From Galveston to Genova

 

The Yellow Kit or “kit Giallo”

It took us a few days of recuperating to get our biological clocks more in line with the local time (7- hours ahead of CST in USA). A week ago Thursday (the 9^th) we ventured out in search of the illusive Yellow Kit (Kit Giallo) used to apply for the Permesso di Soggiorno (Residence Permit). The Visa we obtained at the Consulate in Houston was only good for 8-days after arriving in Italy.  We were required to file for the Permesso di Soggiorno within that 8-day period.  Steve did a lot of research ahead of time and put together a spreadsheet  of all the things we needed to do based on instructions he was able to find online.  For the Permesso di Soggiorno these included:

1.      Obtain Yellow Kit (kit Giallo) from any Italian Post Office with “Sportello Amico”. Complete form but don’t sign and don’t seal envelope until you return to Post Office (sign in front of Postal Officer after they review required paperwork).

2.      Obtain Marca di Bollo from Tobaccheria, small smoke shops that sell a variety of things (16€ each ), attach to form

3.      Obtain 4 passport (Italian sized) photos, each. Italian passport photos are smaller. Note: found out this is really for use by the Questura (The Police Precinct.)

4.      Return to Post Office, and submit paperwork  and required documents for review. Then forms are signed, fee is paid. Receipt will have date and time of appointment with the Questura.

This seemed pretty comprehensive and, on paper, appeared to be fairly easy to accomplish. So we headed to the large Poste Italiano near Piazza Ferrari (the large square with the famous fountain here in Genova). We entered the sliding doors and observed a lot of people, a lot of fixed chairs, and a long counter of separated numbered windows. There were some carousels of single page forms but nothing that looked like a “packet or kit.” It was a bit overwhelming… also a bit hot inside the large room (overheated to compensate for the 40° F temperatures outside). We stepped back outside to collect our thoughts. After discussing briefly, we went back in to observe what people were doing. Then we saw the kiosk where people were obtaining numbered tickets and the monitors that listed the ticket numbers and the assigned window number for service.  We went to the kiosk and finally figured out how to print out a numbered ticket. We stood in back and waited for our number to show up on the monitor.  About 20 minutes later we went up to the counter… “Buon Giorno… Parla Inglese?”  we asked. The response was “No” followed by a string of Italian that we could not decipher. We said, “Permesso di Soggiorno?”  “No. Finalmente solo. No qui! Vai a Via Granello Sportello Amico.”   We understood that this was not the right place.  I remembered the name of the street and thought it was closer to our apartment. We went outside. The cold air felt good. We pulled up a map and found the street and headed that way.  The next location was smaller with fewer people waiting. We repeated the process, and luckily also had a clerk who understood some English! She handed us two “kits”!

We read the instructions overnight and started filling out the forms the next morning. After translating some of the instructions, we realized that we needed copies of our passports (including every page), and copies of proof of financial viability.  All that was fine, but we didn’t have access to a copy machine.  We looked online and found a few copy shops near the university, about 1 – 1 ½ miles from us. So, off on foot we went with our passports and a thumb drive with our documents. On the way we passed several Tobaccheria’s so we decided to go into one. I accidentally asked for  a “Stampa di Bollo,” instead of the Marca di Bollo.  The owner looked confused (a Stampa is a press here).  We showed him the form with the place for the stamp which is really a duty stamp. “Ah, Si, si, si!  Uno or due?”  “Due, per favore!” Thirty-two euro later we were on our way.

One of the clerks at the copy shop near the University spoke English and was very helpful. We got our copies made. Since we were close to the Principe Train Station, we decided to go there to get the Passport Photos made. We looked all around and finally found a small photo booth tucked in a corner. Smile, actually, don’t smile for the camera.  The photos looked a bit like mugshots, but we had them.

We had everything, so it was back to the Sportello Amico Poste Italiano. There were more people this time, but we got our numbered ticket right away.  We waited about 15-20 minutes, and then it was our turn. This time, the postal officer did not know any English. We tried to stumble around with the words and phrases we knew, but the internet connection wasn’t working and we couldn’t use Google Translate. We kept trying to explain, and the Postal Officer was trying but we hit a road-block on filling out a small card that asked for the “Imposto”… “Trenta, Sessanta, Novanta???”  We understood the numbers 30, 60, 90, but what was it for?  A very nice and helpful young woman approached and said that she could speak English. We thanked her and explained what we were trying to do to apply for the Permesso di Soggiorno. She spoke with the Postal Officer and interpreted for us. The Imposto was the fee charged depending on how long we were staying. We indicated that we planned to live here permanently but this was our initial application (turned out to be 70.46 € each.  She explained in Italian to the Officer and everything went smoothly from there on!  We signed our papers, paid our fees  (there were several amounting to a total 102.46 € each) and received our date/timed appointment with the Questura for February!

We exchanged names and phone numbers with the young lady, Angelica, who had helped us … truly our Angel in this situation! We are meeting Angelica and her boyfriend tonight for dinner!

Ciao for now!

Lori