Your first month in Italy: codice fiscale to residency

Your first weeks in Italy decide how smoothly everything else goes. Do things in the right order and each step unlocks the next; do them out of order and you'll be sent back to the start. Here is the sequence that works.

1. Get your codice fiscale

The codice fiscale is your Italian tax code, and nothing happens without it: leases, bank accounts, phone contracts, employment, a partita IVA, school enrolment and every tax payment ask for it.

It has 16 characters — six letters from your surname and first name, two digits for your birth year, a letter for the month, two digits for the day, a four-character code for your place of birth and a check letter (for example RSSMRA85T10A562S) — calculated from your name, sex, date and place of birth. It identifies you; it does not make you a resident, and you can get one before you move.

Where to get it

• The Italian consulate in your country, before you travel — often the easiest route.
• An Agenzia delle Entrate office in Italy. Many offices require an appointment booked online. Bring your passport (and visa if you need one) and the completed request form; the code is usually issued on the spot as a paper certificate.
• The Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione assigns one to non-EU citizens entering with a work or family visa.

Make sure your names match your passport exactly, with your surname clearly identified: correcting a code later is slow.

2. Non-EU citizens: apply for your permesso di soggiorno

If you are not an EU citizen and are staying more than 90 days, you must apply for a residence permit within 8 working days of arrival. For most permit types you send the kit postale from a post office with a Sportello Amico counter; some types (such as work permits issued through the Sportello Unico) follow a different route. Keep the postal receipt — it proves you are legally waiting for your card.

EU citizens don't need a permit, but must register at the comune if they stay more than 3 months.

3. Open an Italian bank account

You can live on a foreign card for a while, but taxes, many employers and some landlords expect an Italian (or Italian-friendly SEPA) account. Above all, check that the online banking can pay an F24 — the form for taxes and contributions. Traditional banks (Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, BPM and others), online banks such as Fineco, and BancoPosta all can; check before relying on a foreign app for tax payments.

Typically you'll need your passport, codice fiscale, an Italian address and phone number, and — for non-EU citizens — your permit or postal receipt.

4. Register your residence at the comune

Registration (iscrizione anagrafica) at the Ufficio Anagrafe of your comune makes you officially resident there. It unlocks the identity card (CIE), access to the health service and many local services. Book an appointment through your comune's website and bring:

• Your passport and codice fiscale;
• Proof of where you live — a registered lease, a property deed, or a hosting declaration from the person you live with;
• Non-EU citizens: your permit or postal receipt. EU citizens: proof of work, study or sufficient resources and health cover.

The local police usually visit to confirm you live at the address, so make sure your name is on the door or letterbox.

5. Join the health service (SSN)

Register at your local health authority (ASL) to get a family doctor and your tessera sanitaria, the health card that also shows your codice fiscale.

• Employees and people with an Italian partita IVA register by right, at no extra cost — the cost is covered by taxes and contributions.
• People without Italian work income (for example on an elective residence permit) usually pay a voluntary annual contribution — at least €2,000 a year for most people since 2024 — or keep private health insurance.
• EU citizens moving for work register like Italians; others can use an S1 form or private cover.

6. Get SPID and set up your tax access

SPID (or the CIE electronic identity card) logs you in to the Agenzia delle Entrate, INPS, your comune and the health service online. Providers such as Poste Italiane issue SPID using your identity document, codice fiscale and an Italian phone number. With it you can see your tax records, file a pre-filled return and pay an F24 online.

If you'll be self-employed, open your partita IVA and choose your tax regime — most new freelancers choose the regime forfettario. A commercialista can do this for you.

7. Your first payments

Many people's first official payment is the registration of their lease. Landlords normally register the contract online and the registration tax (around 2% of the annual rent, unless the landlord chooses the cedolare secca regime) is usually shared between landlord and tenant.

If you'll owe income tax that isn't withheld by an Italian employer, the big dates are 30 June and 30 November. Use the F24 planner when the time comes.

Common first-month mistakes

• Leaving the codice fiscale until later. Everything stalls without it.
• Missing the 8-day permit deadline (non-EU citizens).
• Using a temporary address for registrations, then having to change every record when you move.
• Assuming English will do. Offices work in Italian; bring a translation app or a friend.
• Following advice from another city. Every comune and Questura has its own procedures — check their website.

What comes next

Once you're set up, the dates that matter are your permit renewal, your 5-year mark for the EU long-term permit and your tax-residency status each year. Add them to the residency planner and it will keep track.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and offices apply them differently: confirm your situation with a commercialista, a patronato or an immigration lawyer before acting.