STP card or tessera sanitaria?

The STP card (Stranieri Temporaneamente Presenti, “temporarily present foreigners”) is issued to citizens of non-EU countries who are in Italy irregularly and therefore cannot register with the Italian National Health Service. It allows the foreign national to receive free care in public health facilities. In practice you can get almost any kind of medical care: diagnosis, doctor’s visits, tests, surgery and so on. Medicines are free too, but not all of them! Although the list of required documents has several items, your passport is enough to get an STP. Italy is a transit country for migrants, and providing medical care prevents the spread of infectious diseases. The STP card is valid throughout the country for 6 months and can be renewed. It is issued by the ASL (local health authority) at your request.

The STP is an OPPORTUNITY for citizens of non-EU countries who are in Italy irregularly to receive medical care. If you do not have a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) in Italy, you should apply for the health card for foreigners temporarily present in Italy (Tessera STP). It entitles you to medical care FREE OF CHARGE.

WHAT MEDICAL CARE YOU CAN RECEIVE

Urgent care: care when a person’s life is in danger or their health is at risk of harm.

Treatment: treatment of conditions that are not dangerous in the short term but may cause health problems or put life at risk over time.

Long-term treatment: treatment over a longer period.
In practice you can get almost any kind of medical care: diagnosis, doctor’s visits, tests, surgery and so on.

Note: people who come to Italy on a biometric passport are not irregular migrants. They are tourists, so they must have insurance. If you need urgent care you will certainly receive it, but you may be handed a bill for your treatment when you are discharged. If, however, you have obtained an STP, you can receive medical care FREE OF CHARGE!

TESSERA SANITARIA

The tessera sanitaria, or Italian health insurance card, is a plastic card that has fully replaced the plastic tax code card for Italian citizens and for people who are entitled to use the SSN (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, the Italian National Health Service) and have a tax code (codice fiscale).

Once registered, a foreign national receives the tessera sanitaria (health card), which gives access to the public health system. To get it, however, you need a permesso di soggiorno and a codice fiscale… For details of which documents are required and what the ticket (prescription charge) and esenzione (exemption) are, just ask us. We are always happy to help!

IN SHORT:
1. The STP is only for those who do NOT have a permesso.
2. If you have a permesso, by law you get ONLY the tessera sanitaria: you CANNOT “CHOOSE”.