Saturday we reached a big milestone — we now have our permanent carta di soggiorno, or permission to stay in Italy indefinitely.

How We Got Here

1. 2017–2019: What began as a dream of moving to Italy slowly turned into a rough idea, then a sketch of a plan, and eventually into a detailed, deliberate decision.
2. 2019: We applied for Elective Residency visas while still living in the U.S.
3. 2020–2022: After moving to Italy, we began the bureaucratic marathon:
   • Annual permesso di soggiorno
   • Official residency
   • Carta d’identità (national ID card)
   • Tessera sanitaria (health card)
     All of this took from March 2020 to January 2022.
4. Driver’s Licenses: After one year in Italy, you must get an Italian driver’s license. The written test is notoriously difficult — even for Italians. After lots of studying, we both passed. Jim even passed the motorcycle exam, so a Ducati may be in our future.
5. Annual Renewals: Every year we had to apply for a new permesso di soggiorno and tessera sanitaria. The permesso expires after one year but sometimes takes longer than that to receive, so you pick it up already expired and start all over again. A never-ending loop.
6. Year Five: After five years of residency, we became eligible for a permanent carta di soggiorno — and we applied right away.

Each application required piles of documents. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve submitted our 14-page lease (always printed double-sided!).

The Stressful Part: The Suitability Certification

To apply for the permanent carta di soggiorno, we needed:

• Everything required for a regular permesso, plus:
• Italian language certificate (A2 level)
• Criminal record in Italy
• Certification that our home is “suitable for habitation”

We provided all documents except the last one. The last one was the hardest. Our apartment easily meets the standards, but the city wanted a properly scaled floor plan and additional documents we didn’t originally know were required. We asked the owners, the building association, a neighbor, even the building’s architect (who we know personally). Still — we could not get the last document.

Then, out of the blue, Tony (our Italian fixer for all things bureaucratic) told us our permanent carta di soggiorno had been approved and was ready to pick up. We still don’t know how or why, but we are so grateful. Truly an answered prayer.

What’s Next?

Our lease expires in two- and one-half years. Rent will probably increase after eight years at the same rate — which is fair — or the owners may decide to sell. If that happens, we don’t know what we’ll do. Long-term rentals in Lucca are currently scarce because of the conversion to short-term rentals. Maybe things will change in two years. Maybe we’ll compromise. Maybe we’ll move to another city. Buying isn’t likely — the tax implications and housing market are complicated and very different from the U.S.

Mostly, we’ll continue our retired life in Lucca. We usually have a major trip or event about once a month. In between, we plan for those adventures, study Italian, enjoy our hobbies, spend time with friends, and appreciate the simple rhythms of daily life.

After ten years of residency, we’ll be eligible to apply for Italian citizenship. That requires a B1-level language certification. I’ve already passed mine; Jim is studying for his now. We decided it’s easier to take the test at age 66 than at 71, and we’d prefer not to do it under pressure.

Reflections

I often say Italy “dares” you to live here. The bureaucracy can be slow, confusing, and sometimes absurd. Expats usually respond in one of two ways: frustration or acceptance. We realized we had officially joined the second group the day we waited 45 minutes for new tessere sanitarie, only to be told (in very polite Italian) that the computer was down and nobody knew when it would be fixed. Jim suggested we try again tomorrow; I suggested we give it a week. There wasn’t much point stressing; an expired health card doesn’t really change anything.

People often ask if we like living in Italy better than in America. The truth is, two big life changes happened at the same time: we retired and we moved to Italy. I can’t compare working life in America to retired life in Italy. What I can say is this: even knowing everything we know now — every document, every line, every impossible requirement — we would still do it again.

And we’re staying.