B*******y
Well well well, it’s time to talk about the b-word.
“Siamo in Italia, parliamo in Italiano.”
We’re in Italy, we speak Italian.
My first trip to the office that deals with passports and immigration (questura) was rough to say the least! After waiting for 5 hours in a dark, dingy, loud waiting area with cobwebs in the corners and literal scraps of peoples lunches scattered around the room, I was turned away because one of my documents was in English.
It feels ridiculous to me now that I was so naive 7 long years ago when I enrolled at the University of Milan to do a bachelors (laurea triennale) in ‘Politics and Economics.’ The course was completely in English and was designed to attract foreign students to come study at the public uni instead of one of the many private ones (meaning the state will be making tons of money off of those students). Upon enrolling on the English-version of the website, my enrolment papers were printed in English since that’s what language I applied in, so that’s precisely what I took with me to the appointment to apply for residency and to get my long-stay card (permesso di soggiorno).
@wesleyphotography
After the 5-hour nightmarish wait that felt like nails on a chalkboard, I was told to come back with the “correct” documents, aka the same document with “enrolled” written in Italian…
This is just the first of many, many confusing incidents that I have experienced and it’s important to remember: don’t take it personally. The protocols, procedures and laws make no sense even to the ones that are paid to enforce them so it’s not expected of us as foreigners to know how to navigate the system without difficulties.
That being said, there are a number of ways that you can receive assistance with applications for documents, navigating the public health system and filing your Italian taxes.
Volunteer associations
Centro Assistenza Fiscale (CAF) Patronato: you generally pay a year-long membership for their services, some of which are included in that fee, and additional charges depending on what documents you need to do
Blogs and forums: I don’t pretend to know everything about Italian bureaucracy after 7 years living in Milan because it literally depends on who you speak to, where and what kind of day they are having
International students offices: if you are living in Italy for study purposes, generally the university will have an office to assist foreign students- unfortunately in 2016 my experience was very negative and I pulled a Karen asking to speak to the director who essentially said “Okay, and what do you want me to say?”
For each little bureaucratic win that you achieve, head out and pop a bottle!
@zanilic
