https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The career diplomat succeeds Ed Llewellyn, who left Rome in December to take up a new role at the Foreign Office. https://www.thelocal.it/20260430/uk-names-stephen-hickey-as-new-ambassador-to-italy Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:51:23 +0200 uk-names-stephen-hickey-as-new-ambassador-to-italy A new digitised border control system and incoming EU visa waiver are changing the requirements for UK citizens visiting Italy this year. https://www.thelocal.it/20260203/what-brits-need-to-know-about-travel-to-italy-in-2026 Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:36:52 +0100 what-brits-need-to-know-about-travel-to-italy-in-2026 If you're travelling to the UK from Italy this Christmas you might be thinking of bringing gifts of Italy's famously excellent cheese, salumi, prosciutto or other delicacies - but a change in British import rules is still in effect. https://www.thelocal.it/20251209/can-you-bring-italian-meat-or-cheese-into-the-uk-this-christmas Tue, 09 Dec 2025 11:15:59 +0100 can-you-bring-italian-meat-or-cheese-into-the-uk-this-christmas The UK is expanding its new electronic visa waiver, known as ETA, to citizens from across Europe from April 2nd - but what's the deal for dual nationals? https://www.thelocal.it/20250304/do-british-italian-dual-nationals-need-an-eta-to-travel-to-the-uk Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:23:37 +0100 do-british-italian-dual-nationals-need-an-eta-to-travel-to-the-uk EU citizens will soon require an electronic visa waiver to travel to the UK. British nationals are exempt from the requirement, but what about their Italian spouses or children? https://www.thelocal.it/20250305/brits-in-italy-will-you-need-an-eta-visa-waiver-for-your-italian-spouse-or-children Wed, 05 Mar 2025 14:12:39 +0100 brits-in-italy-will-you-need-an-eta-visa-waiver-for-your-italian-spouse-or-children After Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gave her British counterpart Rishi Sunak an awkward welcome at the G7 summit, is their famous friendship starting to cool? https://www.thelocal.it/20240614/meloni-and-sunak-do-the-uk-and-italy-have-a-special-relationship Fri, 14 Jun 2024 12:45:39 +0200 meloni-and-sunak-do-the-uk-and-italy-have-a-special-relationship Italy on Monday night granted citizenship to a critically ill baby at the centre of a legal battle in Britain over whether she should continue to receive care. https://www.thelocal.it/20231107/italy-grants-citizenship-to-terminally-ill-british-baby-after-vatican-hospital-offers-her-care Tue, 07 Nov 2023 11:28:34 +0100 italy-grants-citizenship-to-terminally-ill-british-baby-after-vatican-hospital-offers-her-care UK licence holders living in Italy can begin the process of swapping for an Italian licence without taking a test from Thursday, March 30th, the British Embassy in Rome has confirmed. https://www.thelocal.it/20230327/latest-uk-confrms-italian-driving-licence-exchanges-start-on-thursday Mon, 27 Mar 2023 16:14:10 +0200 latest-uk-confrms-italian-driving-licence-exchanges-start-on-thursday Italy will allow British residents to swap their driving licences from the end of March 2023. Here, The Local answers your questions about how the process will work. https://www.thelocal.it/20230103/qa-what-to-know-about-the-italy-uk-driving-licence-agreement Tue, 03 Jan 2023 16:53:33 +0100 qa-what-to-know-about-the-italy-uk-driving-licence-agreement The British Embassy in Rome announced on Friday that it had finally signed a long-term agreement with Italy over the long-running issue of exchanging driving licences. https://www.thelocal.it/20221223/uk-and-italy-sign-agreement-on-driving-licences-but-details-unclear Fri, 23 Dec 2022 12:10:37 +0100 uk-and-italy-sign-agreement-on-driving-licences-but-details-unclear In the UK, there are various benefits available to help eligible people through the cold winter months – one of which is the