After getting a permesso di soggiorno you will need to register your residency at the local commune (city hall).
This means that you are resident in your city.
Then, if you change cities in the future you will re-register your residency in your new city. But the first residency registration is more important because until then, you are not a resident of any city in Italy and therefor not an Italian resident yet.
You will need to show proof of your residency registration (different than your residency permit / permesso di soggiorno) when you will want to open a bank account, buy a car, open a tax account, register for health services, get an identity card and so on..
The process depends on your city but in Milano, it was necessary to schedule an appointment with one of the Ufficio Anagrafe offices in the city.
It was possible to get this appointment online via the Commune’s website after making the necessary registration and pin verifications which can take a few days.
In Milano, this is the link to schedule appointments (you must login first):
https://www.comune.milano.it/fascicolo-del-cittadino/prenotazione-appuntamenti
And select the option ‘Anagrafica – Stranieri’.
In my case, appointments were available only 5 months ahead. Which in my case was not good because I needed to open a self-employed tax account and start issuing invoice to my customers on it. While it is possible to open a tax account without showing residency, it is not possible to get special tax benifits which are substantial and it is required to apply for these benifits when opening the tax account. So I had to wait.
But if I wait 5 more months, next year when I would need to renew my residency permit (permesso di soggiorno) and the police will ask to see my tax account registration and some invoices I will have nothing to show, Since I’ve already spent about 5 months waiting for my first permesso and the year is half way over…
So make sure to go online or physically to an ufficio anagrafe in your city and check the availability for appointments for requesting residency (richiesta di residenza). And if they tell you it’s a few months than make the appointment even before you’ve received your first permesso di soggiorno. Just to save time.
You will know which date your appointment for the permesso will be, and after that it takes about 1-2 months to get it. So depending on how long it takes to get an appointment for declaring your residency, your should be able to calculate when you should ask for the appointment so it will be more or less after you receive your permesso and you won’t get stuck waiting another half a year before you can do anything in Italy.
It may also be possible to send the request and all the documents via email without an appointment. So check the website when available in your city or ask of there’s an email at one of the ufficio anagrafe.
To declare the residency you will need to bring to your appointment / attach online (assuming you are on a self-employment permesso di soggiorno):
- fill out a form of the request.
- photo copy of your permesso di soggiorno (both sides)
- The Agenzia delle Entrate registration confirmation of your apartment rental contract. (your home owner or rental agency will take care of that).
Even if you get an AirBnb for a few months your homeowner will be required to register the contract. If you can just get to an agreement with him/her that s/he’ll give you the type of contract that you need to register your residenza although this can be in the ‘gray area’ of the law.
Another option is to be hosted by a friend. In this case the owner of the apartment would need to approve it.
Source: https://www.laleggepertutti.it/239932_residenza-come-ospite-cosa-comporta - A copy of your codice fiscale paper / card
- A copy of your passport page
After a few weeks they will send a person from the Commune to validate that you are actually living in that address. So make sure to have your name on the intercom at your building.
A few days after that’s done, your residency should be confirmed. At that point you will need to get the confirmation letter. In Milano it was possible to download it from the website. Otherwise, I guess you would have to go back to the ufficio anagrafe.
Tip #1 – If you’re using a international driving license (along with your local driving license), you are only allowed to use it up to 1 year starting from the date of your residency.
The date of your residency starts from the day you send the request, not the date you receive the confirmation.
This is one reason you might want to delay getting residency until you get an Italian driving license.
Tip #2 – If you’ve imported your car and you’re driving around with a foreign license plate, residents are only allowed to do that for a maximum of 60 days from the date of their residency. Another reason to consider postponing getting a residency until you’re ready to finish the nazionalizazione process and get an Italian plate (which you will need residency for)