This page is for people who are already in Italy or are only planning to move and want to understand which papers they will need and in what order. Here is the overall picture; detailed steps for individual documents are on the pages linked at the end.
How do a residence permit, codice fiscale and residenza differ?
A residence permit gives you the right to live in Italy, the codice fiscale is your tax code, and residenza is the record of your residence in the municipality’s population register.
| Residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) | Tax code (codice fiscale) | Residence registration (residenza anagrafica) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | The right to live in Italy on a specific basis | A person's tax code | A record in the municipality's population register (anagrafe) |
| Who issues it | Questura (the provincial police headquarters) | For applicants for temporary protection, the Questura assigns it when they apply | Municipality (Comune) |
| What it is for | Legal stay, work, access to services | Health card, bank account | The period of legal residence for citizenship, tax residence, ID card |
In what order do you get your documents?
First you apply for a permit, then you register with the health service, and after that with the municipality.
- Permit application. Holders of temporary protection file it with the Questura. On the day you apply you receive a receipt, and under a 2022 ordinance the Questura assigns you a codice fiscale. The grounds for staying are described in the section Legal status in Italy.
- Registration with the health service. With your codice fiscale, go to the nearest local health authority (ASL) to be assigned a family doctor or pediatrician.
- Residence registration. You apply at the municipality within 20 days of moving; details are on the page about residenza.
- ID card. It is issued by the municipality where you are registered or actually live.
- Bank account. You need a codice fiscale for it; details are on the page about the account.
What is a tessera sanitaria?
You need the health card (tessera sanitaria) to use public health care: it contains your codice fiscale, and the law names this code on the card as the only condition for access to the services of the national health service (SSN). The Ministry of Economy and Finance produces the card and sends it out gradually to everyone who has a codice fiscale. For applicants for temporary protection, the Italian tax agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) passes the code and a note on the right to medical care to the health card system.
Can you get an Italian ID card?
Yes. The electronic ID card (carta d’identità elettronica, CIE) is issued by the municipality to people who are registered there or actually live there; the law speaks of “persons”, without limiting this to Italian citizens. The card costs €16.79 plus the municipality’s fixed and administrative fees, if it has set any, and it is issued within 6 working days. For adults it is valid for 10 years, for children under 3 for 3 years, and from 3 to 18 for 5 years. If you are applying for the first time and have no other identity document, you come with two witnesses.
By law, a foreigner’s identity document does not give the right to travel abroad unless international agreements provide otherwise, so use your passport for trips.
Until an electronic card is issued, a valid paper ID card can be used until 31 January 2027 for dealings with public offices, for medical, social and insurance services, for collecting mail and for money transactions. Until 31 December 2027, in urgent cases the mayor may issue a temporary identity document valid for up to 6 months.
Do Ukrainian documents need an apostille and translation?
Yes: an apostille exempts a Ukrainian document from legalization, but a translation into Italian is needed separately. The 1961 Hague Apostille Convention has been in force between Italy and Ukraine since 22 December 2003.
In Ukraine, apostilles are issued by:
- the Ministry of Justice: for documents of courts, notaries and archives;
- the Ministry of Education and Science: for education documents;
- the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Migration Service and the State Tax Service: for their own documents;
- the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: for other documents.
The cost depends on the authority: according to the Hague Conference on Private International Law, an apostille for an individual costs UAH 51 at the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education and Science, and UAH 150 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UAH 350 for urgent service).
A document in a foreign language must come with a translation into Italian certified by a consulate or an official translator. In Italy this is done as a sworn translation (traduzione asseverata or giurata): the translator takes an oath before a court clerk (cancelliere) or a notary. Any adult who knows the language can translate, regardless of where they live, but not the applicant themselves. A translator from a country outside the EU states the details of their residence permit in the oath record.
At the Court of Bologna, a €16 revenue stamp for every 4 pages (100 lines) is attached to the translation together with the oath record, and the translation is certified the same day; procedures differ between courts. Since 18 December 2025 the law has allowed sworn translations to be prepared and filed electronically.
For example, the Questura in Bergamo accepts a child’s birth certificate with a sworn translation into Italian. To register the residence of a family moving from abroad, you need official documents on the family’s composition issued by the authorities of the country you came from (Stato di provenienza).
What has not yet been officially confirmed?
Several questions have not yet been officially clarified:
- how long the health card is valid for foreigners and how it is delivered in 2026;
- what note is placed on the Italian ID card of a citizen of a country outside the EU.
We will update this page as soon as clarifications appear.