Bad news for Italy’s pre-Brexit residents who’ve so far held out on applying for the carta di soggiorno residency card, as the British Embassy in Rome has confirmed to The Local that this is the only document that can be used to avoid being registered with the EES or to have a record scrubbed.
The card is “not obligatory” for residents covered by the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, though they are “strongly advised” to apply, according to the UK government's official guidance, updated on April 29th.
But this guidance also says that the card – or an official receipt of application for it – is “now necessary to qualify for exemption from the EU’s Entry/Exit System.”
The EES, the EU’s new system of biometric border controls, is designed to track the movement of short-term visitors in and out of the Schengen area and flag overstayers, who face penalties ranging from fines to entry bans.
READ ALSO: EES: What to expect if you’re travelling to Italy this summer
Residents of EU countries are officially exempt from EES registration since they aren’t subject to the EU’s 90-day rule – though a lack of training among border guards means some residents have reported being incorrectly registered with the system.
People in this position can apply to have their EES record cancelled by filling out and sending a form with supporting documentation to the police.
According to the embassy’s guidance, however, this avenue is only available to people who “are mistakenly registered when you only have the official “receipt of application form” [...] and subsequently obtain a card.”
When we asked the embassy to clarify whether alternative residency documents can be used when applying to remove an EES record, a spokesperson responded:
“Our guidance is based on official guidance from the European Commission and from the Italian authorities.”
“This states that only the ‘carta di soggiorno’ or the ‘official receipt of application form’ from the Questura classify as exempting documents at the border or to remove your record if you have been registered.”
As we’ve reported in the past, there’s often a discrepancy between what the rules say and how they’re applied in Italy.
It might be that in practice, some officials will accept documents other than the carta di soggiorno as valid for EES exemption or to remove an EES record.
But officially, a carta di soggiorno or application receipt are the only two documents that will be accepted for either purpose.
This news will come as a blow to some of The Local’s readers who have told us that for reasons relating to age or mobility, they’ve been unable to apply for the card.
When asked for advice, the embassy has previously said that anyone unable to apply “could try to explain his/her personal situation and related difficulties to the authorities.”
READ ALSO: A step-by-step guide to renewing your pre-Brexit Italian residency card
It’s unclear at this stage what will happen to pre-Brexit residents who are registered with EES during border checks because they don’t have the residency card or receipt.
The embassy confirmed to The Local that UK nationals covered by the Withdrawal Agreement can’t lose their right to live in Italy provided they have consistently maintained their residency.
It follows that an EES overstay record should be meaningless for people in this situation, though it’s likely to cause problems and delays at border checkpoints.
The embassy urged UK nationals to consult the gov.uk website, adding “answers to many consular questions can be found at Getting help in Italy”.
“Consular related enquiries from British nationals should be re-sent in English via our contact form for consular enquiries”, a spokesperson said.
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