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Welcome Office
Dalla ricerca della casa alla preparazione e gestione di tutti i documenti: siamo qui per assistere i nuovi arrivati e le nuove arrivate alle prese con un nuovo inizio.
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Visas
EU citizens
If you are a European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss citizen, you are allowed to travel to Italy without any formalities. A valid ID card or passport is required.
Non-EU citizens
If you are a non-EU citizen, you need to apply for a visa before you travel to Italy. You can apply at the Italian Embassy or Consulate nearest to you.
For working as a research employee at Eurac Research you can apply for the following type of visa:
Visa for scientific research purposes: researchers from third countries selected by either private or public research institutions acknowledged in the official list published by the Ministry for University and Research (MIUR) are entitled to apply for this kind of long-stay visa (more than 90 days). Researchers can obtain the visa only within the framework of a Hosting Agreement made between MIUR and Eurac Research.
Eurac Research needs first to apply for an "entry clearance" (Nulla Osta) necessary for the issue of the visa. For information about the Nulla Osta procedure, please contact welcome.office@eurac.edu
Pick up a Residence Permit Kit from the Welcome Office of Eurac Research and hand it in to the Post Office nearest to you. There you will receive a 'permesso di soggiorno provvisorio' until your appointment at the Police Station (Questura) where you will be given a definitive residence permit. The Post Office requests the payment of approximately 150€.
If you have requested a residence permit of more than 12 months, you will have to sign an Integration Agreement. The first time you enter Italian territory, the Integration Agreement has to be signed at the Single Point of Contract for Immigration located at the Prefecture (Prefettura) or at the Police Station (Questura).
Residence Permits
EU Citizens
EU citizens do not need a residence permit to live and work in South Tyrol. Anyone who plans to stay in South Tyrol for more than three months, however, must declare a change of residence at the municipal registration office (Ufficio Anagrafe) within 20 days of the arrival. In addition to a new residence address, a tax number and a valid ID, EU citizens are required to (have a) confirmation of work activity or, in the case of education or training, a proof of enrolment at an educational institution. Those who have no employment contract must prove that they have sufficient funds for the duration of their stay and health insurance that covers their health costs.
Non-EU citizens
Non-EU citizens may enter Italy provided that they hold both a valid passport and, if required, an entry visa issued in their country of origin.
As soon as foreign nationals enter Italy, they should apply for a residence permit based on the same motivations specified on their entry visa.
Steps to apply for a residence permit (to be done within eight working days from arrival in Italy).
Tax Codes
Nothing in Italy happens without a tax code ('codice fiscale' or 'Steuernummer'). It is a personal code identifying each individual within the Italian State. It is needed to open a bank account, sign a contract, process salary payments, etc.
Non-resident individuals who need to obtain a tax code can apply for it at the Italian consular authorities in the country of residence before coming to Italy. The tax code is issued by the Consulate through the computerized link with the Italian Revenue Agency and a certificate is given to the applicant.
Alternatively, the request may be submitted personally or through a person specifically delegated to any territorial office of the Revenue Agency:
Agenzia delle Entrate /Agentur für Einnahmen
Piazza G. Ambrosoli, 24
39100 Bolzano
Phone: 0471/1945111
At the time of application, the applicant must provide a valid identity card, an address (a temporary address is enough) and a completed application form. If the claim is made by proxy, the delegate must show a valid ID and a copy of a valid identity card of the applicant.
The documentation, as well as proof of identity, must support the legitimacy of the presence of the subject in Italy.
At the moment of the request, the Revenue Agency issues a certificate of attribution.
The final document with the tax code, called 'tessera sanitaria' or 'Gesundheitskarte', will be sent to the address indicated on the application form (if the collaborator doesn't have a fixed address yet, the address of Eurac Research can be used, viale Druso, 1).
Health Insurance
In order to benefit from Italian health insurance, you must be registered with the National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale - SSN). Foreign citizens are generally entitled to Italian health insurance if they have a residence permit, are domiciled in Italy and pay social security contributions. Insurance coverage is not tied to any work activity for spouses and children of the insured, nor to EU citizens who have been based in South Tyrol for more than five years. Following enrolment, you will select a family doctor—or pediatrician in the case of children—from an existing list and you will be issued a health book. After a period of time, newly registered patients will receive their health card (tessera sanitaria or Gesundheitskarte) in the mail. This card entitles the holder to medical services not only within Italy but also in the rest of the European Union; the same card will serve as a verification of your tax number (codice fiscale or Steuernummer), which is stored on a bar code and magnetic strip.