winter fuel payment. But can Britons living in Italy really claim this benefit to cover the cost of heating their Italian homes? https://www.thelocal.it/20221128/can-british-people-in-italy-claim-the-uks-winter-fuel-payment Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:46:15 +0100 can-british-people-in-italy-claim-the-uks-winter-fuel-payment The Italian ambassador to the UK said a controversial cover story in The Economist comparing the UK to Italy was based on 'the oldest of stereotypes'. https://www.thelocal.it/20221020/spaghetti-and-pizza-italys-uk-ambassador-slams-economist-over-stereotyping Thu, 20 Oct 2022 19:49:16 +0200 spaghetti-and-pizza-italys-uk-ambassador-slams-economist-over-stereotyping With ongoing uncertainty over whether UK driving licences will continue to be recognised in Italy from next year, and December fast approaching, British residents are asking where they stand. https://www.thelocal.it/20220729/driving-licences-are-the-uk-and-italy-any-closer-to-reaching-an-agreement Fri, 29 Jul 2022 11:45:24 +0200 driving-licences-are-the-uk-and-italy-any-closer-to-reaching-an-agreement UK nationals living in Italy have begun to receive letters from their bank telling them that their accounts will be closed, in an apparent post-Brexit change. https://www.thelocal.it/20220726/banking-giant-barclays-to-close-accounts-of-brits-living-in-italy Tue, 26 Jul 2022 12:50:09 +0200 banking-giant-barclays-to-close-accounts-of-brits-living-in-italy British nationals living in Italy are becoming increasingly concerned by the lack of news about a reciprocal driving licence agreement post-Brexit, and say the current 'catch-22' situation is adversely affecting their lives. https://www.thelocal.it/20220520/frustration-grows-as-uk-driving-licence-holders-in-italy-wait-in-limbo Fri, 20 May 2022 19:20:32 +0200 frustration-grows-as-uk-driving-licence-holders-in-italy-wait-in-limbo As UK driving licence holders in Italy still wait for answers regarding another extension or a long-awaited deal for the mutual exchange of British and Italian licences post-Brexit, we look at how the situation compares to that of their counterparts across Europe. https://www.thelocal.it/20220516/driving-licences-how-does-situation-for-brits-in-italy-compare-to-rest-of-europe Mon, 16 May 2022 13:30:56 +0200 driving-licences-how-does-situation-for-brits-in-italy-compare-to-rest-of-europe Amid ongoing uncertainty and confusion about Italy’s rules for drivers with a UK-issued licence, many readers have contacted The Local to ask for updates and clarification. Here are your questions answered. https://www.thelocal.it/20220422/qa-your-questions-answered-about-driving-in-italy-on-a-british-licence Fri, 22 Apr 2022 18:12:26 +0200 qa-your-questions-answered-about-driving-in-italy-on-a-british-licence British residents in Italy are asking whether a reciprocal agreement on driving licences will be reached in 2022 - or if they should now arrange to retake their test in Italian. https://www.thelocal.it/20220421/driving-licences-is-there-any-sign-the-uk-and-italy-will-reach-an-agreement Thu, 21 Apr 2022 12:04:36 +0200 driving-licences-is-there-any-sign-the-uk-and-italy-will-reach-an-agreement One pilot died and another was injured on Wednesday when a Leonardo trainer aircraft crashed in mountains near Lake Como in northern Italy, the Italian aerospace firm said. https://www.thelocal.it/20220317/british-pilot-killed-in-military-training-jet-crash-in-northern-italy Thu, 17 Mar 2022 11:04:18 +0100 british-pilot-killed-in-military-training-jet-crash-in-northern-italy Watching the UK's response to Covid from Italy was like watching a drunk friend get behind the wheel of their car, writes British-Italian journalist Adriana Urbano. https://www.thelocal.it/20211018/opinion-watching-from-italy-we-always-knew-uks-covid-response-was-a-failure Mon, 18 Oct 2021 19:41:17 +0200 opinion-watching-from-italy-we-always-knew-uks-covid-response-was-a-failure