Dear British citizens living in Italy,
Welcome to my first regular Passaparola newsletter for you and your families.
I would like to use this newsletter to provide updates on practical issues that matter to you living here in Italy, from driving licenses to health care, as well as to share my impressions 4 months after work and my plans for the future.
As I said in my first video message in April, I really hope to meet as many of you as possible, both at Embassy events and around the country. I have already met some of you at my ‘Town Hall’ meetings in Cagliari, Perugia, Florence, Bari and Palermo, as well as at my Residence in Rome. I’ve really enjoyed hearing about your experiences living here, especially as I look to learn more about this wonderful place myself.
My main priority, and that of my team at the Embassy, is to support you, British citizens living in Italy or San Marino, and British citizens visiting and traveling here. It has been a period of considerable change and uncertainty, I know, with the United Kingdom leaving the European Union; and the Covid pandemic has brought with it great challenges.
A little for me. I arrived in Rome after spending the last five years as Ambassador in Paris, and my family and I are honored and delighted to be here. My wife, Anne, is French and we got engaged here in Rome. We have three small children. My love for Italy goes back to my childhood. Although I went to school in the UK, I lived here for a few years between the ages of 8 and 11 when my father, a naval officer, was posted to the NATO base near Naples.
But I still have a lot to learn about this country. So I set myself the goal of visiting all 20 Italian regions within the first 100 days of officially starting as Ambassador. My first official visit was to Naples – we even managed to visit the house near Pozzuoli where I had lived as a child. For the past few weeks I’ve been criss-crossing the country, mostly by train, and last month I reached my 20th region – Basilicata. These visits have been an education in themselves and I certainly plan to continue going out in the months to come. I will do everything I can during my time as ambassador to strengthen the already very close relationship between the UK and Italy – including, I hope, through the hundreds of thousands of Italians living in the UK and the tens of thousands of Britons living here. in Italy. I would really welcome your thoughts and suggestions on practical ways to do this. And please let me know the places you think would be useful for me to visit – especially with a British presence or connection. I want to go out, carrying the flag, as much as possible.
My first few months have inevitably been dominated by Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. My first act upon arriving in Italy was to call my Ukrainian counterpart to underline the UK’s firm support for his country. The UK and Italy continue to stand shoulder to shoulder in our support for Ukraine and to hold Russia to account for its actions. Our governments are in frequent contact about this and it will continue to dominate our cooperation until the autumn.
This summer we also celebrated Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and did so, I hope, in style across Italy, with the Queen’s birthday parties in Naples, Rome, Milan and – for the first time in 11 years – also in Venice. It has been a pleasure to meet many of you in them.
Throughout this period, my team and I have continued to work on the issues that affect your lives here in Italy – those arising from the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, or more generally. Let me use this newsletter to give you a few updates – starting with the most immediate concern, and of course the one you ask me most often and which is most on my mind, namely driver’s licenses.
UK driving license in Italy
I know many of you are understandably concerned about whether your UK driving license will continue to be recognized in Italy, especially when the extension granted by Italy until 31 December 2022 for such recognition expires.
Let me outline where things stand. The British government is working to reach an agreement with Italy on the right to exchange licenses without the need for testing. Discussions with our Italian colleagues are ongoing and our objective is to try to reach an agreement in good time before the end of the year. As a reminder, if you moved to Italy before 1 January 2022, you can use your UK license until 31 December this year. If you moved here after 1 January 2022, you have 12 months to use your UK licence. We hope that it will be possible to reach an agreement – that is our objective and we are working hard to achieve it. However, our advice is not to wait to change your license. If you need to drive in Italy, you can act now by applying for an Italian license. However, this will involve taking a practical and theory test. I know that the process is not straightforward and that there are delays in some areas to book an appointment for a test.
We will continue to work towards an agreement – this is our objective and it is an objective we share with our Italian colleagues. We will continue to provide updates, including the next edition of this Newsletter, which will be released in September. In the meantime, the best way to check is to check out our Living in Italy guide or follow the Embassy’s social media channels on Facebook @ukinitaly and Twitter (available in English @ukinitaly or Italian @ukinitalia).
