Canadian Living in Italy

Hi!

My name is Carole, I'm also Canadian,  My husband and I are living in Vaudreuil-Dorion in the Province of Quebec and are in the process of getting the Italian Citizenship and moving to Italy.

I've been trying to find Canadian, living in Italy but I found more American vs Canadian.  You are from which part of Canada and you living in which part of Italy?

Hi Carole! I felt the same - lots of Americans, and very few Canadians.. I was born in BC, but spent about 18 years in Alberta.

Do you know whereabouts in Italy you plan to move?

Nice to read you,

No, we wanted to move to Italy without buying a car and we were looking for housing with that in consideration.  We wanted public transportation.  Properties near transportation is more expansive but we do not exclude hilltown or villages.  The only downside of all this is we cannot get a quote for insurance car because we do note have an Italian address or a car with all its info.  So we don't know where exactly we want to live.  But we know that we do not want the Regions in the North of Rome because we cannot deal with the snow anymore .  We are looking from Rome down to Calabria, Puglia.

How was you transition from Alberta to Italy?

Hi Carole,

My name is Antonette, I’m a Californian CD and moved to Calabria December 27, 2021.
No snow, cold and windy mornings and evenings, but days are beautiful so far.
Beautiful beaches.
Check out, Catanzaro, Catanzaro Lido, Soverato.
I do not have a car, yet, but there is public transportation and groceries and sopping is within 12-15 min. Walks.

Enjoy your journey,
Antonette

@EugenieCarole

Hi Carole !

Future expat here ! can you give me the name of the person that is helping you out With your citizenship? I was born in Italy but I was told I need several documents which I have expect for one and I'm not willing to wait 3 years for the process from Canada. Any help will be greatly appreciated thank you!!

Glad to have found this spot! Thinking of retiring in Italy!

Glad to have found this spot! Thinking of retiring in Italy!

@ItaliaJen

Hi,

We are Canadian and moved to Italy in July as pensionner.  This is the best decision we've ever made.

go for it.

@EugenieCarole thanks for the welcome!

Have you purchased a property by now? We were in Puglia last month and loved it.

My boyfriend was born in Abruzzo but came here as small child, and as such, the family renounced their Italian citizenship back in '50s. I think he could get it back through his maternal grandfather. Anyway, I would prefer to live in Puglia than Abruzzo (warmer).

@ItaliaJen

Good morning,

Yes, we bought  an apartement and we love it.  We are in San Vito dei Normanni.  It is a small city, we can do everything by walking.  People are so so nice.

As for the weather, it is between 22 and 29 degrees, in the last 3 months we had 1 day and half of rain.

Cost of life is very low I should say much lower than Canada, that is for sure.

You have to know that Canadian can no longer buy a property in Italy, that is since January 2023.

@EugenieCarole

Glad to hear you are living a more comfortable life in Puglia.

Are we certain that we can't buy a home? I'm reading some things that make this issue look vague at this point.

In any case, my boyfriend was born in Italy and we are starting the process of trying to re-obtain citizenship for him.

@ItaliaJen

hi Jen

Yes I'm sure. This law can in January 2023. We found our apartment in November 2022 and the offer was accepted on December 17th but the law came in January 1st. Then we were not sure if we could finalize the deal. We closed in March.

As for the process of Citizenship, we are in it. We started it in 2019 with the Montreal Italian Consulate. I have to tell you that dealing with the Consulate was a nightmare. They do not answer phone calls, they do not return your phone calls, they do not answer your emails, etc. But this is normal for them.

starting the process in your home country is very long, it takes years but if you can do it in Italy, it takes a few days to get the Residency and between 3 to 6 months to get your citizenship.

The process is very difficult because of the paperwork and also because from one Comune to the other, they do not interpret the law the same way.

you have to be patient. 

So we use an agency to help us, maybe you know it, it is Smart Move Italy.  It is owned by a Canadian woman and her husband.  They moved it Italy 15 some years ago and they had a lot of problems in their process, so they decided to open an agency to help people move to Italy.

They help us with finding our home, with the residency, the citizenship, etc.

Hello everyone,

My husband and i have decided to move to Italy  , aiming for 2025 

We are both Canadian citizens. My husband was born in Italy and unsure if he is an Italian citizen .

Part of the process of moving there is attaining and submitting  documents like Proof of Canadian Citizenship,and   getting proof of his Italian citizenship  .

Service Canada is a nightmare!

We cannot get through, nor get appointment with the Italian consult to discuss matters   

Would anyone know the best way of getting these documents without the wait of a few years?

—-A phone #, or live contact person?

We’d appreciate ant suggestions  Thank you

work permit VISA Canada agriculture apply

@alotforsaletogo

Good morning,

My husband and I are Canadian and we've just moved to Italy.  He is Italian buy both his parents.  We started the process in 2019 and we saw all the communication problems with the Montreal Italian Consulate and from what we've read it is the same for all or most of all Consulates.

We wrote emails, we called, we even had a contact and he wasn't returning our calls.  I have to say that it is part of the Italian culture to NOT respond.  They don't mean to be bad it is just like that.  We've moved to Italy in July and everything is like that here.  Don't get discourage just be patiente.

As for the process, it is complex but easier ifyou do it directly in Italy.  What I mean is, we've decided to hirer an agency to help us with everything and it is worth the money.  We've moved mid July, on August 29th we made the request for Residency and for Citizenship for my Husband.  He has received his Residency at the end of September and two weeks ago received his card for Medical Care.  He should be receiving his Citizenship before January.

As for your husband Citizenship maybe you could write or if he speaks italian can call the Comune where he was born, they'll know

by the way, the agency that we have is Smart Move Italy, it is owned by two Canadians who made the move to Italy many years ago,  they are in Tuscany.

Hope this helps you a bit.

have a nice day

@singhnri3412

thank you for your reply 

we however are retired .

@EugenieCarole

Thank you for  your advice ! You reinforced what we too have encountered here from BC.

We contacted Smart Move Italy as you recommended and will have a zoom meeting in the near future  .

My husband will travel to Italy next year to be in person to hopefully get the information we need  .

On a different note, how have you adjusted to living in Italy? Do you speak Italian?

How is the medical care ? ( the bad state of our Canadian medical care, is another reason why we want to move to Italy)

Best,

Vanessa