Tesserino ENI

The tesserino ENI allows people who come from a country of the European Union and do not have residence in Italy / are in a situation of poverty to use the services of the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (National health service) (SSN).

It is called tesserino, which means “card” , but in reality it is a paper sheet with a code written on it (the codice ENI). When asked for your tesserino ENI, you must show your paper sheet with the code.

With it you can get:

• urgent care (in hospital or at the ambulatorio (clinic)), i.e. if you are in life danger;
• essential care (in hospital or ambulatorio (clinic)), so for diseases that could cause problems for your health over time;
• ongoing care, i.e. the care you need for long-lasting illnesses.

In particular, access to all necessary care for pregnant and maternity women and children under 18 is always guaranteed.

IMPORTANT: even if you do not have a permesso di soggiorno, you can use the services of the national health system without being reported to the police. No doctor, nurse or member of the administrative health staff can report you to the police for not having a permesso di soggiorno. Access to healthcare is your right and does not depend on your regularity on the Italian territory.

You must request the tesserino from the Azienda Sanitaria Locale (Local Health Authority) of your city.

If, on the other hand, you need urgent care and you do not yet have a tesserino ENI, you can request it from the ambulatorio (clinic) or the pronto soccorso where you receive treatment.

To obtain it you must have been in Italy for at least 3 months. In theory, you can get it even if you don’t have a passport or identity document, but in some regions it is mandatory to show a passport or identity document to have it.

To request it, you will need to fill in a form with your personal data (such as name, surname and nationality) and sign it.

The tesserino ENI is free.

Even the care you will receive when you need it will be almost totally free. You will only have to pay a contribution, i.e. a ticket, like other people living in Italy. All people with this card fall into the lowest income bracket, so they pay the lowest possible ticket.

However, if you are in financial difficulty and do not have the money to pay for the ticket, you can get an esenzione (exemption- that is, do not pay). This type of esenzione is called X01. To obtain it you will need to submit a self-certification form, called “autocertificazione di indigenza”, where you state your economic situation. You can request this form, fill it in and hand it in at the desk where you get your tesserino ENI.

The autocertificazione di indigenza is valid for 6 months, like the tesserino ENI. After 6 months, you must submit a new autocertificazione di indigenza at the counter where you applied for the tesserino to continue to have the X01 exemption.

The tesserino ENI is valid for 6 months.

It can be renewed and you can renew it at the ambulatorio / desk of the Azienda Sanitaria Locale (Local Health Authority) where you made your first request.