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Guide

Guide for international guests

All relevant information for EU and Extra EU citizens who are staying in our country
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INTRODUCTION

This guide aims to give suggestions and details regarding the necessary minimum requirements for foreign guests to comply with the Italian regulations during their stay and studies in Italy.

Glossary and Acronyms

  • AdE - Agenzia delle Entrate => The Revenue Agency which releases the Italian Tax Code (CF) and updates the tax domicile, linked to the health one to which your SSN registration refers and delivers health card (TS).
  • Azienda USL - Unità Sanitaria Locale => Local Health Authority: in Pisa it is called USL Toscana Nord Ovest, in Florence USL Toscana Centro .
  • CC - Conto Corrente => Bank Account
  • CF - Codice Fiscale => Italian tax identification number ; besides the certificate of attribution, you can visualize (and show) it on your Tessera Sanitaria.
  • CIE - Carta d'Identità Elettronica => Electronic Identity Card delivered by the local Municipal Authority only after registering your Residence at the City Hall Anagrafe Office. It can also be used to log in and access your personal account of Public Authorities WebPortals: you can do it with an hardware card reader pc device or an NFC-enabled Smartphone or Tablet, but the easiest way is using the CieID mobile app which allows you to be identified with a password (given with the CIE) by scanning a QR code.

CIE example from MinInterno Istituto Poligrafico

  • CLA Centro Linguistico di Ateneo - Università di Firenze - University Language Center.
  • CLI Centro LInguistico - Università di Pisa - Language Center of Pisa University.
  • DIS-COLL - indennità di DISoccupazione per i COLLaboratori => is a 6 months max. cash benefit awarded on-demand by the Italian National Social Security Institute covering also unemployed PhD students applying for it after the end of their study cycle.
  • Domicilio vs residenza => Domicilio is the place you are living at in Italy, your address. To get residenza (and its certification) you need to officially register at the City Council Anagrafe Office. Only foreign citizens registered as resident can get an Italian Id Document (CIE), needed to get the SPID and useful to access your personal account of Public Authorities WebPortals.
  • DSU - Azienda per il Diritto allo Studio Universitario => Public Body providing student services at a local and/or Regional level. Regional tax to be paid once a year.
  • EHIC - European Health Insurance Card => usually it’s on the rear face of a European national health card; In Italy it is named TEAM - Tessera Europea di Assicurazione Malattia and it may have other names in languages either than Italian or English: see this page for possible aspects and names of other nationalities versions.

Irish EHIC example

  • F24 modello semplificato is the needed form through which since 2024 every payment for the voluntary registration to the Italian NHS (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale or SSN) must be done.
  • GP - General Practitioner => in Italian medico di famiglia or di base or di medicina generale.
  • Green Pass (GP) – EU Digital COVID Certificate => is a digital proof that a person has either been vaccinated or received a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19 (base GP) or is only one of the first two (vaccinated or recovered) for the reinforced GP AKA super GP.

Green Pass (GP) logo

TEAM example (back of TS)

  • TS - Tessera Sanitaria => (Italian) Health Card; it contains also the Italian tax identification number. The most recent version (see picture hereafter) are delivered with NFC technology.

Italian health Card with RFID example

  • UI - Ufficio Immigrazione => the Immigration Office of Questura (the seat of Police in each Italian Province) with territorial jurisdiction PdS release.
  • Visto per l'Italia => entry VISA for Italy: read more about it here.

ALL INTERNATIONAL GUESTS

Codice Fiscale - CF

Is your Italian tax code which is most often asked in Italy for any bureaucratic procedures.

The closest offices of Agenzia delle Entrate where you can get the codice fiscale are located in:

You will need:

  • Id document: Id card for EU citizens or passport with VISA or PdS (or the request receipt)
  • Letter stating your position at the SNS (issued by the Students Offices)

In the office, after filling out a form and waiting for your number in the electronic queue, you will receive a doc (attribution certificate) containing your Codice Fiscale.
Very important for non EU Students: you can also receive your codice fiscale at the Italian Embassy/Consulate in your country when getting your Visa avoiding the process in Italy.
In full compliance with the Covid-19 anti-contagion safety regulations, until further notice, applications for the Codice Fiscale can be submitted by email to the following addresses:   dp.pisa.utpisa@agenziaentrate.it - dp.firenze.utfirenze.cf@agenziaentrate.it.
In the message, attach the following:

The PDF certificate of your Codice Fiscale will be sent to you by email.

