Can a non-Italian citizen legally purchase or own a car in Italy?

Well, the short answer is yes – but they will require residency status.

To purchase a car in Italy and drive with an Italian registration you have to be an Italian resident.

Now, a quick peruse of the ex-pat forums will show you various work arounds, both legal and not. Some homeowners choose to run the risk and keep a British registered car at their Italian property even though legally they are only allowed to keep the car in Italy for a limited period. They will have to drive back to the UK once a year for an MOT and if caught by the Italian police will face a large fine.

Others go down the route of asking a local friend or acquaintance to buy and register a car for them to drive, coming to some kind of arrangement. A definite grey area…

The only legal methods of vehicular freedom are to hire a car for each trip, drive your UK registered car over to Italy and return to the UK in it before the limited period expires or become an Italian resident.

We asked AIPP Legal members c-legal to clarify the law regarding purchase and registration of a car in Italy.

Generally speaking, a person who does not reside in Italy or in one of the EU Member States cannot purchase or own a car in Italy.

If you are a foreigner in Italy with residence in another country , even if you have ownership of a property, business or legitimate interests in Italy, you are still not legally entitled to own a car in Italy.

The Italian legislation is restrictive and absolute regarding this. To further clarify this issue, we shall differentiate between:

–        An Italian citizen who resides abroad;

–        A citizen from EU Member State;

–        A citizen from non – EU member State.

Given the above, the Italian Highway Code states that only those who have a residence in any Italian municipality can purchase a new or used vehicle in Italy.

In addition to that, Article 132 of the Italian Highway Code (“Codice della Strada”) states that “the vehicle registered abroad, after completing the customs formalities, can circulate in Italy for a maximum of one year. After this period, if the vehicle is not registered before the competent Authority in Italy, the owner shall ask the office a warrant to leave the national territory.

In case of violation of this law, a pecuniary shall be applied, which is a sanction from €712,00 to € 2.848,00 and the vehicle is seized for 180 days. Unless nationalization or exportation, the vehicle shall be subjected to administrative seize accordingly to the article 213”.

An Italian citizen residing abroad and registered with the AIRE can only purchase a car and register it before the respective Authority if he/she can indicate at the moment of registration a legal domicile (residence) in Italy. In these cases, the domicile in Italy and the AIRE registration will be indicated on the registration certificate and on the ownership certificate.

As for the above case, a citizen from an EU Member State who resides abroad and has a property or has business relations or legitimate interests in Italy can own and register a vehicle in the Public Motor Registry. In this case, the EU citizen shall indicate at the moment of registration a legal domicile in Italy that shall be written on the registration and ownership certificate.

A citizen, who is not Italian or a non-EU resident and in possession of a visa permit can drive in Italy with a car for one year with a special EE plate after registering the vehicle at the Public Motor Registry.

If a foreign citizen has a visa permit and is resident in an Italian municipality with all correct documentation they can then own and drive a vehicle.

In consideration of the above circumstances, the position of a Foreigner with regards to car ownership can be different from another. In this case our AIPP member Italian lawyers shall be available for online legal assistance.

Our thanks to Manlio Gervasi from c-legal for his help with this article.

c_legal is a boutique law firm specialising in administrative and real estate law, assisting national and foreign investors in specialized cross-border real estate transactions concerning Italian property. They are based in Palermo, Italy – contact them for a free consultation at info@c-legal.it or call on +39 0924 527787

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