# Irish Citizen / US Husband



## Mayaomahony (Mar 26, 2014)

Hello Everyone!

First time poster!

I am an Irish Citizen (I hold a current Irish Passport). My husband is USA.

We have plans to move to Italy at the end of the year, but I am having such difficulty figuring out what needs to be done paper-wise for our entry.

As I understand it, since I am an Irish citizen, and therefore, an EU citizen, I can live and work in Italy without a problem -- I just need to know what forms need to be filled out and what documents I need to provide to become a resident. And how long before I can become a citizen.

As well, I understand that my husband, because he is married to me, is allowed to enter Italy without problem, but what documents need to be provided for him. How long does it take for him to become a resident and then a citizen?

The reason I am finding it so difficult is that the US Consulate won't help me because I am entering Italy as an Irish citizen, and the Irish Consulate is just useless and unhelpful. I live in Los Angeles, and the closest consulate is in San Francisco. I will go there if need be, but I thought I'd post here first to see if anyone had the answers for me here.

Thank you kindly,

Maya


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Mayaomahony said:


> As I understand it, since I am an Irish citizen, and therefore, an EU citizen, I can live and work in Italy without a problem -- I just need to know what forms need to be filled out and what documents I need to provide to become a resident.


Not much. Bring your Irish passport, proof of residence (such as your apartment lease), and proof of adequate financial status (such as an employment letter from an Italian employer) to the Anagrafe in the commune where you live in Italy, usually located in the town hall. Register as a resident of that commune, and get a receipt.

A policeman may or may not drop by to check on whether you actually live where you say you live. Live your life, but it wouldn't be a good time to take that 16 week vacation in Nepal just after you stop by the Anagrafe, for example.



> And how long before I can become a citizen.


After 5 years of continuous legal residence in Italy you can apply for acquisition of Italian citizenship if you wish.

If you have a parent or grandparent who was born an Italian citizen (or at least could have been recognized as an Italian citizen at birth), then the waiting period is cut to 3 years.



> As well, I understand that my husband, because he is married to me, is allowed to enter Italy without problem, but what documents need to be provided for him. How long does it take for him to become a resident and then a citizen?


Bring an official copy of your marriage certificate. (You may need an Italian translation or, if available, an international certificate format that includes Italian, though you can try without one first and see how it goes.) Once you are registered as a resident your husband brings his passport, the marriage certificate, a copy of your residence receipt, some euro, and himself to either the Post Office or the Questura. There he applies for a PdS (Permesso di Soggiorno). Once he's got a PdS receipt, he's all set. He should carry that receipt around with him along with his passport until he gets the real PdS card in the mail. He'll need to periodically renew his PdS (or CdS if they issue him that).

By the way, if he did not get a stamp in his passport specifically from _Italian_ passport control -- if he drove to Italy from France, for example -- then he'll need to stop by the Questura within 8 days of arrival in Italy to get a "dichiarazione di presenza" (declaration of presence) in order to be ready to apply for a PdS. He has to apply for a PdS within 90 days of arrival, though I wouldn't recommend waiting that long.

He will have a 10 year waiting period (continuous legal residence) if he wants to acquire Italian citizenship. It's actually faster if you apply for Italian citizenship after 5 years (or 3 if you qualify), then he applies as the spouse of an Italian citizen. That's about 7 (or 5) years total. Or, alternatively, if he has that parent or grandparent who was born an Italian citizen (or could be recognized as such), he's got the 3 year option.

If you both intend to sign up for the Italian public health system, visit the ASL office after you've got your residence registrations sorted.

"Spouse" in Italy currently means legally wed opposite-sex spouse.


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## Mayaomahony (Mar 26, 2014)

Thank you so much for your clear and prompt reply, BBCWatcher!

If I may ask one more question, I have read on this forum that we need to have active USA Health Insurance -- is that accurate? I thought we'd just sign up for the Italian Public Health System when we arrived in Italy.

Do you know the answer to that?

Thanks again, so much.

Maya


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Good question. You're supposed to have health insurance that's compliant with minimum Schengen Area standards. I'd recommend something a bit better than the minimum during the period when you're getting established. U.S. health insurance that provides decent emergency coverage in Italy should be adequate for such purposes.

Oddly enough your husband is less likely to have a problem enrolling in ASL once he gets his PdS receipt. I have heard tales of non-Italian EU/EEA citizens having some pushback on getting enrolled. One approach might be to ask your husband to go to the ASL office alone when the time comes -- yes, scary thought maybe  -- and let him make the enrollment request for both of you as the "foreigner" in the household. Out of an abundance of caution.

They might want to charge you for enrolling -- or might not. That, too, is variable and seems to depend on the phase of the moon. They'll probably let him enroll for free.

One thing that isn't variable is that, if they do charge, it's the same charge for coverage that expires December 31. That is, if you sign up on December 10, you get 21 days of coverage for the same price as someone else otherwise similarly situated who signs up on January 6 (and who enjoys coverage through December 31). Yes, this is weird, but it's an annual calendar year premium (if charged) and not pro-rated. Consequently you probably want to keep your old insurance running through the following January after you arrive then get signed up in January. But check with the ASL office first. If they let you sign up for free anyway, no problem.

ASL enrollment includes EHIC coverage, so you get some limited coverage outside Italy. Importantly, not in the U.S. If you visit the U.S. (or other countries) it's quite prudent to have some travel medical insurance. Sometimes you can get decent coverage when charging air tickets to certain credit cards, but read the fine print carefully if you try to do something like that. If either or both of you are U.S. Medicare eligible then it would certainly make sense to enroll in Medicare Part A at least, and that provides fairly good emergency medical coverage in the U.S. while you visit. (Though again check the fine print.)


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