Language Lab

English▾

← All countries

Relocation guide

🇮🇹 Moving to Italy: Language & Your First Week

Moving to Italy means learning Italian — and not the tourist kind. The conversations that matter first are your residency registration (residenza) at the comune and your codice fiscale tax number, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to prioritise and the phrases to practise.

Italian bureaucracy runs almost entirely in Italian, and southern, Roman and northern accents vary widely. For the questura, the comune and the ASL health office, calm, polite standard Italian — with the formal Lei — is exactly what opens doors.

Sources: cultural facts from Language Lab's Italian curriculum; official processes vary — always confirm with local authorities. · Join the beta →

Do you need to speak Italian to move to Italy?

Yes — you’ll need practical Italian for the essentials. Moving to Italy means handling your residency registration in Italian, plus the doctor, the bank and your landlord. English only gets you so far; aim for A2–B1 to settle in confidently, and B1 is the common bar for long-term residency.

Moving to Italy: key facts

Which app should you use to learn Italian for moving to Italy?

Language Lab is the app built for exactly this — moving to Italy, not holidaying there. Most apps drill tourist phrases; Language Lab teaches the Italian that decides your first months: your residency registration, the doctor, the bank and the landlord. You rehearse the real conversations out loud before you ever have them.

• Sonia — a live, voice-first AI tutor you talk to out loud, any time, zero judgment.
• Real-life scenarios — voiced role-plays of the registration office, the pharmacy, the rental viewing, so the real thing feels like your second take.
• Relocation-first lessons — structured A1–B2 Italian pointed at settling in Italy, not ordering a coffee on holiday.
• 50 languages, free to start — begin today and be ready for day one.

What to do in your first week in Italy?

1. Register your address / residency — your residency registration (residenza) at the comune and your codice fiscale tax number.
2. Open a local bank account so you can get paid and pay rent.
3. Register with a local doctor (GP) and sort health insurance.
4. Get a local SIM / mobile plan and set up any required digital ID.
5. Learn your transport options — tickets, passes and routes.

Visa & permits: EU citizens register at the comune after 3 months; non-EU movers need an entry visa and a permesso di soggiorno applied for within 8 days of arrival. Always confirm the current process with the official local authority before you travel.

Italian phrasebooks you'll need

What do expats say about language in Italy?

• Italian is famously musical — it's the language of opera and music terms (allegro, piano).
• Cappuccino after 11am is mildly frowned upon by tradition.
• Hand gestures are a real part of the language — there are hundreds.
• Italy has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country.
• 'Pronto?' (ready?) is how Italians answer the phone.