Smoking in Italy

Those who are under eighteen years of age cannot buy cigarettes but they cannot be sanctioned for smoking at home or outdoors. These rules apply also to foreigners visiting the Italian peninsula for any reason. However, violations are rarely sanctioned by the authorities. During night hours and holidays it is possible to buy cigarettes at the vending machines of the tobacco shops. Foreigners should be aware that the buyer must possess an Italian identity document (identity card/tax code/health card) which

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The Italian Health Card, the European Health Insurance Card, and the Health Card/National Services Card

TS, TEAM and TS/CNS cards, issued by the Inland Revenue Agency to whomever has a right to health care by the National Health Service (“Servizio Sanitario Nazionale – SSN”), allow holders to receive health care (medical attention from a doctor, buy drugs at the pharmacy, book a specialized examination at a laboratory or hospital, etc.) when in Italy or abroad. 1) The Italian Health Card – Tessera Sanitaria (TS) The Italian Health Card (TS) is a very useful card issued by the

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The Italian tax code

The Italian tax code (“codice fiscale”) is the document of identification of individuals (newborns, foreigners, residents abroad) and entities other than individuals in all their relationships with the Italian public authorities and administrations. This document is required in order to obtain the Italian Health Card (Tessera Sanitaria), the “Residence permit” (Permesso di soggiorno), and also to undersign any kind of contract (loan, sale and purchase, bank account, rent, employment, household utilities, etc.,) or to start a business activity, to deduct medical expenses, to buy a mobile phone, or for

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Buying and drinking alcohol in Italy

In general it is lawful to sell (under license)/buy or drink alcohol, even outdoors. However, it is forbidden to sell alcohol to minors and (in some specific cases) during night hours. Minors do not incur in any administrative penalty or criminal charges for drinking alcoholic beverages at home or in public, unless they are drunk. This rule also applies to foreigners visiting the Italian peninsula for any reason. 1) Minors (under the age of eighteen) buying and drinking alcohol in

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How to pay in Italy. Payment instruments; limits to the use of cash and checks; credit/debit/rechargeable cards and wire transfers; extinguishing a debt under Italian law

In Italy, there are many common payment instruments (cash, bank/postal check, cashier’s check, bank/wire transfer, credit/debit/rechargeable cards, postal or bank order). It is possible to pay in cash sums not exceeding € 2,999.99 with reference to “transfers” made for any reason between different individuals or legal entities. The transfer of amounts equal to or greater than € 3,000 can be carried out through banks, Poste Italiane S.p.A., electronic money institutions and payment institutions. This rule applies to whoever (Italians/EU citizens)

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