The Workaround Mentality

When Italy's immigration laws "don't apply to me," what you get is fraud

The Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco. Photo mine.

Cari amici,

I’ve written about tourists who don’t think rules and laws apply to them; now it’s time to point a finger at those who live, or want to live, in Italy and share that same mentality. I thought about calling this piece something like “How Not to Criminal,” to tie into my “How Not to” series (so far, Expat, Host, and Tourist), but the topic is too serious for a jokey title like that. What I have to say today will probably make a lot of people mad, but hey, if they recognize themselves in what follows, I’m mad too—at them. And I’m not doing anything illegal.

A disclaimer: I’m citing the laws and rules that apply to Americans who do not have dual citizenship with an EU country. Other countries may have different agreements with Italy, with more lenient or more restrictive clauses. These are observations only, based on information given to me and comments made in online forums.

I used the word fraud in that subtitle up there because it’s accurate. Merriam-Webster defines fraud as 1) “deceit, trickery, specifically: intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to part with something of value or to surrender a legal right,” and 2) “a person who is not what he or she pretends to be.” The synonym is cheat, but with a heftier connotation. People who want to get around immigration laws (and other annoying realities of choosing to live in a country other than their native one) better think again if they claim what they’re doing isn’t fraud.

It's infuriating, but mostly tremendously sad, to see how often, in “living in” or “moving to” or “expat life” social media pages and forums, people ask others how they can avoid those pesky restrictions regarding immigration, residency, and so on. There must be a workaround, they say. There is, and it’s called breaking the law.

This is not without irony, because if these same acts were committed in the United States by someone from, say, Central America, chances are excellent that the same people who think they can do whatever the hell they want to in Italy would not give them a thumbs-up.

The fact is, I don’t understand these actual or wannabe lawbreakers. And I’m pissed that honest, ethical immigrants who get visas (and don’t abuse them; we’ll get to that) have to play by rules that can make life difficult at times. One example: friends of mine who have waited a full year for their renewed permessi di soggiorno (permits to stay) to arrive, without which their travel options are limited and renewing their annual subscription to the national health service becomes a chaotic mess.

I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty of the laws and regulations because I’m not an expert and someone is likely to come at me with internet rage to tell me I’m wrong (well, that’ll probably happen anyway). Instead, let’s just look at some of the behaviors that are just plain illegal, no matter who comes sputtering to their defense.

Came for la dolce vita, stayed because who says I can’t?

The Italian state, that’s who. Surprise! You can’t come to Italy on vacation and decide not to leave. Apparently this is shocking news for some, not to mention (in their minds) unfair and unreasonable. So they find someone who will rent them an apartment without a registered lease, work in nero (under the table) or live off savings and investments, and claim they’ve lost their home country passport when it’s time to renew it. Which means they’re illegal immigrants who have committed fraud, and possibly tax fraud too. (As a tiny aside, let me say that the U.S. has visa and immigration laws too, and they don’t allow every person who wants to see the Statue of Liberty or the Grand Canyon to go there and stay there.)

Another surprise for tourists who don’t want to go home but do accept the need for a visa is that they can’t apply for one while in Italy. Consulates usually require visa applicants to apply three months ahead of their intended arrival in Italy. (Yes, there are a few exceptions, such as in the case of family unification, but those don’t apply to most of us.)

Have visa, will abuse

If you want to live in Italy and don’t have EU citizenship through blood, marriage, or naturalization, you need a visa. Cool. Problem is, there aren’t a lot of options, visa requirements can be daunting, and some visas are granted in relatively small numbers. Oh hey, see that word granted? I know it can be hard for privileged types to grasp, but Italy is under zero obligation to give you a visa, or to make it easy to get one. So if you think the consulate employees you’re dealing with are being unreasonable—they might have dual citizenship but you’d better believe, baby, that they’re Italian first and foremost to their dying day—remember that those consulates and embassies are Italian. Their country, their rules. Deal with it.