Italian mobile phone number

It is highly recommended that you buy an Italian phone card choosing among the main phone service providers (you will need your Codice Fiscale in order to proceed):  https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operatori_di_telefonia_mobile_in_Italia 
This will be very helpful, since:

  • frequently you will be required to mention your phone number in different forms
  • some Italian authorities prefer contacting you through phone calls or SMSs
  • N.B. Extra-EU citizens might need an Italian phone number for communications regarding the issue of their residence permit

Please do not forget to update your telephone number in all SNS records (Ser.Se. etc.).

INPS

PhD and Post Doc grants are subject to social security contributions. Contributions paid by the Scuola are not automatically connected to your profile, so it is important for you to register at INPS (Istituto Nazionale per la Previdenza Sociale, the National Social Security Institute) under the category Gestione Separata .  
This is a very important requirement which should be dealt with so that the contributions will be useful for your future retirement allowance (even if you are not in Italy anymore).  
During the INPS registration process you will receive two parts of a PIN code: printed or via SMS or via email. You will have to use them together to access your account for the final online registration.

Registering at INPS: in-person Procedure

To access the INPS offices (currently) you must book an appointment by calling the INPS Contact Centre (find the numbers below) or using the INPS Mobile App . 

Home of the INPS Mobile App

After having installed the latter, please proceed as follows:

  1. Select -  Prenota un appuntamento in sede 
  2. Select - Avanti (you can choose between English or German interface)
  3. Select - Ricerca sede 
  4. Select - Toscana in Regione  and select your Provincia, Comune  (Firenze or Pisa) and Sede  (seat) 
  5. Select - Accedi alla sede
  6. Select - Prenota 
  7. Select - Avanti 
  8. Select - Servizi Veloci  and Senza autenticazione 
  9. Enter your Codice Fiscale and book your appointment choosing a green date/time

Going to the INPS office (currently only with an appointment):

PISA: Piazza Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi 17 

FIRENZE: Viale Belfiore, 28/A 

You will need:

  • valid Id document (Id card or passport)
  • codice fiscale
  • extra-EU nationals: valid residence permit or post-office receipt for its issue or renewal

Upon receiving your PIN, ask the INPS employee to help you with your Iscrizione alla Gestione Separata  as parasubordinato  PhD student with a scholarship ( Dottorando con borsa ) or research fellow ( Assegnista di ricerca ).

INPS Contact Centre help line: 803164 toll-free number for landline calls - 06-164164 only mobile phones, telephone charges applied by your service provider

The INPS Contact Centre provides information in various languages including English, French, German, Spanish and Arabic.

INPS’ DIS-COLL: Unemployment cash benefit for ex PhD Students

You can apply for DIS-COLL within 68 days after the end of your scholarship (only if you remain in Italy and have no other income!):

  • Online from the INPS website (having registered to Gestione separata) here 
  • By contacting the call center (see above)
  • Through a “patronato”: click for a list of these in Pisa or Florence 

Within 15 days from applying, you must go to the local Unemployment Centre  ( Centro per l'impiego ) and stipulate an agreement concerning your unemployment status called Patto di servizio personalizzato (or Patto per il lavoro ). 
The DIS-COLL contribution amounts to about 75% of the scholarship and it can be paid for a maximum of 6 months after the end of the last month of scholarship. 
Please read the general information from the EU website and the INPS site (in English); detailed information is available only in Italian on the INPS site.

Health Insurance

As a general rule, extra-EU nationals owning a valid residence permit, or once they have applied for it, are entitled to register at the Italian National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale - SSN) and have the same treatment as Italian citizens. Extra-EU students and Post Docs can apply for “Voluntary registration” ( Iscrizione volontaria ) at the SSN (aka SSR for Regional).  
EU students also can apply for SSN “voluntary registration” ONLY if they are not covered by their EU country of origin health service anymore. 
The “voluntary registration” refers to each calendar year (1 January – 31 December), it cannot be split up and it is not retroactive.  
Please note that your health coverage will start from the registration date and expire at the end of the calendar year. New students should have to register for the year of their arrival and for the following one. For example: 
      1st November 2023 – 31st December 2023 = 1 year registration 
      1st January 2024 - 31st December 2024 = 1 year registration

The SSN due payment, since 2024, must be done through a Modello F24 semplificato: 

