A child born of an Italian father or mother is also an Italian citizen based upon the principle of jure sanguinis (blood right).
If your Italian Citizenship application fall into the “1948 cases”, we can assist you to proceed through a legal proceeding at the Italian Court in Rome.
People who have legally resided in Italy for a certain number of years (this vary from case to case) may be able to acquire citizenship.
We provide advice and legal assistance for foreigners who would like to request the reacquisition of the Italian citizenship.
We assist foreign companies to establish a business presence in Italy, including legal advice, documentation guidance and practical assistance for incorporation and registration in Italy.
If you need legal assistance for claiming your inheritance rights in Italy, we can appoint a dedicated legal counsel to follow your case.
Navigating the complex world of Italian immigration and citizenship can be challenging, but we're here to help!
Founded in 2007 specialized in Italian business immigration and citizenship law, corporate and commercial law.
With a multilingual team of experienced lawyers and paralegals, we can assist clients in all parts of the country.
Mazzeschi Legal Counsels / Insights / Articles / Italy: healthcare rights for EU and non-EU expats and visitors
This article is written by Marco Mazzeschi and contributed to our publication on Medium.com.
As a general rule, every foreign citizen can enjoy public health benefits in Italy. The system is designed to provide assistance for all Italian citizens and residents, including foreign citizens who are legal residents of Italy. Foreigners registered with the National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale — SSN) are guaranteed full assistance under the same conditions as Italian citizens, that is:
Those registered are entitled to:
All patients (including legal foreign residents) are asked to pay a co-pay fee (called “ticket”) before undergoing specialist examinations and for medicines. Exemptions exist for:
Co-payment is required for visits and medical examinations as well as for medicines, calculated on the basis of the individual’s income.
As required by the Schengen rules, any foreign visitor traveling to Italy must ensure he/she is covered by medical insurance valid for the Schengen area covering medical fees, hospitalization and repatriation costs up to €30,000.
You have certain health care rights during a temporary stay. You can access both emergency and standard healthcare services. In the first case, payment must correspond upon hospital discharge. In the case of “non-emergency” treatment, advanced payment is required.
In case of need for medical assistance, foreign visitors in Italy can seek medical treatment either from public or private hospitals. Public hospitals provide both emergency and non-emergency services while private hospitals do normally provide non-emergency services only and do not have first aid services.
At public hospitals, emergency services are provided at no cost or upon payment of a limited fee, while non-emergency services are subject to a fee set locally by the Regional Health Authority. Private hospitals normally charge much higher fees than public hospitals. Of course, it is also possible to visit a private doctor by arranging an appointment directly with him/her.
The emergency number (for immediate medical attention or to call an ambulance) is 118. Otherwise, you can access the first aid station (Pronto Soccorso) directly.
Foreign nationals residing abroad may organize planned medical treatment in Italy, for instance, if they need to undergo special therapy available in the country. Italy offers a special visa for “medical care”, this type of visa can also be issued to an accompanying person.
After the applicant has organized the medical treatment and has made contact with the hospital or clinic of choice (it may be a public or private facility, provided it is acknowledged by Italian health authorities), the next step is to collect the relevant documents and prepare the visa application that can be applied for by the applicant or by a family member or another representative on behalf of him/her.
Once the visa is issued the foreigner can travel to Italy and must apply for the relevant residence permit within 8 days from arrival. The residence permit for medical care can be extended for the whole duration of the medical treatment.
If you are an EU citizen or you are registered in the EU, you can apply for the European Health Insurance Card, a free card that gives you access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in any of the 26 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland under the same conditions and at the same cost (free in some countries) as people insured in that country.
Attorney at law.
One of the leading corporate immigration lawyers in Italy. Admitted to the Milan Bar Association (1988) and to the Taipei Bar Association (2016), a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and an accredited partner of Invest in Tuscany.
