Tranquility in a Botanic Garden

As I wrote this, Italy was suffering through a tremendous heat wave. Temperatures in Lucca reached 100 degrees, so it seems that I picked a good time to fly back to the United States for a visit with my family - New Mexico was relatively cool in late June and early July this year.

Although I know Albuquerque well, there are things that I wasn’t often able to do when I lived there and that I now enjoy doing as a visitor. One of those is a visit to the local botanic garden., something I enjoy in any city I visit. With cool morning temperatures, it seemed a perfect time to revisit this special place.

Shady paths offer a cool and tranquil place to walk.

The botanic garden in Albuquerque has several unique areas, including a western-style farmhouse garden full of wildflowers.

Wildflower garden

There are also small pocket gardens with roses, Moroccan-style courtyards, lily ponds, and deeply shaded paths and ponds. There are also areas with tropical plants and places designed for weddings or for children to explore. Summer evenings bring concerts on the lawn and families picnicking.

One of many lovely floral gardens

I love wandering through all the different spaces, but my favorite area has to be the Japanese Garden, designed by noted garden designer Toru Tanaka. The garden honors Albuquerque’s sister city of Sasebo, Japan, and incorporates traditional Japanese architecture, design, and plants along with native local plants and materials.

Though small, just four acres, the design captures the essence of a classic Japanese garden and provides a uniquely Japanese experience through the use of stone lanterns, pagodas, arched wooden bridges, sculpted stone gardens, and water features.

The beautiful tall bell tower reminds me of one I saw decades ago at a Japanese temple in Hawaii. Such a simple structure, and yet majestic.

The large pond with its spectacular waterfall is a delight for the senses - hear the rushing water, feel the cool spray, and see the lily pads in the calm waters near the edge. Enchanting! I will remember the sound of the waterfall long after my return to Italy. -post by Joanne

When 90 Days Is Not Enough Part Two: The ITALIAN Elective Residency Visa

 Since Schengen Zone rules limit most non-EU visitors to 90 days in Italy out of any 181-day period (see Part One on this topic: “The Schengen Zone and Why it Matters:” twopartsitaly.com/blog/2019/2/25when-90-days-is-not-enough-a-long-term-stay, longer stays require the visitor to obtain a visa and a permesso di soggiorno. For those of us “of a certain age” (i.e.: retirees) the type of visa is an elective residency visa. Most of the information I am sharing about this visa applies to citizens of the United States and Canada and is based on my experience of obtaining a visa in the U.S. as well as information gleaned from multiple sources.

The first thing to know about obtaining a visa is that it must be obtained in one’s home country before departing for Italy. It is not possible to apply for or be granted a visa after arriving in Italy. For most of us planning elective residency, this means one trip to Italy to find an apartment, obtain a codice fiscale (the tax code required to sign a lease) and register the apartment contract, followed by a return to our home country to apply for the visa and await its arrival before returning to Italy. Not an easy (or inexpensive) process. The second thing to keep in mind is to make multiple copies of everything submitted for the visa - documents, application, passport pages. The electronic systems in Italy don’t seem to talk to each other and share information, so the application for the visa is separate from the later application for the permesso di soggiorno.

Piazza Bra,, Verona. Did Shakespeare need a visa?

So, where to begin? First, determine which Italian Consulate is designated for your home region or state. As an example, in the United States, New Mexico residents apply through the Los Angeles consulate while residents of Colorado apply in Chicago. Residents of British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada apply in Vancouver. These regions are set in stone. You’ll have to prove that you live in the assigned consulate’s region as part of your application. Then, find the website for your specific consulate. It will list requirements for the visa and - just to make the process more interesting - the requirements may vary from one Italian Consulate to the next. Follow the list carefully as the documentation required is specific and none of it is optional.

Next, make an appointment at the consulate as soon as you decide you want a visa. There are often significant wait times for appointments and it is usually required that applicants appear in person. In some (lucky) cases, an Honorary Consulate who lives in a city within the consulate’s territory may be able to verify the documents and send them (along with the applicant’s passport) to the appropriate office. This worked for Judy and me. Instead of appearing in Los Angeles, the consular representative in New Mexico verified and signed each of our applications, which were then sent by Fed Ex to Los Angeles. Five days later, my passport with visa was returned. Judy’s took a little longer - about 2 weeks - and she was called by a lovely woman in the LA consulate office and asked a few questions first. Those short turnarounds were great - but aren’t guaranteed. Applications can be submitted up to three months prior to a planned departure for Italy; the safest bet is to submit as early as possible. Some consulates will require an interview, in person or by phone (if submitting documents by Fed Ex). Don’t be surprised if you are called, especially if your documentation is unclear or your situation unusual.