  1. having an Italian bank account, you could possibly pay it with your home banking (usually free of extra charge) and download the Quietanza PDF receipt (see example in the last 2 pages of this AdE doc)
  2. otherwise, you can pay it at any Bank or Post Office (also when applying for the Residence permit) bringing a filled printed F24 form  

To get a printable filled PDF version, you can use this editable Modello F24 semplificato online . Follow the example (in the Document section of this page) editing it with the following information and costs:

  • codice tributo 8846
  • codice Regione 17
  • anno di riferimento: currently 2024
  • due amount:
    • student without revenue yearly amount 700€ 
    • student without revenue and with family in charge yearly amount 2.000€
    • postdoc (with or without family at charge) or student with revenue minimum yearly amount 2.000€ (and in function of their previous year's revenue)

After paying the due tax, the voluntary registration at the SSR-N must be requested in person at the proper USL desk or by sending an email to these addresses:

Pisa  -  sportellipisa@uslnordovest.toscana.it  -  USL Toscana Nord Ovest - ( info)
Firenze  -  iscrizionivolontarie.firenze@uslcentro.toscana.it  -  USL Toscana Centro - (info: student / researcher)

and attaching copies of the following documents:

When registering, you will be asked to choose a GP - General Practitioner (medico di famiglia / base / medicina generale in Italian), but you might not be able to check the list of the available ones yet. 
You are advised to contact our offices or, better, some colleagues/friends for a temporary choice. 
Once you have received the SSN health card, you will be able to change your GP choice:

Once registered, you receive the Tessera Sanitaria. On its back side, Italian citizens (and foreign ones mandatory registered to the SSN) may find the TEAM (Tessera Europea di Assicurazione Malattia) which allows the owners to get medically necessary (hence not only urgent) care while staying in an EU State plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland for a temporary stay.  Please note:  according to the current low, foreign citizens voluntarily registered to the Italian SSN do not get a valid TEAM (fields are starred, see example below).

Not valid TEAM starred example

 

DSU (Students only)

All the non Italian PhD enrolled students have to pay a regional tax to the DSU and submit the receipt to Segreteria Studenti by January 31st of each year to get refunded. Please find here the direct link to the payment: choose ARDSU Toscana (1st line) and then (08) Tassa regionale DSU

SPID: Sistema Pubblico di Identità Digitale

With the SPID ( Public Digital Identity System ), you can access the online services of the Public Administration with your unique personal credentials (username and password). 
You can use SPID from any device: computers, tablets and smartphones, whenever, on a site or app of services, you find the button [Enter with SPID].

example of the Entra con SPID button

You can obtain your SPID only with a valid Italian Identity Card, which you can get only being officially resident, that means being registered in the Municipal Anagrafe; you also need a valid Tessera Sanitaria , an email address and an Italian mobile number; once obtained, the SPID is usually free of charge. 
If you, being or having been resident, hold a Carta d'Identità , you could start applying for your SPID from the How to activate SPID page and follow the instructions for the chosen Identity Provider or Public Administration authorized to release SPID. Please note that obtaining the SPID can have a variable cost with different providers. Please note that, if yours is a Carta d'Identità Elettronica (AKA CIE) you can also use it to access your Public Administration online accounts (like with and beside the SPID).

Covid-19 Provisions info

From September 1st 2021 to June 1st 2022, access to SNS buildings (as well as to public offices, means of transportation, restaurants, museums, sports and cultural events, and so on) was only allowed to people with a valid   EU Digital COVID Certificate,   the so-called Green Pass (GP). The latter  is a digital proof that a person has either been vaccinated or obtained a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19. Currently, Green Pass is not required to access any SNS building or public office, place or mean of transportation!

Green Pass PDF example


For further and updated information on this matter, please visit the dedicated EU Digital COVID Certificate  page which also contains an updated list and related interactive map of all the EU and non EU countries whose vaccination certificate's QR code is readable from the national dedicated Apps.

In Italy, the VerificaC19  freely downloadable app is used to check valid green pass owners. It acts as a green (or red) traffic light stating if your GP is valid (or not valid) in Italy only or in all EU nations and returning only your name and birth date. If you have doubts about the validity of your GP you can download the app and check it yourself.