One of the “easiest” visas to get, in terms of the number granted (oooh, that word again!), is the Elective Residency Visa, or ERV. It’s designed for retirees who want to live in Italy, thus the primary conditions are that you have a certain amount of passive income to live on (so as not to be a burden on the state), such as from pensions, Social Security, and rental properties, and you don’t earn wages of any kind. (There are other not-insignificant hoops to jump through, and recently, according to anecdotal reports, the requirements have gotten steeper.) The idea is that you’re coming here to live full-time, which means becoming a taxpayer. But don’t take my word for it, read what the San Francisco consulate says.

Oh man. Those are Not Good Rules. Some people do not like these rules one bit. Especially if they’re denied a visa, which, as I mentioned, is a privilege, not a right.

Some people do get the visa, which means they have legally accepted its binding terms. But no, they don’t retire in Italy. Live here full-time and pay taxes? The horror! Better to come and go. And in so doing, along with violating the terms of their visa (hello, fraud!), they very possibly decrease the chances of a well-meaning, legally minded retiree who wants desperately to live in Italy year-round to get such a visa. Because though the consulates have some degree of autonomy, they’re not handing ERVs out like Halloween candy.

How do these scofflaws violate the terms of the visa, you ask? By living in Italy fewer than 183 days per calendar year, thus avoiding having to pay taxes. And/or by working, usually online, for their home country’s companies or clients, or by offering private lessons or other types of services here in Italy in nero. Any income earned in the home country would show up if they paid taxes in Italy, which means their visas could be revoked and their asses deported. The workaround? They don’t pay taxes.

What this amounts to, simply put, is taking a visa designed to allow retirees to live in Italy and using it for long-stay tourism. If you’re sputtering in protest, don’t bother. It’s true. These folks have found the workaround for Italy’s terribly annoying and inconvenient law that says tourists (meaning anyone without a long-stay visa) may stay in Italy only 90 days out of 180, which means no, you can’t be in Italy for four months, or five, or whatever is more than 90 days and do it legally. You can’t. End of story. And guess what? The U.S. has a similar law.

Aside from the ERV, a very popular choice for Italophiles is the study visa. People have used it successfully in the past to enroll in a language-study program, possibly without actually intending to learn the language, or possibly intending to do only what’s needed to remain enrolled while they’re off playing tourist. Or they don’t study at all, because who’s gonna know, right? Again, this is visa fraud for the purpose of long-term tourism, and Italy has gotten wise.

Study visas are harder to get now than they have been historically, and it’s more difficult (or not possible) to get one as a beginner speaker of Italian. Though there may still be some leeway (again, consulates have some autonomy), visas are now more readily granted for university or study-abroad programs, or for continuing (i.e., not beginner level) study at diploma- or certificate-granting schools. Some language schools now require proof of the applicant’s previous study.

In other words, Italy wants those who claim they’re coming here to study to actually do so. Is there still a workaround? I don’t know, but if there is, you can bet someone will find it.

Visa running, or let’s play “dodge the immigration officer”

Visa running, aka border running, used to be quite the thing, not only in Italy but around the world (according to the Urban Dictionary, the term was first used by expats in Thailand), but in today’s digital world, not so much. The lack of an inky stamp in your passport doesn’t mean squat when your movements are tracked electronically. I’m not saying it’s impossible for wily types, but jaunting across the border to “reset” your tourist stay limit isn’t the breeze it used to be. Try it at your own risk—or better yet, don’t.

The flip side of fraud: freeloading

As journalist, author, and legal resident of Italy Mark Hinshaw says, “It seems some Americans want to come to Italy to live and enjoy its bounties. But they are not willing to contribute to paying for them through income tax. Income tax is the primary source of funding for medical care, transportation, train service, museums, monuments, beaches, parks, free EMT/ambulance service, and all the other public services available. But these people think they should be exempt. What they are really saying is that everyone else should pick up their share. It’s selfish, entitled, and unethical.”

Ben detto, Mark. Well said.

Alla prossima,

Cheryl

© 2023 Cheryl A. Ossola

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