First Things to Do When You Arrive in Italy (a Newcomer's Checklist)

Moving to Italy is exciting right up until the paperwork starts. Then it can feel like a wall. Codice fiscale, permesso, residenza, tessera sanitaria, and every office seems to want a document you can only get from another office. It's enough to make anyone freeze.

Here's the thing that makes it manageable: there's an order. Most of these steps unlock the next one, so you can't do them in any sequence you like, but you also don't have to figure out that sequence yourself. This checklist is that sequence. It walks through the first things to do when you arrive in Italy, in the order that actually works, and each step links to a full guide if you want the detail. Think of this page as the map, and the other guides as the street-level directions.

One quick note before the list. Your exact steps depend on who you are. EU citizens skip the visa and permit entirely and register their residency instead. Non-EU citizens have a couple of time-sensitive tasks right at the start. So read the whole list, then follow the parts that apply to you.

First, the one deadline you can't miss

If you're a non-EU citizen who came to live, work, or study here for more than 90 days, you have a hard deadline the moment you land. You must apply for your permesso di soggiorno within 8 working days of entering Italy. That clock starts at the border, not when you've settled in.

There's a related step some people need. If you entered Italy through another Schengen country (say you flew in via Germany) and got no Italian entry stamp, and you're staying somewhere private rather than a hotel, you also file a dichiarazione di presenza, a declaration of presence, at the local questura within 8 days. If you came straight from outside the Schengen area, your passport stamp does that job for you. If you're in a hotel, the hotel reports you.

This is the item people regret skipping, so put it first. If you're not sure how the visa and the permit relate, start with permesso di soggiorno vs visa. EU citizens can skip this whole section.

Step 1: Get your codice fiscale

This is the master key. Your codice fiscale is Italy's personal tax code, and almost nothing works without it. No bank account, no lease, no SIM card, no health registration. It's the first practical thing to sort out, and the good news is it's usually free and quick.

One tip that saves people a trip: if you came on a work or family visa, your codice fiscale may already have been assigned during your permit paperwork, so check your documents before queuing anywhere. The full walkthrough is in how to get your codice fiscale in Italy.

Step 2: Find a place to live (with a registered contract)

You need somewhere to live before you can register your address, and the paperwork here matters more than people expect. When you sign a rental contract, make sure your landlord actually registers it with the tax authority. An unregistered lease can block your residenza later, so it's worth confirming up front.

If you're staying with a friend or family instead of renting, they can provide a declaration of hospitality so you can still register. Either way, a stable address is what the next steps hang on, so don't use a hotel or short-term address for anything official, because that's where your important cards get mailed.

Step 3: Register your residenza

Once you have a real address, register your residenza at your comune. This makes you an official resident, and a lot flows from it: your ID card, easier access to the health system, a driving licence conversion, and the clock that eventually counts toward permanent residence and citizenship.

There's a quirk to expect here. After you apply, a local police officer visits your address within 45 days to confirm you actually live there, often unannounced, so make sure someone's reachable at home during that window. The full process, documents, and that 45-day check are covered in how to register your residenza.

Step 4: Open a bank account

With your codice fiscale in hand (and ideally your residenza registered), open an Italian bank account. You'll need a local account with a proper Italian IBAN, because that's what salaries, rent, and utilities all run through. A foreign account or a basic app account often won't be accepted for your salary.

The main thing to know is the resident-versus-non-resident split: without registered residency you may only qualify for a costlier non-resident account, which is exactly why residenza comes first. Full detail in how to open a bank account in Italy as a foreigner.

Step 5: Get an Italian SIM

A small but useful one. Get an Italian phone number early, because banks, the health system, and most online services expect one. You'll need your codice fiscale and your ID to buy a SIM, so this naturally comes after Step 1. It's quick, and it makes everything else smoother, since Italian offices love to send confirmation codes and appointment texts to an Italian number.

Step 6: Register for healthcare and get your tessera sanitaria

Now register with the national health system and get your tessera sanitaria, the health card. This gives you a family doctor and the same care as an Italian citizen, mostly free or for a small co-payment.

Whether it's free depends on why you're here. Work and family put you in the free category. Students and a few others pay an annual fee that changed a lot in 2024, so check the current amount at your local health office. The step-by-step is in how to register for Italian healthcare and get your tessera sanitaria.

Step 7: Set up SPID (your digital identity)

Last one, and it makes the rest of your life in Italy far easier. SPID is Italy's digital identity system, and you'll use it to log into government services, book appointments, and handle tax and health portals online. You generally set it up once your residency and ID are sorted. It's not urgent on day one, but it's the thing that turns future bureaucracy from in-person queues into online logins.

A realistic order, start to finish

Say you're a non-EU worker arriving in September. Here's how it flows in practice.

You land, and within your first 8 working days you start your permesso application at the post office. Around the same time you get your codice fiscale, or find it already printed on your permit paperwork. You sign a rental contract and check your landlord registers it. You register your residenza at the comune and stay reachable for the police visit. With residenza underway, you open a bank account and pick up an Italian SIM. Then you register for healthcare and collect your tessera sanitaria. Finally, once your ID is in hand, you set up SPID. Each step made the next one possible.

The biggest mistakes newcomers make are all about order and deadlines. Missing the 8-working-day permesso window is the serious one, so treat it as day-one urgent. Skipping the codice fiscale and then wondering why nothing else works is the common one. And using a hotel or temporary address for official paperwork means your codice fiscale card, permit, and health card get mailed somewhere you no longer are. Use a stable address, and keep it updated when you move.

Frequently asked questions

What's the very first thing I should do?

If you're a non-EU citizen staying over 90 days, starting your permesso di soggiorno within 8 working days is the time-critical one. In practical terms, your codice fiscale is the first document to chase, because every other step needs it.

Do EU citizens need to do all of this?

No. EU citizens don't need a visa or a permesso. You skip straight to registering your residenza at the comune (if you're staying more than three months), then handle the codice fiscale, bank account, and healthcare as needed.

How long does the whole setup take?

Individual steps are quick, but the full chain usually takes a few weeks to a couple of months, mostly because residenza confirmation and card deliveries take time. Start early and do them in order, and it moves along steadily.

What happens if I miss the 8-working-day permesso deadline?

Don't panic, but don't ignore it either. Missing the window can create real problems with your legal stay, so if you're close to the limit, apply with what you have rather than waiting for a perfect file. Submitting late is a bigger issue than submitting incomplete.

Do I need residenza before healthcare and banking?

It helps a lot. Residenza gives you a normal bank account and smooths health registration. Some offices accept a self-declared address in the meantime, but registering your residenza early removes most of the friction.

Where to start

If you're feeling overwhelmed, don't try to hold all of this in your head. Just start at the top. For most people that means the codice fiscale, so open how to get your codice fiscale in Italy and take it one step at a time. Each guide picks up where this checklist leaves off, and every Italian term here has its own plain-English page in the glossary.

You've got this. It's just paperwork, in the right order.