If your extra EU Country doesn't belong (yet) to the list of the ones whose COVID certificates are recognised under the same conditions as the EU Digital COVID Certificate (currently 18 as you can read in the above linked EU page), you could have in any case received one of the vaccines valid in Italy:If this is the case, you can ask for the conversion of your vaccination certificate into a Green Pass:

If you were vaccinated with a vaccine not valid in Italy you can get here a vaccination at the following conditions:

  • if you received your second dose from at least 28 and within 180 days, you can get a third dose obtainig an integrated valid vaccination 
  • if you received your second dose more than 180 days ago, or got only one or none, you can get a full vaccination cycle in Italy

EXTRA EU GUESTS

Permesso di Soggiorno - PdS, Residence Permit

This important document certifies your regular position in Italy and allows you to travel within the Schengen area: remember to always have it with you (also in copy)! 
Please note that it is not a residency certificate. 
How do I get a residence permit? First ask for a postal kit either at a central post office in Pisa or Florence or at the SNS (Internationalisation Office in Pisa or Servizio Eventi e Gestione del Polo in Florence) and then:

  • fill out the application form (mod. 209 modulo 1: see the example guide for detailed instructions) and gather all the necessary documents
  • take the envelope with the documents and the application form to the Post Office in order to send it to the Immigration Office at the Questura of Pisa or Florence

The post office will give you a shipping receipt. Please store it carefully, since this document shows that you are waiting for your new residence permit. The issuing of the residence permit could take many months and, meanwhile, the receipt is your only valid residence document in Italy and proves that you have applied and paid for the residence permit.

1. Postal kit

The postal kit must be sent within 8 working days after your arrival to Italy. When going to the post office, please remember to take with you:

  • filled out application form (mod. 1); for detailed instructions, see the sample filled out form with instructions published in the Visa and Residence Permit SNS Guide 
  • a letter stating your position at the SNS issued by the SNS Students Office in Pisa (certification online request form) or Florence (write to didattica.firenze@sns.it)
  • your passport + a copy of all its written pages (also pages containig stamps, visas, etc. – empty pages are not required)
  • filled out payment form (the red bollettino postale) for tax of electronic badge costs (it is included in the postal kit)
  • If you are applying for renewal, bring your old residence permit + a copy of it (both sides)
  • receipt or a filled out payment form for your yearly health coverage (since 2024 a modello F24, see the Health insurance section above) 
  • a 16€ marca da bollo - stamp/coupon, you can buy it at any Tobacconist

At the Post Office you have to wait in the digital queue and then go to the Sportello Amico (a desk reserved for immigration procedures). 

Logo of Sportello Amico

When it’s your turn, just make the following payments:

  • € 70,46 (amount due for tax and cost for a yearly electronic badge)
  • € 30,00 shipping costs (the so-called Assicurata)
  • € 700 student's yearly amount due to SSN (National Health Service) for health coverage, that must be paid before you send the Assicurata; the due amount for Post Docs must be calculated in function of their previous year's revenue (in Italy and abroad); take care to keep at least a copy of the receipt (IMPORTANT: if made at Post office there must be a paid stamp with data and amount)

After submitting your application, you will get a shipping receipt: it's an A4 sheet where you will (usually) find the date of your appointment at the Immigration Office.

Residence permit request receipt example

If you don’t have an appointment date and time on the shipping receipt, you'll read the message below: the authorities will send you later a letter (or an SMS) notifying you the time and date.

PdS request no appointment message

Until you'll get your Permesso di Soggiorno card, the receipt is the proof that you applied for a residence permit and that you are regularly staying in Italy: it contains reference numbers which can be used to check your specific application. As soon as you receive the receipts, make scans, hard copies and take care of the original papers: don't loose them, leave the originals at home and bring around with you the copies. 

After shipping the kit and before your 1st appointment, you can check your PdS application status in the dedicated page of Postal Service inserting your User Id and Password readable in the Assicurata receipt (the other small receipt with an ologram, see example below).

Assicurata PdS receipt sample

The SNS refunds all application costs for its Students so you may now apply by filling out the form available at this link: Immigration cost refund form . 
The form must be delivered or sent by post to SNS Protocollo together with a full copy of your original application receipts of payment. 

