L'Assurda Burocrazia Italiana

A serious article on Brexit to follow up on my last (more playful) one.

Despite the Italian government promising that British citizens would be protected under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), this week, the British in Italy (BIS) group has reported two serious problems- made all the more grave by the fact that people are being denied important rights in the middle of a pandemic.

1)    some Italian public administration computer systems do not recognise the status of British citizens guaranteed by the WA. The system requires the number of either a carta di soggiorno for an EU-national, or a permesso di soggiorno for a non-EU national. After Brexit, British residents officially have neither.

Instead, as of very recently the British can apply for (in additional to the required residency certificates) a new biometric ‘carta di soggiorno’. This document is not mandatory. Many British residents in Italy have applied for it, but appointments are being given as far ahead as August.

2) a lack of correct official information is causing some professionals such as notai and commercialisti to wrongly refuse to complete transactions on grounds that the British party has not provided a document which he/she is not currently obliged - by any Italian or EU law - to possess.

BIS reports on some essential administrative actions/steps that have been blocked in the past weeks:

• renewal of an existing fixed-term job
• job applications
• registration as self-employed
• application for benefits through INPS.
• application for a tessera sanitaria.
• renewal of a tessera sanitaria.
• payment of voluntary health care contributions
• application for a pension
• application for childcare nursery voucher
• house purchase
• renewal of a tenancy agreement
• new tenancy agreement
• car purchase
• completion of citizenship application.
• application for a carta di identità
• lease for business equipment
• change of direct debit

BIS is lobbying to resolve the problem. Of course, an update to the public administration computer system to unblock British citizens availing of their rights is of the utmost urgency.