More Like a Mountain
My primary motive in writing this blog was to offer a cautionary narrative for others planning to apply for Italy’s Elective Residency visa, alerting them to the pitfalls that are likely to impede a successful outcome. Now, after the many months spent describing all the perambulations that followed the failure to gain residency in our first attempt, I circle back to my original purpose as we pursue our second application for the ER visa. Those who have been following my blog will know that the Italian consulate in Philadelphia recently informed us that they were once again able to process visa applications. I immediately set to work gathering the documents needed and sent our information off to the consulate. Having already learned that this consulate was far more amiable than the one in Miami, FL, we had high hopes that the decision would this time be in our favor.
However, we recently received an email from the consulate telling us that their preliminary review found our income insufficient for granting the visas. Disappointing and perplexing news, since we had felt confident that our income was more than adquate based on the published criteria, exceeding by a good amount the figure posted on all consulate web sites. But giving us the opportunity to try to improve our standing, the staff at the consulate asked whether there were any additional sources of income such as rental properties that would bolster our financial position. Well, yes, sort of; our intent had always been to rent our townhouse in Hickory while we were away, but until we are able to return to Italy it is our home and unavailable to prospective renters.
With hopes for the long stay visa now draped with a fair amount of pessimism I nevertheless contacted a leasing agent to discuss renting, which I had planned to do soon in any case. And because the previous owner of our townhouse had used it as a rental property, I asked him for information as well and within a few days had the data we sought and an appointment with the leasing agent. In truth, of course, the prospect of leasing rather than a current lease is probably unlikely to pass muster as reliable income in the view of the consulate staff. This I understand, but with no other option I am willing to try to stretch the possibilities.
The consulate also requested a better copy of the registration of our house in Italy. Dear dependable Marta, our Anghiari realtor, forwarded the document immediately even though it was 9:00 p.m. in Italy when she received my emailed request for the registration. Lastly, the consulate wanted more detailed financial information and separate documentation for Terry’s and my incomes. Although I thought I had fulfilled all requirements already, I dug deep into my big picture mind to see how I might further explicate our finances.
Having gathered all the information I thought relevant, I now had to scan the documents to email hoping they would fill in the missing pieces the consulate sought. But as computers sometimes will, mine now seemed determined to confound the process. After loading multiple pages of financial detail into the feeder, I hit scan to email and waited for the information to show up in my inbox to be checked before forwarding to the consulate. It arrived almost immediately, but with every page a blank. Thinking that perhaps I needed to flip the documents I turned them over and repeated the process but again received blank pages. A computer savvy person may have been able to solve the problem, but being technologically limited I simply laid the individual pages on the face of the computer and pressed scan to email for each one. Thankfully the documents came through perfectly, but I now had fourteen attachments to send. Although far from ideal I sent off the email with apologies to the consulate staff for the plethora of pages to open and read.
When I checked to verify that they had been sent, I discovered a typo, and then a further one in an another email to the consulate. Yikes! Why didn’t I have Terry proof read these emails, knowing the frazzled state I was in as I rushed to provide the requested information? Now I could only hope that the errors would be overlooked or received with a benign forgiveness. Terry was dismayed when I told him what had happened, saying, “well that ablutes everything.” Ablutes? Of course he meant ‘ablates,’ but the meaning was clear–typos make for sloppy communication and may work against a positive outcome.
A week or so after sending the requested information, I received an email from the consulate reminding me that they are allowed to keep our passports for ninety days and letting me know that we owed an additional $15.20 because the application fee went up beginning October 1, the day after they received our application. “Could I send a personal check?” I asked. “No”was the answer, the consulate only accepts money orders and so we must make a trip to the post office for a paltry fifteen dollar money order. This, and all of the other issues I have described, illustrate that however straightforward the Elective Residency requirements may seem to be, the process itself becomes a trial through the little glitches that inevitably arise.
While we wait for further communication from the consulate, we are going forward with arrangements to rent our townhouse, which will be a boon for us whether we get the ER visa or not. We will need to make a few purchases– a chest of drawers for the second bedroom, extra towels to supplement the meager supply we have, a few inexpensive pictures to replace the Lakshmi triptych, and maybe an automatic coffee pot in case a tenant doesn’t like the French press we prefer. Our home will become, with luck, someone else’s home for a while and we want them to be as comfortable here as we have been.
Meanwhile, Terry and I discuss our options, which unhappily include selling the house in Anghiari. If we do so, there will be tax penalties due both to our lack of residency and to selling before five years from the date of purchase, penalties that will be unavoidable and costly. Reluctantly, but given the constraints we face, I have asked Marta to review the real estate market in and around Anghiari, though I already know it is pretty dismal. Now we’ve become more than ever aware that the exuberant “leap before you look” approach to making major life changes is likely to have saddled us with an unfortunate outcome.
Our other and better option is to simply accept the 90 day limit for non-resident visits to Italy, keeping our Italian home but returning to the U S every three months. That would still give us a half year in Italy, albeit in stages and require two fairly arduous and expensive trips back and forth each year with dog in tow. Though not the outcome we had hoped for, we remind ourselves that such a problem would be considered enviable for many, especially those who have suffered much more than we have during these strange and difficult times.
For now, we are in limbo, watching the course of the Covid-19 pandemic here and in Italy and, of course, awaiting final word from the Italian consulate. A smidge of hope remains in spite of the more rational expectation that we will return to Italy without the visa we need to apply for residency. Still, Italy is Italy and we look forward to being back in our Anghiari home whenever and however that becomes possible.
Lurching towards Italy 