Hello,We are in a similar situation...my husband is an American who came over to Italy. Answers to your questions:1) As far as we know, if you plan to be here for more than 90 days, you must have a visa (like a work visa) OR permesso di soggiorno, which you can get for "motivi familiari" (family reasons) since your husband is an Italian citizen and lives in Italy. The steps for the permesso di soggiorno, like most things in Italy, are long and arduous. You will need to go to your towns "officio per stranieri" (foreigner's office) to ask what you need to do to get the permesso di soggiorno. Do this ASAP as it's a long process.2) Health care should be attainable pretty quickly. You have to go to the "Officio di Entrate" to get a "codice fiscale", which is kind of like a social security number here in Italy. This codice fiscale will be your tax id number. Your husband probably has one. It also is found on your national health care card, which you register for. Once you have the healthcare card, you will be assigned a public physician for general care. If you need specialized care, your primary physician will have to refer you (if you don't want to pay for it) or you can go to a private doctor at any time (and pay for it out of pocket). The codice fiscale is probably going to be your first step, as you will need it for your application for the permesso di soggiorno.3) BOTH! When you register for the codice fiscale, which you need for virtually everything in Italy, you will be announcing your presence to the Italian goverment, and therefore will be expected to pay taxes in Italy, since you will be benefiting from the services the Italians provide (like healthcare). You have the added bonus of being an American, and America, unfortunately, does require payment of taxes from individual citizens residing outside the USA. You will have to file USA taxes every year, but the bright side is that the US government will give you a credit for what you are paying in Italy....4) You can probably open a bank account once you have a codice fiscale. Any transfers to your or your husband's bank account will have to have an explanation, and the Italian banks are very sensitive to this at the moment.5) As I stated earlier, the permesso di soggiorno process is long and arduous. But it is possible, as long as you get all the papers and stamps that you need. You will need to be guided through this process by your local "ufficio stranieri"...they can help you with this.6) Italian citizenship will be unattainable for at least 3 years after you get residency, or one year if you have an italian child. But even then, this is a long and arduous process that takes months to complete and then years to process once it's turned in! Hooray for bureaucracy! In short, you or your husband should talk to a "commercialista" who has experience with your situation ASAP to get all the money advice. You will probably have to change your pay into Euros and it will probably have to be posted to an italian bank account as soon as possible to avoid tax penalties.Good luck!Chiara
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Hello,We are in a similar situation...my husband is an American who came over to Italy. Answers to your questions:1) As far as we know, if you plan to be here for more than 90 days, you must have a visa (like a work visa) OR permesso di soggiorno, which you can get for "motivi familiari" (family reasons) since your husband is an Italian citizen and lives in Italy. The steps for the permesso di soggiorno, like most things in Italy, are long and arduous. You will need to go to your towns "officio per stranieri" (foreigner's office) to ask what you need to do to get the permesso di soggiorno. Do this ASAP as it's a long process.2) Health care should be attainable pretty quickly. You have to go to the "Officio di Entrate" to get a "codice fiscale", which is kind of like a social security number here in Italy. This codice fiscale will be your tax id number. Your husband probably has one. It also is found on your national health care card, which you register for. Once you have the healthcare card, you will be assigned a public physician for general care. If you need specialized care, your primary physician will have to refer you (if you don't want to pay for it) or you can go to a private doctor at any time (and pay for it out of pocket). The codice fiscale is probably going to be your first step, as you will need it for your application for the permesso di soggiorno.3) BOTH! When you register for the codice fiscale, which you need for virtually everything in Italy, you will be announcing your presence to the Italian goverment, and therefore will be expected to pay taxes in Italy, since you will be benefiting from the services the Italians provide (like healthcare). You have the added bonus of being an American, and America, unfortunately, does require payment of taxes from individual citizens residing outside the USA. You will have to file USA taxes every year, but the bright side is that the US government will give you a credit for what you are paying in Italy....4) You can probably open a bank account once you have a codice fiscale. Any transfers to your or your husband's bank account will have to have an explanation, and the Italian banks are very sensitive to this at the moment.5) As I stated earlier, the permesso di soggiorno process is long and arduous. But it is possible, as long as you get all the papers and stamps that you need. You will need to be guided through this process by your local "ufficio stranieri"...they can help you with this.6) Italian citizenship will be unattainable for at least 3 years after you get residency, or one year if you have an italian child. But even then, this is a long and arduous process that takes months to complete and then years to process once it's turned in! Hooray for bureaucracy! In short, you or your husband should talk to a "commercialista" who has experience with your situation ASAP to get all the money advice. You will probably have to change your pay into Euros and it will probably have to be posted to an italian bank account as soon as possible to avoid tax penalties.Good luck!Chiara