norsk (Jun 13, 2012)

JLeeB said:


> .


Thank you so much JLeeB for a very thoughtful response. You are quite right that the Italian life obviously is highly intriguing. However, the business side of things does still need more work, it's the only thing keeping us, really. It is so easy and straight forward in the UK, and the last thing I want is to spend so much more money and energy that our life quality actually decreases on running the same in Italy. 

You are right, keeping the businesses here (they are very small and modest, so when I call them businesses it is really not to brag) is an option. But for that to work out we'd have to split our time between the UK and Italy, and basically live here and be visitors there. It's not quite the same thing, but more than that, it comes with the need for two houses, one in each country. That is probably unlikely to happen at this point. 

By all means, not everything is easy here in the UK either. For instance, to get permanent residency here, we'd improve our chances by getting a mortgage and buy a house. But, to get a mortgage we'd improve our chances by having permanent residency. :dizzy:
When I say that, I'm most certainly not complaining. I chose to live here and it is not their job to have the rules I would have liked. But it is funny none the less. 

I will keep your kind offer for further help in my mind, and I might take you up on it soon. 
Again, thank you so much!


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## JLeeB (Jan 30, 2017)

Norsk said:


> Thank you so much JLeeB for a very thoughtful response. You are quite right that the Italian life obviously is highly intriguing. However, the business side of things does still need more work, it's the only thing keeping us, really. It is so easy and straight forward in the UK, and the last thing I want is to spend so much more money and energy that our life quality actually decreases on running the same in Italy.
> 
> You are right, keeping the businesses here (they are very small and modest, so when I call them businesses it is really not to brag) is an option. But for that to work out we'd have to split our time between the UK and Italy, and basically live here and be visitors there. It's not quite the same thing, but more than that, it comes with the need for two houses, one in each country. That is probably unlikely to happen at this point.
> 
> ...


I was very happy to be of help! If you do decide to split your time keep in mind that furnished apartments here are the norm. I know of a gentleman who lives in the UK but owns an apartment here and rents it out either long or short term and its completely furnished right in the center of town only a couple of blocks from the lake front. Its small but has a decent sized master bedroom and a small bedroom suitable for an office. If I remember correctly he rents it out for around 550 Euros a month for longer terms like a couple of months or more. It also comes with dishes, cutlery, etc. If he rents it out for a week the rent of course is a lot higher. Mind you there are a lot of rentals available in this area so finding an apartment would not be a problem. Anyway I can give you more info if you decide something in the future. 
Ciao!
JLeeB


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