Ambulatori for Stranieri Temporaneamente Presenti (STP)

Ambulatori STP are clinics that offer urgent and essential care to foreign people who are in Italy, but who do not have valid documents. On this page, you will find all the information on how to access Ambulatori STP, their health care and costs.

Foreign citizens who do not have a valid residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) cannot register with the national Italian health service, called Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN), but still have the right to be treated in urgent and essential cases.

These treatments are provided by all public and accredited private clinics and hospitals, but the regions have also activated the Ambulatori per Stranieri Temporaneamente Presenti, or STP clinics. These clinics are designed for people living in Italy in an irregular legal situation.

REMEMBER: Patient data are not communicated by ambulatori STP to the Italian authorities (Police, Questura, etc). This happens only in special cases: public order, serious reasons, security, etc.

On this page, you will find more information on the requirements, care and costs of ambulatori STP.

Ambulatori STP are clinics for foreign patients who cannot be registered with the national Italian health system, or Sistema Sanitario Nazionale (SSN) because they do not have a valid document.

Ambulatori STP are for people who come from countries outside the European Union (EU) who:

have recently arrived in Italy (in a non-legal way);
had a permesso di soggiorno (residence permit), but it is no longer valid.

Patients receive treatment through tesserino STP. If the person does not have tesserino STP, this can be given in the clinic even without an identity document and only with the details provided by the patient.

PLEASE NOTE: foreign workers who have applied for regularization and are awaiting the decision can register with the SSN. This means that even if they have tesserino STP, they can have regular health care.

Ambulatori STP treat irregular foreign patients who, due to illness and/or injury, need urgent and essential care, even continuous until recovery.

Urgent care is care that must be done immediately and cannot be postponed because it could endanger the person’s life or cause damage to their health. Essential care must be done because otherwise the patient’s condition could worsen if not treated.

In addition to these treatments, the Ambulatori STP deal with:

women’s health during pregnancy and maternity;
health of minors (children and young people under the age of 18);
Vaccinations;
prophylaxis and treatment of infectious diseases;
prescription of medicines;
prosthetic assistance: application of a prosthesis, orthosis or an aid; hospitalization and rehabilitation;
care of people in a state of drug addiction;
care and treatment for people living with HIV.

REMEMBER: ambulatori STP do not provide for the assistance of a family doctor or a pediatrician of your choice.

Even in ambulatori STP, patients have to pay the ticket for treatments that are not free.

However, people who are unable to pay can submit a declaration, called dichiarazione di indigenza, and receive an exemption from paying the ticket. The declaration lasts 6 months and is valid throughout Italy.

The declaration must be requested from the local health authority ASL of your city.

People without the declaration can also sign a self-declaration (auto-dichiarazione) in the ambulatorio STP where they are treated by indicating their details (name/surname, date and place of birth, etc.), identity document and tesserino STP.

Template: Dichiarazione di Indigenza

In addition, ambulatori STP offer exemptions or reductions in the ticket for:

first level care (without reservation): ex. emergency room;
emergencies;
pregnant women;
children and teenagers up to 14 years;
chronic diseases and disabilities;
mandatory vaccinations.

If these patients need medicines, the exemption (full or partial) is also written in the prescription of the drugs.

To find an ambulatorio STP in your city you can do an online search by writing on Google: ambulatorio STP + [your city or province].

If there is no specific ambulatorio STP in your city, remember that health care for STP patients is provided in the general medicine wards of public and / or accredited private hospitals.

Opening hours and days vary depending on the clinic, but in many cases you will be able to find this information on the internet or by calling by phone.

Below you will find the links that may be useful to you divided by regions and cities:

Abruzzo