Stormy skies over Pisa

The elective residency visa is designed for people planning to remain in Italy long term and - this is key - who can support themselves without working. All forms of work are excluded with this type of visa - including online work, freelance, and self-employment (work visas are a different sort of visa altogether and are limited in number). Be sure to include adequate documentation of monthly non-work income as without clear proof of sufficient funds, the visa application will be denied.

Requirements for an elective residency visa include:

1.  A completed application form (which can be printed from the consultate website) submitted no more than 90 days before planned arrival in Italy. All required documents must be submitted with the application, including proof of living within that consulate’s territory (i.e.: a copy of a driver’s license or utility bill with a current address), a current passport (not a copy - the actual passport), and the required fee (currently about $134 U.S. dollars). The consulate will keep the passport while processing the application, so don’t plan on traveling outside of your home country during this time.

2. Proof of sufficient funds from non-work sources - pensions, Social Security, savings and investment accounts - to support living in Italy without working. Proof can include financial statements, bank records, pension and Social Security verification letters.

3. A signed contract for a place to live in Italy (rental or purchase) for at least the full term of the visa (one year minimum). This is a bit of a Catch 22 as it means signing a lease before a visa has been granted. A bit anxiety provoking! And the place to live must be a single place - multiple short-term contracts or hotel stays are generally not acceptable. Note that in order to sign a long-term lease, a codice fiscale (Italian tax identification number) is required. The codice fiscale can be obtained through your assigned Italian Consulate prior to making the visa application or in person when in Italy before signing a lease. An experienced rental agent can often help obtain this important document.

4. Proof of global health insurance that meets specific coverage requirements, including repatriation in case of serious illness or death. U.S. Medicare does not include this coverage and is not sufficient for obtaining a visa. This insurance tends to be expensive so definitely leave time to shop around.

5. Proof of civil status (i.e.: marriage license, divorce decrees). This is especially important for women with name changes related to marriage or divorce.

The more organized the documents are the better. A good strategy is to include a one-page cover letter with a brief introduction, passport number with dates of issue and expiration, codice fiscale number, address where you will live in Italy and date that the contract begins, international health insurance coverage, and brief overview of financial resources. Next, include a page that lists every document submitted, in order. Be sure all documents are originals or certified where required and that copies are clear and readable. The goal is to make this easy and very clear for the person reviewing the application. It is essential to keep at least two copies of all submitted documents as the exact same documents will be needed on arrival in Italy when applying for the permesso di soggiorno and again for a renewal.

Celle, di Pescaglia, Province of Lucca

Visa rejections for Italy hover at around 7 percent. Reasons for rejection include incomplete documentation, overstaying a previous visit in the Schengen Zone (remember, the passport must be provided and the stamps tell the story of previous visits), a criminal history, or - and this is probably the biggest reason - insufficient funds to support being in Italy without working.

Once the visa has been approved, the next step is to obtain a permesso di soggiorno. One way to think of this is that the visa is step one and gives you “ a ticket” to enter Italy with the intent of applying for permission to remain beyond the usual 90-day limit for a tourist. But it doesn’t actually finalize the process of obtaining permission to stay. To do that, you need to obtain a permesso di soggiorno upon arrival in Italy.

This post - like the whole process - is getting long. So we’ll continue in Part Three: “The Permesso di Soggiorno.” -post by Joanne

www.portaleimmigrazione.it (site in Italian language only)

Panzanella - A Quick and Tasty Summer Salad

July and August mean hot weather and cool food. After all, who wants to work in a hot kitchen in the heat of summer? One of the best summer salads is the classic Italian dish panzanella. This dish, based on tomatoes and left-over bread, has several variations. Italian cookbook author Marcella Hazan adds anchovies and capers; some versions add roasted pepper; in some, bread is toasted and cubed; and in Lucca, the bread is often soaked and quite mushy.  

I prefer a simple panzanella with four main ingredients - ripe tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and cubes of toasted bread with a dressing of red wine vinegar and good olive oil, salt and pepper. If I have fresh basi, I will add some of that as well.  

The panzanella goes well with grilled steaks.

That’s it! Easy, fresh, tasty.  

When visiting my family in New Mexico, and missing Italian food, I decided to make a panzanella salad, along with an olive oil and herb-based potato salad (Ina Garten’s French potato salad) to serve alongside grilled steaks.  

A mash-up of Italian, French, and American dishes and great backyard barbecue food. 

