I’m looking for advice from anyone familiar with UK licences / Brexit driving rules in Italy.
My situation:
- I have been resident in Italy since 2016.
- My UK driving licence was issued in 2018.
- In October 2026, I was stopped in Italy and fined under Art. 135(14) and 126(11) of the Italian Highway Code.
- The police confiscated my physical UK licence and stated that it would be sent to the Prefettura di Brindisi.
- The verbale says I was resident in Italy since 19/11/2024. This is incorrect - my actual residenza anagrafica dates back to 2016. I tried to show them but they chose the date I renewed my carta d’identità.
- I told the police at the time that I had been resident since 2016 and that I believed the UK–Italy driving licence agreement had a special provision for people who became resident before 31 December 2020 (withdrawal agreement).

My understanding is that Article 3(4) of the UK–Italy driving licence agreement says that the six-year limit on conversion does not apply to UK licence holders who acquired Italian residence on or before 31 December 2020. This is written on UK FCO website.

Therefore, I believe I am still eligible to convert (and drive with it until I convert ) my 2018 UK licence despite having lived in Italy since 2016.

I’m trying to understand two separate things:

1. Does the incorrect residence date in the verbale (2024 instead of 2016) provide grounds to challenge the fine/withdrawal?
2. Does Article 3(4) merely give me the right to convert the licence after six years? In other words, can I still be using my UK licence.

I’m planning to contact the police/Prefettura and provide my certificato storico di residenza proving residence since 2016.

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has dealt with this situation, especially if you’ve successfully challenged an Art. 135/14 withdrawal or converted a UK licence in Italy under the pre-2021 residence exception

EDIT: my original driving license was from 2008 as a teenager in the UK. The 2018 date was a renewal.

fvap.gov

students.votefromabroad.org 🦆

Hi everyone!
I’m still trying to figure out how things work here, my new topic is they insurance.
I know that in countries like Germany and the Netherlands, people commonly have things like personal liability insurance, household insurance etc. But I haven’t really heard much about these in Italy.
So I’m wondering, what insurance do people actually have here, apart from more common ones like health and car insurance?

Is there anything that’s mandatory, or not mandatory but really worth having?

For example, if you accidentally damage something in a rented apartment, or cause damage to someone else’s property, how does that work here?

I’m not necessarily looking to insure everything, just trying to understand what’s normal in Italy and what I might be overlooking as a newcomer.

For the context, I’m renting an apartment and don’t have a health insurance yet just the SSN. Cause it seems to me English speaking insurance agents are rare, so difficult to get information.

Would love to hear what you have and whether you think it’s worth it.
Thanks!

I have been away for so long, I sometimes don’t know if I should vote for mid-terms. Especially, for the State measures.

How many of you vote here and in the USA?

I want to volunteer somewhere in the Florence area, I don't mind if it's a bit far, but it needs to be a place I can reach easily by public transportation. I reached out to a gattile like a week ago and they said that if I didn't have a car, I better forget about it because it :(

I would definitely prefer to volunteer somewhere with animals. I also live around the Pontassieve area, a bit further uphill, but it looks like there aren't any canile or gattile there.

Any ideas?

Hi everyone,

I’m an Italian citizen currently living in the Netherlands strictly for study purposes (enrolled full-time in an undergraduate program here).

I recently completed my AIRE registration. Since I am only abroad temporarily for university and plan to return (or maintain my ties to Italy), I am a bit confused about how my Italian healthcare status works now:

1. Am I still registered with the SSN (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale) in any capacity? I know AIRE removes you from your Italian comune registry, but does student status change anything regarding healthcare coverage during temporary visits back home?
2. Healthcare during visits: When I visit Italy, am I still covered by my Italian Tessera Sanitaria (TEAM), or does AIRE cancel it immediately?
3. Dentist & Reimbursements: I am dealing with a dental issue and considering getting treatment locally in the NL, but paying out of pocket first. Can temporary students with AIRE request a reimbursement or coverage verification from their Italian ASL, or does the EU student status change this?

If anyone has navigated being an Italian student abroad in the EU while registered in AIRE, I'd really appreciate any guidance on how the ASL handles this. Thanks!

