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Your first weeks in Sardinia: the paperwork playbook

Codice fiscale, residenza, tessera sanitaria, SPID — the exact order, what to bring to each counter, and the mistake that costs a month.

Last reviewed: 2026-09-01 · 7 min read · Free to read · no account needed

Most guides tell you which documents exist. That isn't the problem. The problem is that four of them depend on each other, the offices keep different hours, one step involves a police officer knocking on your door, and getting the sequence wrong costs a month. This is the order, the counters, the papers to put in the folder, and the sentences to say when you get there.

Which route applies to you

Everything below has two versions, and mixing them up is the most expensive mistake in this process.

EU, EEA or Swiss citizen: you may enter and stay freely, but staying beyond three months means registering as resident at the comune — and the comune will ask you to show why you qualify: employment, self-employment, sufficient means plus health cover, or study. There is no permesso di soggiorno for you; the residenza is the document.

Non-EU citizen (UK, US, Canada, Australia and others): you need the correct visa before arriving, then a permesso di soggiorno applied for within eight working days of arrival, and only then can residenza follow. Do not travel first and plan to fix it here; that path mostly ends in leaving and starting again.

Both routes: steps 1, 2, 4 and 5 are identical. Step 3 is where they diverge.

Step 1 · Codice fiscale

What it is, and why it comes first

Your Italian tax code — sixteen characters derived from your name and date of birth. It is not a permit and not proof of residence, but nothing else in Italian life happens without it: bank account, phone contract, rental agreement, doctor, utilities, even some deliveries.

Where Agenzia delle Entrate, provincial office (for Alghero: the Sassari office; check current local arrangements before travelling). Italian consulates abroad also issue it — by far the easiest option if you still have time before moving.
Bring Passport or ID card + a photocopy; the request form (available at the counter and online); non-EU: your visa or permesso receipt.
Cost / time Free. Usually issued during the same visit, on paper, within the hour.
Booking Most offices now work by appointment, booked online or by phone. Arriving without one often means being sent home.

Say this at the counter "Buongiorno, vorrei richiedere il codice fiscale. Ecco il documento e la fotocopia." — hand over passport and copy together.

What goes wrong: the paper slip is not the plastic tessera sanitaria card. The card comes later, by post, and only once you're enrolled in the health service. Don't wait for it — photograph the slip and use the number.

Step 2 · An address that can be registered

The step people skip, then regret

Residenza attaches to an address you have a legal right to occupy, and you must be able to prove it. A verbal deal with a landlord, a holiday let, or "my friend's flat" stops you dead at the anagrafe counter.

What counts: a rental contract registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate (the landlord files it, and it costs him — some resist, which tells you plenty about the rest of the tenancy), a deed if you bought, or a signed declaration of hospitality from the owner if you're staying with someone.

Ask before signing "Il contratto sarà registrato?" — will the contract be registered? Evasion here means you cannot use that address for residenza.
Also ask Whether utilities go in your name, and who pays TARI (waste tax) — the comune will ask you about it later anyway.
Long lets Around Alghero, many holiday flats are available October–May at a fraction of summer rates but are never advertised as long lets. Ask the owner directly; the answer is often yes.

What goes wrong: signing without checking registration, then discovering in month two that the landlord never filed it — and your residenza application has nothing to stand on.

Step 3 · Residenza at the comune

This is where "living here" becomes a fact. It drives access to the health service, vehicle and licence rules, local taxes, school enrolment, and — for EU citizens — the right to stay long term.

Where Ufficio anagrafe of your comune. Alghero has a dedicated counter; smaller comuni (Trinità d'Agultu, Valledoria, Castelsardo) handle it at the town hall, often only on certain mornings.
Bring — everyone Passport/ID + copy · codice fiscale · proof of address (registered contract, deed, or hospitality declaration) · the residency declaration form.
Bring — EU citizens Evidence of your basis for staying: work contract or partita IVA, or proof of sufficient means, plus health cover. A tourist EHIC is usually not accepted for registration; a private policy or voluntary health-service enrolment usually is.
Bring — non-EU Valid permesso di soggiorno or the application receipt, plus the visa.
Cost / time Free or a small stamp duty. It takes effect from the day you file — but stays provisional until verified.

The knock on the door

Within roughly forty-five days a municipal police officer (vigile urbano) comes to confirm you actually live there. This surprises everyone. If nobody answers and there's no name on the bell, the check fails and the application can be refused.

Say this at the counter "Buongiorno, vorrei fare la dichiarazione di residenza. Sono cittadino/a [nazionalità], abito in [via, numero]. Ho il contratto registrato e il codice fiscale."

Step 4 · Tessera sanitaria and a family doctor

From paying privately to being in the system

Once resident, you enrol with the local health authority (ASL) and choose a medico di base — your GP and the gateway to specialists, prescriptions and referrals. Until then, every visit is private and every prescription full price.

Where The ASL district office (distretto sanitario) for your comune. Alghero has its own; the northern comuni are served from their district or from Sassari.
Bring Residenza certificate or filing receipt · codice fiscale · ID · EU: proof of the basis for cover (work contract, or receipt for voluntary enrolment); non-EU: permesso.
Choosing a doctor You choose from doctors with free capacity in your area, not from all of them. Ask which ones speak any English — and ask neighbours who actually answers the phone.
Cost Free for employees and most resident categories. Voluntary enrolment for others is an annual contribution based on income, paid at the post office before you enrol.

What goes wrong: assuming the EHIC covers you. It covers visitors. Once you're a resident it stops being the right document and proper enrolment is required.

Step 5 · SPID or CIE

The key to every portal you'll ever need

School enrolment, tax filings, INPS, medical bookings, comune services, bonuses — all of it sits behind a digital identity. SPID is issued by private providers (several free); the CIE electronic ID card does the same job if you have one with its PIN.

Where Online with a provider (video identification), or finalised in person — the Poste Italiane route can be completed at any post office and is the most common locally.
Bring ID document · codice fiscale · an Italian mobile number · an email address.
Cost / time Free with several providers; the in-person route sometimes carries a small fee. Allow an afternoon plus activation.

What goes wrong: leaving it until a deadline day. Enrolment windows and tax deadlines close on fixed dates and no portal accepts "my SPID is pending". Get it while nothing depends on it.

The three things everyone forgets afterwards

The car. A foreign-plated vehicle plus Italian residency has hard time limits for re-registration, and driving an unregistered foreign car as a resident risks confiscation. Non-EU licences generally cannot be exchanged and must be re-sat — the theory exam is in Italian. Start this the month you register, not the month your licence expires.

The waste tax and the bin calendar. Registering triggers TARI. You declare the household at the comune, collect your bins and the collection calendar, and learn the schedule — which varies by street and changes in summer. Getting it wrong means fines and uncollected rubbish, in that order.

The children. School enrolment runs in a fixed winter window for the following September, online, with SPID. Late arrivals go where there's room, not where you'd prefer. Arriving mid-year, go to the school directly — headteachers can and do admit children outside the window.

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Documents to keep in one folder

In order