To make the panzanella salad, you’ll need:: 

Ripe tomatoes, medium dice, to equal about 2 cups (save any juices that escape during chopping)

I English cucumber, seeded, small to medium dice

I/4 of a medium red onion, diced small

3 tablespoons good red wine vinegar

5 tablespoons good olive oil  (Italian is best!)

Salt and pepper to taste (I like French gray sea salt and coarse group pepper)

3 slices of firm rustic bread, toasted

1 large clove of fresh garlic, peeled and sliced in half

A few fresh basil leaves

Rubbing the hot toasted bread with fresh garlic really adds flavor.

Marinate the diced tomatoes (with any juices), cucumbers, and onion in the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper for 45 minutes to an hour. 

Toast the bread and rub with the cut edge of the garlic. Cut into medium cubes and add to the marinated tomatoes 10 to 15 minutes before serving. The bread will be soft, having absorbed some of the juices, but still a bit firm.  

If you prefer the bread a bit squishier, add it a little sooner. I prefer firmer bread, and yet find myself picking out those squishy bits when they are left in the bowl at the end of the meal.

-post by Joanne

Walking to Bonassola, Italy

A confession: unlike my co-blogger, Judy, I am unlikely to hike the Cinque Terre. The will is strong but the knees ache and the hills can be steep. Yet the thought of sea views, sail boats in the distance, and hidden beaches is pretty compelling. Lucky for me there is a perfect walk along the Ligurian coast, just above the Cinque Terre, that is gorgeous and flat. For me, this counts as a hike!

Leaving Levanto and entering the first of a series of old railway tunnels on the way to Bonassola

This walk begins in the small town of Levanto and heads northward to the even smaller town of Bonassola. In the marvelous Italian tradition of recycling, reusing, and making the best of what is available, someone had the brilliant idea to create a paved walking / biking path through abandoned train tunnels between the two towns.

The tunnels are cool and breezy with flat, paved surfaces for walking and biking.

The tunnels provide shade and cool breezes, making this walk pleasant even on a warm day. Between the tunnels lie short stretches of the rocky coastline, secluded small beaches, mysterious stairways, and gorgeous views out to sea. 

A mysterious stairway along the coast between Levanto and Bonassola

The walk is about 25 minutes at a comfortable pace, 40 minutes with plenty of stops to admire the views, watch people and dogs cavorting on the beach, take photos, and generally just enjoy the experience.

This walk provides lots of opportunity for kids to explore along the dramatic coastline of LIguria.

I had my daughter and two of my grandchildren with me - and the walk was perfect for the kids. In fact, my 10-year-old granddaughter proclaimed this walk her favorite Italian experience!

Bonassola’s main pedestrian street

The town of Bonassola is also a treat. Small and pretty, it has a sandy beach, appealing shops, friendly people, and lots of flowers. We enjoyed tasty pastas and salads, along with friendly service, on the patio of Caffe delle Rose for lunch. In early June, the tourist crowds had not yet arrived and Bonassola was peaceful and quiet. Delightful!

This stairway, just at the Bonassola end of the tunnels, leads to some great views.

 There is train service between Levanto and Bonassola, but we enjoyed walking back the same way we came.  Why take a train when there is a pleasant walk with great views? We even encountered a wedding party along the way back and found a little dog beach. This is an easy and beautiful walk and one I highly recommend. I can’t wait to do it again!                             -post by Joanne

You have to love a town with a dog beach!

When 90 days Is Not Enough: Elective Residency in Italy. Part One: The Schengen Zone and Why it Matters

Italy, at least in my experience, is highly addictive. My Italy habit began with a two-week trip 23 years ago and for me it was love (need, desire, longing – call it what you will) at first sight. Back then, with a family at home and a full-time job, I could only manage a visit every few years. Over time, my longing for Italy grew until finally, on the cusp of my 60th birthday, I arrived for a “once in a lifetime” month-long visit. As with most addictions, that visit only fed my desire, and it quickly became clear that once was not enough. 

Piazza Anfiteatro, Lucca

After that trip I found a way to return to Italy for annual visits, which soon became twice annual visits. Once I retired, those twice-a- year visits began to lengthen, bumping into the maximum 90-day stay permitted for non-EU residents. This is how it goes with an Italy obsession until eventually you realize that even 90 days is not enough.

For non-EU citizens who wish to visit for longer than the maximum of 90 days, the process of gaining the needed permissions can be intimidating, to say the least. There are many sources of information – and all of them seem to say something different - leading to confusion and frustration.

