I found this recently on the 'Incalabria' forum, and it seems to sum up all the options on ownership.
Regarding insurance, some people are quoting high prices - which is quite true.... but if I compare the cost of my fully comp in the UK, plus the cost of Green Card 3-4 times a year.... it isn't really much different. I think they quoted Italsure (where I also got a price); basically you can get 'whole of EU fully comp for the year' and just... go where you want to.
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Courtesy of
Calabria Homes Forum • Index page forum
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Hi Folks,
I have been registered on-line with the " Overseas Guides Co." (OGC) and I have been receiving regular emails with useful information about various aspect of living, owning a property etc. in Italy from Gianna Williams of OGC. I really have found the topics sent to me quite informative.
I have not purchased their Guide but are receiving parts of the Guide via these emails
Take a look at the following link which should enable you to register and receive these emails.
Advice for Italy Property Buyers on Buying Italian properties in Italy, Property Buying Process Revealed.
As an example this is part of the latest email I have received from them.
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ONE FOOT IN, ONE FOOT OUT
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In Italy you can own a house in the country without being a
resident. This means you are technically only 'domiciled' in
Italy. Residency is now very easy to obtain in Italy if you are
a citizen of an EU member state. You simply go into the local
council anagrafe with a copy of your Deed of Purchase, a
UK health insurance document (the EHIC will do), proof of your
UK earnings, a marriage certificate if applicable and four
passport size photographs. The carta d'identità, though not a
popular concept in the UK, is actually very handy in Italy,
where you legally have to have some form of ID on you at all
times.
Though you need not take up residency, there are some big
advantages. The first is that you will be allowed to buy a car,
whereas non-residents cannot. You will also be able to register
with the NHS system (ASL, also known as la mutua and not to
be confused with il mutuo, which is a mortgage!).
If you take up residency, you can also keep your UK car and
simply re-licence it in Italy, with the help of an agency. If you
intend to become resident you can buy your house with
a substantial discount, paying only 4% stamp duty instead of
10%. However you will need to take up residency within 18
months of the act of purchase or you will have to pay the
difference plus a fine.
On the tax side of things, it is definitely best to remain inside
the UK system as much as possible, because the Italian tax
system is heavy-handed, bureaucratic and very haphazard in its
calculations of what income tax a person owes. For example, if a
plumber lives in San Remo, the tax office will decide that for
him to live in that area he must necessarily earn x amount, and
he will be taxed on that, whether he actually earns it or not...
Italy and the UK have a double taxation agreement, designed so
that citizens of either country are not taxed twice on the same income
and it is worth consulting the text of this agreement to see how it
applies to you. In any case, consult a specialist accountant or the
Inland Revenue if you are going to be working while taking up
residency in Italy.
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TODAY'S BURNING QUESTION
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Can I take my British car and use it there rather than buy
an Italian one?
If you have not taken up residency in Italy, then you will have
no choice but to bring your car over from the UK, as non-
residents cannot buy cars there.
If you want to take your car to Italy and keep it registered
as a UK car, there is nothing to stop you from doing this.
You will need to check that your insurance company in the UK
will insure it, as Italian insurance companies will only insure
a car licenced in Italy. You will also have to drive it back to
the UK every year for its MOT, which is a hassle even for those
of us who live near the French border, let alone if your house
is down in Tuscany or Abruzzo.
If you want to drive your British car to Italy and re-licence
it there, it makes good sense both for insurance purposes and also
for the MOT, which is only required after four years for a new car,
and every two years thereafter. MOTs also cost less and are less
rigorous than in the UK.
There are two ways of going about this: the hard way and the
easy way. My husband and I did it the hard way, only because
we didn't know the easy way existed!
The hard way was to contact all the relevant authorities ourselves
including the offices of the motorizzazione, visit these offices
personally - which were miles away - with all our UK
paperwork, send off the UK registration document to DVLA
declaring that the car was now to be licenced in Italy, taking
the DVLA confirmation document to the motorizzazione
office, getting a mechanic to change the speedometer from
miles to kilometres, then taking the car back to the motorizzazione
to have the headlights checked and the licence plate fitted...
The easy way was to give to the whole procedure to the same
automotive agencies that in Italy will organise driving licence
renewals etc and who will do the whole thing for you for a
very reasonable cost!
In Italy carabinieri will often stop cars to check their
paperwork is in order. You must always have the libretto di
circolazione certificate on you and your driver's licence.
If you'd like to receive all of the information in the Italy
Buying Guide all at once, please order your copy at:
Italy Buying Guide