Some of these changes are confirmed, others still speculative, but each of the following may have an impact on your life in Italy soon.
Here’s what we can expect in the coming weeks.
Oct 1st: Electricity and gas prices rise
Households and businesses in Italy will soon be paying more for electricity and gas with another steep price rise coming from Friday, at the start of the fourth quarter of 2021 (October-December).
Household electricity bills will rise by 29.8% for the typical family and gas bills will go up by 14.4%, Italy’s energy regulatory authority Arera confirmed.
The Italian government stepped in to limit the steep rise in energy prices in the next quarter, after a 40 percent increase was predicted.
Oct 1st: Italy-UK travel rule changes
People planning to travel to the UK from Italy or elsewhere in Europe from this month should note some changes to the entry rules.
From October 1st, due to a Brexit-related rule change the vast majority of EU citizens can no longer travel into the UK using an ID card; only passports are acceptable. Full details HERE.
As for Covid-related restrictions, vaccinated travellers from Europe will no longer have to take pre-departure tests when heading to England from Monday, October 4th.
See full details of the travel rules between the UK and Italy from October HERE.
New Covid restrictions – and a vaccine mandate?
In the coming days, the Italian government is expected to release details of its next decree updating Covid-related rules and restrictions within the country.
Travel rules will not be included in this update – the next review of restrictions on most non-EU countries will come on October 25th (see below).
It looks likely that the maximum allowed capacity at stadiums, cinemas and theatres will increase after the government’s scientific advisory panel gave the all-clear to plans on Wednesday,
Stadiums will be able to sell tickets up to 75% of their full capacity, compared to 50% at the moment, while cinemas and theatres will be allowed to go up to 80%, according to news agency Ansa.
There will be no capacity restrictions for museums, although they will be obliged to make sure social distancing is respected.
All venues will only be allowed to admit customers with the green pass.
The Italian government is also considering whether to make vaccinations mandatory for more groups if it decides the rate of vaccination in the country is too low, and says it will make a decision by the beginning of October.
Vaccination coverage is one of the key factors the health ministry will take into account when deciding on any upcoming changes to the coronavirus restrictions.
Italy is tantalisingly close to reaching the government’s stated target of having 80 percent of the population fully immunised by September 30th – with some regions doing better than others.
Oct 15th: Green pass requirement at all workplaces
This is the most important change to be aware of this month if you work in Italy.
From October 15th, the next extension of Italy’s green pass scheme will require all employees across the public and private sectors to show that they are vaccinated, recovered or have proof of a recent negative coronavirus test uding the country’s green pass health certificate.
Unvaccinated workers without medical exemptions will need to take regular tests at their own expense unless their workplace decides to provide them for free.
Employees who fail to produce a pass face penalties of between €600 and €1,500, and salaries can be frozen from the first day that they arrive at work without the certificate. Employers are subject to fines of between €400 and €1,000 for failing to uphold the rules.
Find more details about how the rules will work in practice here.
Oct 15th. Some people are allowed to switch their heating on
You read that right. Italy has restrictions on when (and how much) you’re allowed to heat your home, and the first places to be allowed to crank up the thermostat are northern and mountainous parts of the country, starting from mid-October.
Italy is divided into several categories depending on when authorities think it’s appropriate to turn the heating on in each area.
Those in the balmier coastal areas in places like Sicily and Calabria are last to be permitted to flick the switch on December 1st. Find out when you can turn your heating on here.
Oct 15th: New national airline ITA takes off
This is also the date that Italy’s new flag carrier ITA, replacing long-struggling Alitalia, will begin operating and selling tickets.
Oct 25th: Italy to review rules on travel from the US and Canada
Towards the end of the month, we’ll be keeping an eye on possible changes to the Covid-related rules on travel from ‘D-list’ countries including the US and Canada, with Italy’s current set of rules for arrivals from these countries in force until October 25th.
Oct 31st: Don’t forget to change your clocks
At 3am on Sunday, October 31st, the clocks will go back by one hour marking the end of summer time.
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In relation to the Green Pass, a lot of us here in Lecce received a Johnson and Johnson vaccine from a van on August 25th and still have not been able to get a green pass. We go back and forth to vaccination centers and pharmacies trying to find out what to do and no one knows. We were told by red cross officials at this mobile vaccination van that we would receive a text with a link to get a green pass, but no one got a text. We then went to the dgc.gov.it website, input our credentials only to receive an error message stating that either our credentials were incorrect or no authorization code is available. This is extremely frustrating as you can no longer go to many places without it. Soon you can not even work without it. What to do?
Move someplace that isn’t so authoritarian I guess. I know that’s not realistic. Sorry.