For foreign University Students
EU citizens who are in Italy for the purpose of study and are not insured in their country of origin, as well as non-EU citizens who are in Italy with a residence permit for the purpose of study and are in Italy for longer than three months, can apply for voluntary registration with the SSN if they are not entitled to automatic registration (e.g. through a work contract). Voluntary registration with the SSN occurs following a yearly payment, refers to the calendar year (January 1 – December 31) and cannot be split up. Foreigners residing in Italy for study purposes will pay a fixed yearly lump sum of 149,77.- €.
Anyone who does not qualify to register with the Italian National Health Service and who is not insured in his or her country of origin must take out private health insurance.
To register and detailed information:
Local Health Service - ASL (it)
Iscrizione al servizio sanitario provinciale per cittadini/e dell'UE ed equiparati (it)
Iscrizione al servizio sanitario provinciale per cittadini/e extracomunitari (it)
Booklet National Health Service by Non EU Nationals
Accomodation
Language Courses
In the trilingual province of South Tyrol, knowledge of the region's two main languages, German and Italian, is naturally an advantage. In the private sector, knowledge of both languages is not a must or can be acquired in stages. This is not the case in the public sector: with the exception of teachers, all public employees must prove their bilingualism in an examination administered by the province.
Free University of Bolzano
Our staff have free access to the language courses offered by the Free University of Bolzano. For more information: https://www.unibz.it/en/students/languagecentre
Alphabeta Piccadilly
Our staff gets a discount of 10% on a variety of language courses of Alphabeta Picadilly (15% if you subscribe for a second course within a year). For more information: www.alphabeta.it
Moving with Family
South Tyrol offers the kind of environment for children that has been lost in many European cities. Here, it is still possible to play freely in nature, most children can bicycle to school, and a Sunday stroll above Bolzano can lead to encounters with horses, cows or llamas. As demonstrated by the above-average results in the PISA test, the school system in South Tyrol also provides a good start in life. Parents can choose that their children be educated from kindergarten through high school in any one of the three national languages: German, Italian and Ladin. At at all of these schools, children also learn at least one second language from a very early age. The trilingual Free University of Bolzano, which currently has five faculties, conducts courses in English, German and Italian.
Italy's inadequate financial support for families is also true for South Tyrol, as well. However, the autonomous province offers a wider range of financial assistance than the rest of the Italian state, both in terms of financial support and childcare.
Traning Institutions (enti formativi) (it)
Training and professional/occupational courses (Percorsi formativi e professioni) (it)
Information for university students (Informazioni per studentesse e studenti universitari) (it)
List of permanent education courses (Elenco corsi educazione permanente) (it)
Schools
From zero to three
Infants
For infants from three months to three years old, there are three different types of childcare facilities in South Tyrol: the asilo nido (Kinderhorte), the microstruttura (Kindertagesstätten), and Tagesmütter services.
Microstrutture per la prima infanzia (it)
From three to six
Kindergarten
Children usually attend kindergarten (scuola dell'infanzia) beginning at the age of three and continue for three years. All children who are at least two years and five months old when kindergarten begins in September may attend. Kindergarten is not mandatory. The period of care is usually until around 3:00 p.m. Individual kindergartens have the option of extending their hours until evening, if there is demand. Fees for kindergarten depend upon parental income. Registration is held every year in January in the kindergartens themselves.
From six to eighteen
Primary and secondary School
In Italy, school is open to everyone and free of charge. A distinction is made between the schooling requirement (Schulpflicht), which is ten years and the educational requirement (Bildungspflicht), which is 12 years. This means that young people up to the age of 18 must either attend school or pursue training that leads to a professional degree. School starts at the age of six. Everyone gets the same basic education: the first eight years are comprised of five years of primary school (scuola primaria or Grundschule) and three years of middle school (scuola media or Mittelschule).
At the age of 14, children generally decide between three types of schools, each focussing on a different discipline: high school (liceo or Gymnasium), specialised secondary school (istituto tecnico or Fachoberschule) or vocational school (istituto professionale or Berufsfachschule). The first two types of school last five years, and culminate with a state diploma. Vocational training ranges between three and five years in length depending on the degree; graduates may receive either a professional qualification or a diploma. In South Tyrol, a 15-year-old has the option of entering a dual system after having completed his or her 9th year of school: the dual system means studying at a vocational school while simultaneously gaining practical experience working at a company.
German-language Private Schools (de)
Bank Accounts
You can open up a special bank account for foreign citizens if your place of residence, including your domicile for tax purposes, is located outside of Italy. One disadvantage of doing this is that the bank fees are higher. Banking in South Tyrol is cheaper for those who live and work in the province: all you need is a valid passport and an Italian tax number in order to open an account at one of the three local banking groups or one of the national banks that have a branch in South Tyrol. Conditions may vary from bank to bank, but the account fees (imposta di bollo or Stempelsteuer) is the same everywhere: every bank account in Italy requires that the holder pay € 34.20 per year.