Registering your residence and getting the codice fiscale in Italy

The codice fiscale is built from your first name, surname, date of birth, sex and place of birth, and is printed on the tessera sanitaria, the health card.

• A foreigner can obtain it at any office of the tax authority (Agenzia delle Entrate) with a passport and residence permit or visa, and no appointment is needed in many offices.
• It can sometimes be obtained from the Italian consulate in your country before travelling, or from the police when submitting the residence application.
• It is issued to you at the office almost at once on paper.
• Check that your name is written correctly and matches the passport.
• It stays with you for life, and you keep it even if you leave.
• And the authority warns of sites that sell the code since it is free.
• Banks and companies verify it, so give it only to trusted bodies.

When you move to reside in a comune you must request registration of your residence within twenty days of your move, and submit the request at the population register office (Ufficio Anagrafe) or online or by registered post.

• You need a registration request form, passport, a valid residence permit (for a non-EU foreigner) and proof of the right to housing such as a registered rental contract, ownership, loan for use or a declaration from the homeowner of consent, and the tax code.
• If you are from the EU you also need proof of work or sufficient income or study or health insurance.
• Your data is recorded and you obtain the certificato di residenza.
• And a verification visit by the local police (vigili urbani) may be carried out within weeks to confirm that you actually live there.

After registering residence you can request the electronic ID card (CIE: Carta d'Identità Elettronica) from the register office by appointment, with photos and fingerprints, and it is sent by post within days.

• It is an official identity document for residents valid for identification and access to electronic services.
• For electronic dealing with administrations, banks, health and insurance you need SPID (the public digital identity system) which you obtain from accredited providers such as Poste Italiane, Aruba and Lepida online or at an office, by verifying identity and tax code, and some are free and some with fees.
• There are alternatives, CIE and CNS.
• And the IO app provides notifications and public services.
• Do not give SPID details to anyone and avoid phishing sites impersonating government bodies.

When moving to another comune submit a registration request at your new comune within twenty days, and the old comune deletes you.

• And when moving within the comune report the change of address (cambio di abitazione).
• Residence also determines your rights to local services such as school, health and local taxes, so do not delay.
• The registered residence must reflect your actual address, since registration at a fictitious address is an offence.
• Common problems are some landlords refusing to allow registration, or contracts off the books without registration, which breaks the law since the owner must register the contract with the tax authority.
• If your registration is refused ask for help from a tenants' office, a migrant centre or a union.
• For the homeless and those without housing there is the possibility of fictitious residence (residenza fittizia) via a comune or associations.

Your residence registration opens the right to register with the national health service (SSN) and choose a family doctor, to register children at school, to obtain or exchange a driving licence, to register cars, to benefit from social services and local aid and tax advantages for the main home, and to request an ISEE number to calculate the household's economic indicator on which allowances and grants depend.

• And it is a condition in many procedures for permanent residence and citizenship after certain years.
• So register early and keep the residence certificates.
• The residence certificate is sometimes issued digitally free through ANPR (the national population register) on the government site with SPID or CIE.
• And remember that the landlord must register his contract for you to obtain legal registration.

What is a codice fiscale?