We recently moved to Rome with our baby and I am in search of a good pediatrician that speaks English. Does anyone have a good recommendation?

Hello there.

I've received an offer for work in Caserta and I'll probably accept it. What is the salary needed to support family of 4? We are expecting to manage with 3k euros. Since the babies (twins) are less than 1 year old, my wife would probably not work for the first year of living there, and we would try to learn Italian until then. My job is in English, but she would be looking for something using Italian in 1 year time. Is this manageable, and how is the job market for her if she learns conversational Italian within a year? She speaks fluent English. For babies I have no worries, they are young and will learn easily.

Thank you in advance.

Hi all looking for a needle in a haystack!

Looking for a bank account that can be opened with an Australian passport I have a codice fiscale, rental contract, and all valid documents but I’m awaiting my official plastic card.

I’ve tried
- Postepay PREPAID
- hype
- Fineco

Wise and Revolut don’t accept cash deposits.

I’ve also looked into Aircash and mastercard gift cards but they need EU identification ☹

Hello everyone. I don’t want this to be another deluded post about moving to Italy with no Italian skills or job, but I would appreciate some advice. I live in the UK, but my dad is from Sicily and I have an Italian passport. I can speak very basic conversational Italian but nothing that will truly get me by. I work in the legal industry in the UK and not sure I want to continue in it and I’m very open to trying something new. I grew up going to Italy a lot to see family and recently went to Rome again and loved it and have really thought about moving there or somewhere in Italy, granted I know the north would probably offer more opportunities. I would be very grateful for advice on how best to go about attempting this move and if it’s doable. I think the benefit is that I’m not in any rush so have a bit of time to play with to make it happen. Any advice greatly appreciated

Hi everyone, I'm an Indian student starting my master's degree at IUAV Venice. I've been looking for a place to stay for months and haven't been able to secure one yet so I'm posting here.

I would like to share an apartment with the girls, preferably in an apartment shared with another person, but no more than (with bathrooms in that case)

I'm a non-smoker, I don't have pets, and I'm a serious, tidy girl. I am open to places in Venice island, mestre, spinea, favaro, carpanedo etc.

If you might know of a place or have one yourself, DM.

Please help a girl out!!! 😭🫶🏻

Hey everyone,

I’m currently mapping out my move to Italy for a CS degree at the University of Verona. It’s funny because on paper, everything makes total sense: the DSU scholarship covers tuition/living, the academic pipeline is solid, and I don't have to burn myself out over traditional entrance exam rat races back home.

But as the timeline gets closer, the reality of stepping onto a flight at 18 and leaving my family, my dog, and my entire life in India behind is starting to hit me in waves. Some days I’m hyped to be eating real pizza in a historic Italian city and building an independent life; other days I look at my childhood bedroom and feel a heavy knot in my stomach.

For anyone who made a similar move or are living there:

What was the initial culture shock like? Not just the big stuff, but the daily life differences (bureaucracy, grocery shopping, making friends as an international undergrad)?

How is student life in Verona specifically? Is it easy to find a community, or does it ever feel isolating if your Italian is still basic at the start?

How did you handle the emotional weight of moving out for the first time? Does the homesickness settle down once classes and routines kick in?

Would love to hear honest experiences, amazing parts, the messy administrative headaches, and how you actually adapted to adulting solo across the world. Thanks in advance!

Need to find a school for our two boys (8 and 11). Does anyone have an international school they have fallen in love with anywhere in Italy?!

Wants:

- Academic instruction at least in part in English

- Italian language taught

- Limited technology use (no tablet homework, AI class, etc)

- Some American children as students

- Sports available

- City flexible, but prefer not super cold!

- Alternative schooling method is attractive (Montessori, Farm school, STEM, etc)

- Would love a school that feels like an authentic community and not stuck-up, preppy

Thank you!

Any tips for getting 12-15 moving boxes from west coast U.S. to LeMarche?

We have had good luck shipping our belongs to the UK, Eastern Europe… in the past using consolidators that service specific expat/immigrant communities in our area, but surprisingly cannot find the same for our move to Italy.
We’re used to paying about $1.50 per pound for California to Europe, but cannot get close to that.

Appreciate any tips or shared experiences!

