Most of my friends back in America assumed that I packed my bags, shipped a few boxes, and brought my dog over to Italy with no problems and that I rode off into the Tuscan sunset. 

However, that wasn’t at all the case. My husband Sam and I came over on student visas in 2013. This meant renewing our visas every year, paying roughly €400 EACH for insurance and reissuing process fees every year since our arrival. Eventually, Sam was able to convert his visa into a ‘work visa,’ but at the time, they were only allowing a select limited number—four people, to be exact. I wasn’t so lucky. Agencies specializing in immigrant paperwork informed me that I would have to ‘sit tight’ until my husband could earn enough to support both of us. ‘Sitting tight’ meant I couldn’t leave the country, if I did I would be risking not being let back in or getting on the radar.”

Eventually, our first child was in the mix. We tried to get ‘legal,’ but Sam hadn’t earned enough in a ‘solar year’ to show he could provide for his family of three. The Italian offices went ahead and legalized the child, but not the mother. Crazy, right?!?! Then the pandemic happened, and all paperwork came to a halt. For almost two years, no one could leave the country.” 

Fun fact: My dog Elvis, from Arkansas received a European Passport before we could even begin to be eligible for an EU passport ourselves. (Still currently not eligible) It also cost a pretty penny to get all the paperwork and visited by a federal vet before he could be cleared to leave the United States. They also required me to get him fixed. The Italians were horrified the most about that, they have no sterilization laws when it comes to bringing a dog into their country. Plus I had another expense, an international flight for him. 

Everyone always asks, ‘Well, isn’t Sam an Italian citizen?’ The correct answer is no, he is not. Although he has lived in Italy and maintained residency since he was 7 years old, his parents never submitted any paperwork to guarantee his Italian passport or citizenship while he was a minor. 

Another question I often get is, ‘Well, since your children were born in Italy, don’t they automatically receive Italian citizenship?’ The answer is no, they do not receive automatic citizenship. Since both of their parents are American citizens, they are also American citizens. Once Sam is eligible to apply for the process, (fingers crossed next year) the children will be eligible, but definitely by the time they turn 10 years old. 

In 2024 the laws have changed for expatriates, and prices have skyrocketed. Most retired expatriates have experienced a 326.32% increase in health insurance per person. For the last 10 years students and retired expats paid €380 per year for health insurance. Today retired expats are required to pay €2,000.00 (per person) for health insurance a year. (Still cheaper than the US but it’s so much money!!!) We are all feeling this price increase and are finding it impossible to continue going at this rapid rate. 

Another common question is ‘why don’t y’all come home?’ The short explanation is that we have no financial backing to start a life completely over. Think about it, just the flights alone would break us. We live pay-check to pay-check at the moment and this inflation is making us experience ‘airport prices’ on the daily. Plus the deposits on a temporary rental stateside… Deposits in general for utilities, we haven’t had ‘credit’ in America for over the last decade. And most importantly, where would we go?! California and New York are completely unaffordable and the south would feel as if we were settling, we definitely would not be happy or living our ‘best life’. Also we would need at least one car. It seems completely out of the question. 

Around the time we discovered baby number two was on the way, I was still not legal. However, by law, Italy had to grant me an immediate temporary Visa due to ‘medical circumstances’, which covered me throughout the whole pregnancy but expired 3 months after the baby was born. I could not just renew my maternity Visa because it was not an option. Also since we were now a family of four, Sam had to show that he could provide for all of us. Again I was told to ‘sit tight’, for those of you keeping score at home, that is 8 years of sitting tight and staying in the country. 

Just recently Sam went back to the States to do some recruiting for his place of employment and he said for the first time in 10 years of residing here that they asked to see his Permesso di Soggiorno (Permit of stay) at customs in Rome, this is unheard of. It might have to do with all the wars breaking out on the Mediterranean. But who truly knows. 

What’s my current status? Officially as of April 4th I had an appointment to finalize my Visa, and after doing loads of new confusing paperwork and applying the new laws and being a mother of two American children born in Italy, I have a Visa that will expire in two months and I have to do the re-newal process all over again. The good news is that now the whole family will be legal at the same time and that we will all have expiring Visas simultaneously. Sounds like a bureaucratic nightmare, but honestly there is no other place I would rather live, I feel like I belong here. Italy is my home. 

My dear friend Peter recently contacted me about these homes in Italy that are being advertised for sale for €1. While it’s true that these homes are available at a nominal cost, what they don’t disclose is the significant expense required—likely over half a million dollars—for restructuring, renovating, and restoring the property. Additionally, the process can take a minimum of 6 years from start to finish, if you’re fortunate. Moreover, due to local laws, you may not be able to reside in the house for more than three months at a time. These advertisements, which might suggest an easy move to Italy for foreigners, are misleading and do not accurately represent the complexities involved. Don’t be so quick to pack your bags, this country will test your patience on the regular!