How to get your Attestazione di Iscrizione Anagrafica?

A couple of weeks ago Al and I were able to go to the Comune (local council office) and get our Attestazione di Iscrizione Anagrafiche. As far as we know we have now complied with all Brexit requirements to allow us to stay and work. Of course, this was based on the signing of the Withdrawal Agreement in January this year and would, most likely, depend on that being honoured, which we wouldn’t have thought too much about, but…

What is the Attestation Iscrizione Anagrafica?

This is the document that the Italian government have decreed, following the signing of the Withdrawal agreement, that UK citizens who registered for Italian residency (Residenza) before 31^st January 2020 need to obtain from the Ministero del Intero (Ministry of the interior) via your local Comune office before the end of the transition period 31^st December 2020.

Given that this document is for people that were already resident in Italy it is not entirely clear what the purpose of another attestation is, however it is worth noting that you need residency if you stay in Italy longer than 3 months so I suspect that it is both possible and likely that some people will have left the country not intending to return. The Attestation would then be a way of confirming who is here and planning to stay after 31^st December 2020

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Who can get it?

According to the UK Government website pages about what you need to do as a UK Resident living in Italy if you obtained Residency before the 31^st January 2020 you can get the new attestation. The Italian government have provided this information for those who already have residency and those who are currently applying. The information about the attestation and copies of the form are included here (N.B these last two links are to documents in Italian).

What was the process?

Making the appointment at the Comune

We went on the website for the Comune in Bologna and selected the one that had managed our residency application. We were able to book an appointment online, however there is not yet an option for Attestation Iscrizione Anagrafica, so we booked the one that sounded the most similar “Rilascio Certificati Anagrafici” (Release of personal certificates) and added in the comments the name of the document we wanted. On the Bologna Comune system you have to book an appointment for each person so we booked two next to each other. The system gives you a booking reference and emails reminders to you.

Attending the appointment with documentation

Previous Comune experience meant that we each have folders containing all our personal information, certificates, contracts, passports etc. from all our dealings with the Comune so we have a better chance of ensuring we have everything needed for the appointment. That said, as we knew that we were requesting something new I fully expected that we would end up being told we needed to make a follow up appointment.

Included in our pack was the circular from the Ministero dell’Interno (linked again here) which included the references to local and EU laws and agreements. We think that this was a crucial document for our success in getting the certificate, so we strongly urge you to take this with you.

Obtaining the marca da bollo

Some documents require an official stamp or bollo. This, it appears, is one of them. The bollo can’t be purchased in the Comune (some admin charges can be done by card in the Comune, but not this one). It needs to be purchased from a Tabaccheria, these usually have a T sign outside them indicating what services they offer, aside from selling tobacco products, and you need to ask for the bollo for the amount that you want. In this case we needed two €16 bollo. You can buy them in advance of the appointment. We have usually had to pay cash for them and this may be a requirement of the bollo system.

Getting the Anagrafica

Once we had the bollo we needed only to pay the tax in cash which was a couple of Euros. He then completed the documents based on our Carte d’Identità (ID Cards) and made the necessary signatures and stamps. We have filed these away in our personal documents file. They may never see the light of day again, but at least we have them.

Extra tips

The process was not quite as bad as we had feared however, we think there are a few key things that you need to do or have with you to make this as easy as possible. Remember this is completely new to Comune staff too and they haven’t necessarily been briefed or trained on what the Italian Government has set out.

1. Bear in mind that during this pandemic there are less appointments available than usual and you have to pre-book so there might be some time before the next available appointment.
2. Book appointments for each person that needs one, don’t assume that you can all attend the same appointment because you want the same thing.
3. Take the circular from the ministry of the interior and additional blank copies of the form, for however many you need. Be prepared to give this to the clerk.
4. If you can book online write in the comments what the document you want is called. If you have to make appointments over the phone or in person be clear that this is what the appointment is for. The better prepared they are able to be the better it will be for you.
5. Take all your documents. Take your original application for residency, your certificate (if you paid for one), your codice fiscale, your passport, your ID card, your employment contract, recent payslips, your rental contract. Take everything you can think of. You probably won’t need them, but you never know and if you have had dealings with Italian bureaucracy you probably already have this file.
6. Be patient. There is a good chance that the person who is dealing with you has not done this before or hasn’t done many. It will take as long as it takes.
7. A smile will take you a million miles, this is always true, but worth remembering.

As I said at the beginning, this may all be moot if the UK Government fails to honour the Withdrawal Agreement, because then no one knows what will happen. Until we know more all we can do is be as prepared as we can and hope for the best.

Any feedback on the usefulness of this guide would be gratefully received.