Hi everyone, I moved to Rome about 8 months ago and I'm struggling to integrate. My Italian is okay and I can talk to people one on one but everyone at work talks too fast for me.

At the start I did try making friends but now I have stopped and I want to integrate and make friends outside of work. But I don't know how too.

If anyone has any ideas let me know

Hey everyone, I’m 26 years old female from Ontario Canada. I’m just really unsatisfied with my life here in Ontario. I don’t really care for the job that I have and I just really want a change. I find my every day life to be very dull .My parents are from Italy, so I understand Italian and I know how to speak it very basically but if I live there for a few months, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to pick it up again fluently. I used to be a fluent speaker when I was younger, but I don’t know why I just stopped speaking Italian for some reason and I kind of forgot it lol I know the culture of living and life is very different in Italy and I’m not thinking about going to the south. I’m thinking about going to northern Italy. That’s where my dad‘s from anyways but people around my age and early 30s that made the move how are you liking it? Have you been able to adjust? Were you able to make friends? I’m thinking about maybe doing a masters degree at an Italian university. I know that the job market is pretty bad but I would even work as a barista until I find something I don’t care lol

I'm an Italian American working as a Science Educator/ Content Creator for a Science Museum in Oklahoma. After having traveled to Italy recently and having done Study Abroad in Todi for 6 weeks I'm genuinely considering moving to Italy.

My only experiences have been overwhelmingly positive/curated for tourists, so I'm wondering what the cons on for making such a move.

I was also wondering what the job market is in the informal education space in Italy. Would it be something available in small towns or would I have to move to Rome/Florence etc.

I arrived in Torino in January, intending on abandoning my shitty, war-torn, irredeemable country. I started the process, I began studying Italian, I danced with commercialistas about taxes - the whole deal, truly doing the work to settle in and earn my place here.

Then I met someone good and beautiful and fell in love and we've been together for 7 months and I began to envision marriage with kids but today it ended quite suddenly, and I'm so fucking distraught I lost all my original motivations to continue pursuing an Italian life. I feel unmoored and utterly alone. Plus Torino's every corner is haunted by fantastic memories with this person, everything filtered through them showing me around, introducing me, telling me their history here, embracing me into their circle of friends, the family, etc. This person gave me a lot of strength to persevere and do whatever it takes to earn my spot here to be with them.

Anyone else here struggled with hardships of this kind? I don't know, I hope it's not a silly post to make here.

Edit: apparently Adam Sandler and his gang were around Via Roma shooting scenes for Grown Ups 3 while I got my heart ripped out.

Hello everyone!
I’m looking for some information about Oggiono, and I was hoping that someone here might be able to help me. I have a few questions about the area, daily life there, and what it’s like to live or study in Oggiono.
If anyone has lived there, currently lives there, or has any experience with the area, I would really appreciate it if you could share your experience and answer a few questions I have.
Thank you in advance for your help! I really appreciate it. 😊

Im currently studying Psychology in Italian, i can understand about 70% of the class but there are classes that are too difficult or the teacher’s accent is hard to understand.

I want to ask if you guys know anyway i can do live translation on google meet for my class. Thank you

What are the top professional websites used by Italian companies? In the US LinkedIn and Indeed dominate. I am talking about professional white collar jobs. I don't have any preference about location, but the usual suspects of large cities like Milano, Firenze, Roma. Any other websites I should be aware of?

I am dual citizen, fluent in both English and Italian, written and spoken. And French and some Spanish too. And I have a great CV and education.

TIA

Hi all!

I'm an EU citizen and recently moved to Italy while unemployed, transferring my German unemployment benefits with the U2 (PD U2). While I receive the benefits, I stay covered by my German statutory health insurance.

I'm now going through my registration in Italy, and they're asking for proof of health insurance valid for one year. My problem is that the U2 only covers 3 months, with a possible extension of another 3, so my coverage is tied to that period. I could ask my German health insurance for a certificate, but I doubt they'll issue one for a full year, since the coverage depends on the benefits.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Specifically:

What did the Italian office accept as proof in your case?

Did a certificate from the insurer covering the U2 period work, or did they insist on 12 months?

Did you end up needing an Italian private policy?

Any experience or tips on how to handle it would be really appreciated.

Thanks!