The pain of the Italian System

This morning I thought I would pop along to renew my ID Card (Carta d'Identita). Having moved a month ago I needed to change the address on it. I was told that since it was to expire in November I should wait month so as not to pay the penalty fee which is applied if you have to change it over 6 months before the expiry date. OK i know I should never ever have thought that this would be straight forward... I've been here 6 years now and should have learnt my lesson by now...you take along every document you possess, along with a photocopy or two of each of these documents and you do not produce anything until you are asked for it (otherwise they will ask for something you don't have!).

When changing my address last month I didn't require anything so I didn't take my passport along with me. I wait in the queue to collect the form, for which i have to pay the 5.45 Euro tax and then the Signora starts to demand the documents. She asks for my permesso di soggiorno (permit to stay) which was abolished in April 2007. I tell her this and explain that I was told that since I am a resident here and have an Italian ID card I was not required to do anything (my permit had expired in April 2007). Oh but no..this was wrong....of course!!! I should have applied for the Attestazione di Soggiorno which is a piece of paper, which a stamp of course, which states where I live (why wasn't this required when I changed address at the same office a month ago??!!!). So off I go back to the original office and get in another queue.

Here I'm told I need to go and buy a stamp (tax) for 14.62 Euro before we can start! In February 2007 I had paid to renew my permit at the post office as required and never received the permit due to the change in the Law. I mentioned this as I don't see why I should be paying twice for the same document. Its not my fault they changed the procedure. I was told that this process was previously run by the police and now its run by the Commune (council). So basically I pay for being a law abiding citizen.....and they wonder why people avoid taxes here!!!!

So while I am filling in more forms RB runs to get the stamp (from the tabacconists!) and in the mean time I'm hit for another 52 cents for another stamp!!!! Then she starts pondering..well if i wanted until August I could have a permit which allows me to stay indefinitely...mmm... what should she do... in the end she decides to give it to me any way, telling me how lucky I am and that they wouldn't do this anywhere else! Then out comes the rubber stamp, bang, bang, bang and we are done.

Off I go back to the first office thinking I now have everything. Oh no... now i need my UK ID Card, which I explain does not exist! So I now need my passport, which obviously I don't have. So the Signora takes all my documents off me and demands I go home and get it! Which I do and return and queue for another hour until I am called into get my ID Card. This involves no conversation with the rude employee, out comes the rubber stamp again - bang, bang, bang and I'm sent on my way! At least I don't have to go through this again for another 5 years!!!!!!! These places are horrible!!!!!!!