Phone Service In Italy

Cindy, I'll leave it to others to ask how you are swinging a 6-12 month stay without running afoul of the 90-day restriction (I assume you're a student or have a special visa). If you're going to be there that length of time, you need to get a local prepaid cell phone. That makes the most sense given how long you'll be in the country. You can also use Skype on your computer over wifi to call the U.S. when needed. No need to get a Skype number, unless you want to give folks that may call you a number to use that you can forward to any Italian cell you get. You will pay for the forwarding costs, though. There have been lots of recent discussions about cell phones in Italy. I suggest you search for a few. Paste the following search in google and it will list most of the recent discussions on this forum. Post again if you have questions. The search: site:www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline Italy cell phone "/11"
Good luck.

Paul, Thank you for the information I appreciate it. Yes I am going on an tourist visa. I will research more. After awhile it just all runs together. Ciao,
Cindy

Cindy, unfortunately you can't legally be in Italy for 6 - 12 months on a tourist visa; the legal limit for visiting Italy on a tourist visa is 3 months in any 6-month period. You can get more details on this topic by searching this site using the "how to search" stickie at the top of this page (not the Search box in upper right corner, won't work). This discussion thread http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/24928/cant-stay-in-schengen-zone-more-than-3-mos-in-6-mos-following-first-entry.html will get you started on your research of this issue, it has additional links you can click for more info on this.

Cindy, to stay longer than 3 months, you need to have a Permesso di Soggiorno. The website lifeinitaly.com has some information on this, otherwise contact the nearest Italian consulate. It's a tedious process but not terribly difficult. There are different classifications, but it sounds like you want an extended tourist visa. You may have to show that you will be able to support yourself without working in Italy (that's a different classification).

Thank you all for your input, it is very helpful. Yes you are correct there is quite a bit of documentation needed for a visa for a year, but it can be done. You do have to show that you have money, you also have to show you have a home to come back to, and you have to show that you have a means of support while there. You cannot just live off principle or savings. You also need International health insurance, and a contract prepaid for housing. If you can meet these requirements then a VISA so far is not that difficult. I'll keep you posted if any last minute issues arise. You are also correct that once in Italy you need to complete paperwork with local authorities. Cindy

Sounds like you have a handle on the visa requirements, PDS etc.
As far as the phone, I use Magic Jack to call back to the states. Works good, occasional bad connections. We've tried Skype but it just doesn't work good for us. For local phone you can get a cell that uses phone cards. There's several services, Tim,Wind, Vodaphone. We use Tim. Depending on how much you talk they can last awhile. A 20 euro card lasts a couple of months for me. Also, when someone calls you it doesn't use minutes on your card.

Ron, Thank you for your feedback. I will look into the Magic Jack. Is it the same type of thing you buy here in the states. The place I have rented does have wireless internet service, however, no phone jacks that I know of. Does that make a difference? Again thank you,
Cindy

I have the same question as Cindy: How do you use MagicJack overseas? At home, I was under the impression you had to plug it directly in a router. Can you plug it into a netbook and use it that way and use it even if the netbook only has a wifi connection?

For what it's worth...Just returned from 3 weeks in Italy and used Skype..it's free!! Worked really well.

Buy it and register a # in the states. Once you're here it's free calling back to the states, as if you were just dialing within the country. One end plugs into the phone, the other USB end into your computer. No need to plug into a phone jack (on the wall). Yes, it will work with wireless but depends on how good the connection actually is. We have a fairly crappy connection at home hence the bad MJ connections sometimes. We've used it in hotels with really good WiFi connections with great results. My son uses a netbook sometimes to connect. Obviously, if you get a room without a phone you're SOL. Hope that helps.

Thanks Ron. I have a tiny phone that is a few inches square. It is meant to be used only with headphones. It is pretty light and small so I guess you could take that with you. It would probably be necessary if I went the MagicJack route since most of the rooms I've been in recently in Europe had some type of Internet connection, but no in-room phone.

I wish you luck in getting a tourist visa for a year, it is not the easiest thing to accomplish even if you do have documentation with health insurance, funds, etc. Communication back home: Skype is what I use, others have suggested Magicjack and that can be a good option too. Communication within Italy: prepaid phones. I have a TIM phone that I bought for 29€. I have a weekly plan for calling/texting, but you can PAYG for around 8 cents/minute within Italy, and 16 or so to most other countries.

No problem. The MJ does cost around $40 (at least when I bought it 2 yrs ago) and a year of service is 20 (I honestly can't remember though if the first year is included in the purchase price). The way I looked at it.....that $40 wasn't even one months service back home and it's more than paid for itself over the last year and a half (since my son talks to his girlfriend for 4/6 hours at a time :O) ).

Cindy, I have had a Vonage phone for 8+ years. We first started using Vonage when living in the USA. When we moved to Italy, we just brought it with us. For a period of time, we did have Magic Jack but found that too many calls were ped and the "a minute of patience" as the MJ loaded up was often 5-10 minutes. As Ron says, it's really dependent on your internet provider and often in Italy, that can be an issue. For us, the Vonage system is far more stable. Do get it while you're in the US and you'll have a US #. Our kids call us all the time and for them it's like calling Atlanta as we have a 404 area code. There are NO international charges for them to call the Vonage phone that sits in our apartment in Europe. To save money, we've moved down to the $9.99 a month plan that gives us 200 minutes of calling time per month. When we call folks in the States, we just ask them to call us right back and hang up. Incoming calls are FREE! Thus, we never use more than 200 minutes per month. The Vonage is also a stand-alone and does not require your computer to be on - like the MJ. We travel a lot and the Vonage (like the MJ) allows you to recieve voicemails through email - so we're always in touch with folks back home if necessary.

Skype is great and we use it often, but for day to day conversations, we use the phone. Because we have banking, credit cards, property, etc. back in the States, the phone (and the assurance it will work clearly) became an issue for us. As far as your paperwork... make sure you do your research BEFORE heading over. I battled paperwork issues throughout my time in Italy. I had the Il permesso di soggiorno but in my situation that was not enough to get the visa I required... and yet my wife was working and paying taxes in Italy with an approved VISA! I spent many days each year at the Questura getting "certified." It may look easy online but getting papers was by far the most challenging part of our stay in Italy. Get them before you go as your time (90 days) will run out quickly. On one occasion our first appointment wasn't until 120 days in the future (Notice I said FIRST appointment as it took several to get papers!). Good Luck!