Difficulties with local authorities
I am aware that some British citizens in Italy still have problems engaging with local authorities such as municipalities, immigration offices or the local health care office. In some cases long-term residents have been treated as third-country nationals with no rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. The new ‘Carta di Soggiorno’ is not compulsory – but we know that some authorities require you to carry it to access services or even to re-register your residence.
We raise these issues with our Italian colleagues and have seen a reduction in the number of British citizens encountering problems as a result of our lobbying efforts. Italian ministries have issued guidelines for local authorities and service providers. But we continue to work with the Italian government to resolve these issues as they arise and to report the cases we receive to the relevant ministries, as well as to the European Commission. I would just note that these issues are not unique to Italy – when I was Ambassador to France, similar issues were arising for British citizens living there, which the Embassy would regularly take up on their behalf.
It is really important that you report any problems to us please, which you can do via our Living in Italy page or by calling the number on the website of the British Embassy in Rome.
You can also lodge a complaint directly with the European Commission here: Complaint form for infringement of EU law – European Commission (europa.eu). The European Commission also offers a help service which you can access here: Brexit: how UK nationals and their family members resident in an EU country can stay there after 31 December 2020 – Your Europe (europa .eu)
‘Residence card’
More than 12,000 of you have requested a new ‘Carta di Soggiorno’ from your local immigration office or ‘questura’. If you haven’t already done so, I urge you to make an appointment with your custodian as soon as you can. This new residence card is the best proof of your lifelong rights in Italy under the Withdrawal Agreement and is available to anyone who lived legally in Italy before 1 January 2021. If you get it, you will have less likely to experience bureaucratic obstacles in the future.
The right to vote
Some good news about voting rights for long-term overseas residents! On 28 April, the Elections Act, having completed its passage through Parliament, was given Royal Assent. It gives ‘votes for life’ to British citizens living overseas. The British government now expects changes to the Act affecting overseas voters to be delivered before the election in spring 2024. The so-called 15-year rule will be scrapped.
Any British citizen abroad who was previously registered or resident in the UK will be eligible to vote in UK Parliamentary Elections. This includes British citizens born outside the UK who have been resident in the UK.
You will be able to apply to register at the last address you were registered at or, if you have never registered, at the last address you were resident at.
It’s worth noting that there are no set rules on who can vote in UK-wide referendums. Instead, the exclusivity for any UK-wide referendum is determined on a case-by-case basis by Parliament in the legislation providing for that referendum.
I know many of you have long been pushing for this change in voting rules. I especially want to pay tribute to the formidable campaign of 101-year-old Anzio veteran Harry Shindler, who has lived in Italy for many years and has spent 20 years campaigning on this issue. It was great to meet Harry Shindler last month and be able to host him for dinner at the Residence – and congratulate him in person.
Name mismatch in documents
We are aware that some of you are experiencing difficulties accessing services or applying for Italian citizenship if you have changed your name (eg from your maiden name to your married name) or if your Italian documents or United Kingdom contain discrepancies in your name, such as misspelling or an omitted middle name.
This is because Italian citizens very rarely change their name, but often keep the same name throughout their lives. The Italian authorities expect you to use one name throughout your life (first name(s) and last name) and all your official documents to use exactly this name.
Our consular staff cannot issue a confirmation of your identity even if requested by an Italian authority. We continue to work with the Italian government as a priority to resolve this situation. In the meantime, please read our instructions for verifying your identity after a name change.
Covid-19 and travel between the UK and Italy
I’m sure many of you are looking forward to seeing family and friends over the summer holidays, including back in the UK.
Please check our Travel Advice pages for the latest rules for traveling between Italy and the UK – as you know in the last couple of years these rules have changed a lot, so it’s always worth double-checking before you travel .
Where to find more information
Finally, you can find the latest information on our Living in Italy page, which includes details on residency, healthcare and benefits, pensions, driving licenses and how to contact us. You can also read the Living in Europe page which is there specifically for those of you covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.
Please follow me on Twitter @EdLlewellynFCDOas well as the Embassy on Facebook @ukinitaly, Twitter (in English @ukinitaly and Italian @ukinitalia) and Instagram @ukinitaly.
I wish you and your families a very happy, relaxing and safe summer.
Ed Llewellyn
