Moving from the US to Italy: customs, papers and what you can't pack

Bringing your things in duty-free

The official pages we could read are written for Italian citizens returning home: registered abroad (AIRE) for 12 months, goods owned and used personally, imported within 12 months. If you're not an Italian citizen, ask an Italian consulate before you ship — the customs agency's own page wasn't readable when we checked.

The papers customs wants

• A signed self-declaration (autocertificazione) with the total value in euros
• A packing list in Italian, with values
• Passport and codice fiscale (tax code)

Inspection and clearance

Not stated on the pages we could read. Ask your mover and the consulate, in writing.

Don't pack these

• Meat and dairy from outside the EU are banned. Plants need a phytosanitary certificate.
• Honey up to 2 kg; fish up to 20 kg
• Cash of €10,000 or more must be declared.

Bringing a car

For Italian citizens, a car owned 6+ months can come in free. Title and registration must be notarized, apostilled and translated.

Bringing a dog or cat

A 15-digit ISO microchip, put in on or before the rabies shot. Wait 21 days after a first rabies vaccine. No rabies blood test is needed coming from the US. Your vet fills in the EU health certificate (the new form in use since 1 October 2026), USDA endorses it — $101 per certificate, any number of pets — and the pet must arrive within 10 days. Five pets or fewer, traveling within 5 days of you.

No tapeworm treatment needed. Arrive through a designated entry point, where the pet is checked.

Duty and tax on everything else

Customs duty depends on what the item is — look it up by item in the EU tariff (TARIC). Import VAT is charged on top of duty.

VAT is 22%.