2. First appointment at the Questura

As mentioned earlier, you will be informed of the date of your appointment at the Questura - Ufficio Immigrazione (Police Head Station - Immigration Office) - directly at the post office when submitting the kit (in the receipt) or otherwise via SMS in case of temporary unavailability of free slots. 
If you miss your first appointment, you will receive a letter with a second one at the address mentioned in the application form. 
Be careful not to miss your second appointment, otherwise your application will be rejected and there won’t be anything the SNS offices will be able to do to let you stay in Italy! 
This appointment is the so-called fotosegnalamento : the main purpose of it is to check your documents and to take your index finger scans. You need to bring with you:

  • appointment confirmation (application receipt issued by the post office or SMS or letter from Questura)
  • your passport
  • a letter stating your position at the SNS (issued by SNS Student Office in Pisa or Florence)
  • 2 passport size and type photos
  • health insurance (receipt of payment)
  • Codice Fiscale : certificate of attribution or your Tessera Sanitaria 

2.1 Biometrics (usually, only for the first request)

At the end of your first appointment you will be scheduled to provide biometric data (height, full finger/palm scan, eye colour). 
This appointment can be either on the same day as the fotosegnalamento in the afternoon or within a month.  
You have to wait in a different queue; for queries relating to queueing you can always approach the policemen at the front door.

3. Permesso, finally!

After your visits to post office and Questura you will need to wait for an SMS informing you that your residence permit is ready. The SMS will also include information about how to retrieve it. 
Just remember that, until the document is ready, the post office application receipt will be your temporary residence document.  
Should you have not written your Italian mobile number in your PdS application or have not yet communicated it during your first appointment, you'd better do as follows. 
At least a week after your first appointment, you can check your PdS status in the dedicated page of Polizia di Stato inserting just your Codice Assicurata readable in the mail A4 size PdS receipt (equal to the password of the Assicurata receipt). You can get the following 3 status characterized as a traffic light:

PdS being treated (orange light)
Orange light PdS status: please wait 

 

PdS ready for delivery (green light)
Green light PdS status: please collect it 

 

PdS not present (red light)
Red light PdS status: please check, something maybe
wrong

 

If you get the red light answer, please check carefully the code inserted: it must be the 12 numbers one (usually) beginning with "055".
The permit validity dates are usually the starting and ending dates of the academic year. In Italy the academic year goes from November 1st to October 31st.

4. Permesso renewal

To renew the permesso you need to be sure you have been admitted to the following year of your course at the SNS. 
If you want to be sure and get the SNS letter in time, it is better to submit your yearly report within the June-July deadline. 
As soon as you have both the letter from the SNS student office stating your updated enrollment and your current residence permit, you can get a postal kit and start the application process again. 
N.B. Officially, you can apply for the renewal only from September (no earlier than two months before the expiry date of your current permit). 
Applications in July-August are also usually accepted. If you manage to speed things up, you might get your appointment earlier. 

Mobility within the EU

Extra EU citizens holding a valid PdS or a visa issued by Italy are able to travel within the EU for mobility programmes (such as Erasmus) or inter-institutional agreements (such as exchange ones) or other work reason without obtaining any additional visas. The period of their stay in a different EU country can be up to 360 days or until the expiry date of the Italian PdS/visa if earlier. 
If you do not meet the conditions previously mentioned you will have to apply for a residence permit after a period of six consecutive months.  
For more details please connect to this link: EU Immigration Portal , select your destination country and your migration profile (i.e. Student) and find information: conditions, procedures, rights, ...

Bank account

Last but not least: please, don’t forget your bank account! 
Non-EU citizens couldn't be able to open an Italian bank account until they receive their Permesso di Soggiorno and the entire process could take many months. 
That’s why it is crucial for them to arrive in Italy with a valid and easily reachable foreign bank account to receive their scholarships. 
According to Italian law, SNS cannot pay cash!

 

EU GUESTS

Temporary Residence in Italy

As EU citizen, you can move freely to another member state for up to 90 days. If you are going to spend more than 90 days in Italy, it is compulsory for you to register at the City Council Anagrafe as a temporary resident. 
Please register as soon as you can in the following offices:

  • In Pisa you should get an appointment with Ufficio Anagrafe (by phone 050-910111 contact center );
  • in Florence, should get an appointment with Sportello Immigrazione of the Municipality: (by phone 055-2767078 | 055-2767079 or skype immigr.comunefirenze )

In order to get the registration you must show your EHIC card or proof of medical coverage in Italy, and a document stating your financial means of support (for SNS students, this document is issued by the Student Office in Pisa or Teaching Service of the Polo in Florence).

 
Please note:  we try to keep updated this guide. If you find a wrong or missing or not updated content (text, link or document) please write an email to international@sns.it with your remarks and suggestions. Thanks for your cooperation.

 

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