Moving to Italy: Clearing the Paperwork in Three Days (Sept 2026)
Tax code, phone plan, residence permit, travel pass. These four jobs block every student who has just landed. We wanted to travel before term started, so we compressed them into three days. Here is the timeline, the order I would do it in, and the four detailed guides.
This is a write-up of the admin a student moving from Taiwan to Italy has to get through after landing, in the order that actually worked. Hopefully it saves someone else a few wasted trips.
My girlfriend and I wanted to travel before term started, so clearing the paperwork was the first priority, and we got the important parts done in three days. Being able to relax on the trip afterwards was worth it.
The timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 21 Aug | Booked the tax code appointment from Taiwan over a VPN |
| 24 Aug | Landed in Italy |
| 25 Aug | Tax code, iliad SIM, picked up the residence permit kit at the big post office by the Duomo |
| 26 Aug, midday | Went back to the big post office and were turned away |
| 26 Aug, 13:00 | Filed the kit at another branch right before it closed |
| 27 Aug | Train to Lugano |
| 2 Sep | Bought the ATM travel pass |
The order I would recommend
Having been through it once, this is the sequence I would use:
- Fix your flight dates
- Book the tax code appointment 7 to 14 days ahead, over a VPN (Italian government sites block foreign IPs)
- Get the SIM right after the tax code appointment, since you will be out anyway
- Buy the ATM travel pass
- Pick up and file the residence permit application
Done in that order, you clear the whole thing quickly and cheaply (the monthly pass being the cheap way to move around while doing it).
The logic is simple: the tax code gates the other three. The carrier wants it, the travel pass wants it, and the permit form has a field for it. So book that appointment as early as you can and queue everything else behind it.
The four jobs in detail
1. Codice Fiscale
Book online, show up, walk out with it the same day. Every booking screen and what to bring
2. A phone plan
iliad GIGA 250 at €11.99 for 250 GB, compared against ho., Very, Kena and the big three
3. Permesso di Soggiorno
Filed within 8 days of arrival, and the one most likely to go wrong. We were turned away once
4. The travel pass
No ATM Point visit needed, the app sells it, and the monthly pass is €22 under 27
Money and everything else
I pay rent and tuition through Wise, where the rate and the funding costs are easier to control than a bank's. And if you are a student or aged 18 to 24, Amazon Prime is free for 90 days, which is handy for kitting out a room. Both have their own write-ups:
Paying tuition and rent in Europe with Wise
Funding it from Taiwan, why the rate beats a bank, the virtual card and the 1% interest
90 days of Amazon Prime free for students
Free for students and 18 to 24 year olds, next-day delivery, Deliveroo membership included
Finally
Happy to answer questions if you are about to go through this.