A bridge over the Magra River in Bagnone, Tuscany

I recently completed the process of obtaining a visa and a permesso di soggiorno, permitting me to remain in Italy long term. I’ve had lots of requests for information about this process, so it seems timely to write about it. I’ll share information I’ve gleaned from a number of sources, all colored by my own experience as an American seeking permission for a “license to live” in Italy. Since this is a huge topic, I’ll break the information into several posts, Part One: The Schengen Zone and Why it Matters and Part Two: The Visa and Part Three: The Permesso di Soggiorno.

First, some basics about the Schengen Zone.

The Schengen Zone is the “borderless” area of Europe that allows freedom of movement between countries. Members include most nations in the European Union, including Italy (but excluding Great Britain and Ireland) and some non-EU countries (Norway and Switzerland for example). Citizens of Schengen Zone countries do not need special documentation to cross borders and have the ability to remain in any of the member countries for extended periods without further permissions

Barcelona - Spain is another EU country with membership in the Schengen Zone.

Many non-EU citizens (Americans and Canadians included) can enter the Schengen Zone, and travel between countries, with just a passport, no visa required.  However, visits are limited to a maximum of 90 days in any 181-day period (roughly equivalent to three months out of any six months - but it’s important to count the days exactly). The rules allow for either a single visit of 90 consecutive days  or for multiple visits in and out of the zone as long as a total of 90 days out of any 181-day period is not exceeded. This total is the same whether visiting a single Schengen Zone country or multiple countries.

The 181 days is a “rolling” period, meaning the days are counted backward from today (or from the day you plan to leave the zone). Confusing? Yes.  It helps to review the Schengen Zone regulations (available online - see link below) and yes, there is an app for that (which tracks previous visits and calculates the length of permitted stays in the zone for a current or future visit; the one I’ve used is called Schengen 90).

A cafe in Arezzo - so charming, who wouldn’t want to stay here long term?

Here is an example based on my 2018 / 2019 travel (it may help to look at this with a calendar at hand):

I entered the Schengen Zone on February 19, 2018, and remained in Italy for 83 days, leaving on May 12, 2018.  This less-than-90-day visit required just my U.S. passport.

I was then out of Italy and the Schengen Zone for more than 90 days, so when I re-entered on September 3, 2018, I was entitled to stay another 90 days. My actual stay for that trip was 58 days - from September 3 through October 30. Still traveling with just my U.S. passport. So far, so good.

Here is where is gets complicated - I returned to Italy on December 6, 2018, (just 37 days after my exit on October 30). Suppose that I wanted to remain in Italy through the end of February 2019 (a total of 85 days from December 3, 2018  - February 28, 2019). This stay would not be allowed under Schengen rules even though the trip would have been for fewer than 90 days. To see why this stay would be a problem, count backward 181 days from my desired February 28, 2019, departure, which takes you back to August 31, 2018. Between August 31, 2018, and February 28, 2019, I would have spent a total of 143 days in the Schengen Zone (all of that in Italy)  - far more than the 90-day limit even though no individual stay was greater than 90 days.   The math works like this: 58 days in September/October 2018, plus 85 days from December 2018 through February 2019  - 143 days total in this 181-day period. So - I would have needed to leave Italy much sooner than the end of February on such a trip. Plugging these dates into the Schengen 90 app (pictured below), you will see my three 2018 / 2019 trips. The red “53” signifies that I would have overstayed my limit by 53 days. Not a good mistake to make!  It also shows that if my next trip were to begin on June 23, 2019, (after an absence of four months) I would once again be eligible for a 90-day stay if traveling with just my U.S. passport.

 ,

So, what’s a person to do if they want to remain in Italy longer? For stays beyond 90 days (or more than 90 out of any 181-day period) a visa is required. The most important thing to know is that the visa MUST be obtained in one’s home country before arrival in Italy. It simply isn’t possible to obtain the visa after arriving in Italy. Trust me on this - I know several people who have arrived in Italy, having rented or purchased an apartment, and who had to return home after 90 days because they didn’t obtain a visa before coming to Italy - an expensive and discouraging mistake.! And don’t listen to anyone who says that you just have to leave the Schengen Zone for a day to restart the 90-day clock - that simply is not true. It’s critical to know the Schengen Zone rules and Italy’s specific requirements when planning a long-term stay (or a permanent move) to Italy.

If you are planning a longer stay in Italy (or even just daydreaming about one), stay tuned for Part 2 of this post - the process of obtaining a visa and a permesso di soggiorno.    -post by Joanne

for more information:

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/us-citizens/

Verona