All about the working holiday in Italy!

As mentioned earlier, all working holiday makers must buy private health insurance that covers medical care, hospitalisation and repatriation.

Exception: Australians with a Medicare card are covered by the Australia–Italy Reciprocal Health Care Agreement during the first six months of their stay in Italy. Private health cover is required for the remaining six months.

We’ve been recommending Globe WHV since 2005. They have covered thousands of working holiday makers over the years.

Italy’s currency is the euro (€). There are two main ways to open a foreign-currency account: via 1) a traditional bank or 2) an online neo-bank. Traditional banks usually require you to already be in the country. You would have to make and attend an appointment where a representative would ask you for some documents.

If you want to have a euro debit card in hand before even arriving in Italy, you may want to consider the second option, an online neo-bank like Wise. It is an app that offers multi-currency financial services. Customers receive a physical debit card that can be used to withdraw cash at local ATMs. Your euro account would also have its own routing and account numbers, so you can set up autopay, direct deposits, or transfer money to recipients in Italy. These capabilities could be useful in exchanges with your employer or landlord. You can register from your home country or once you arrive in Italy. Learn more about Wise.

There are advantages to both options. Wise registration is simple and quick, but traditional banks offer the possibility of issuing and depositing cheques, if that is something you need. So you could make a Wise account first and then a traditional account once you arrive in Italy.

Once your application is approved, you’ll need to think about where to live, especially in the first few days and weeks. If you are planning on renting long term housing, we recommend you wait until you arrive in Italy before paying a deposit or signing anything. Never send money to anyone without seeing the place in person.

For your first couple of weeks, you could consider Airbnb or hotels. But the most affordable option is going to be youth hostels. You can find some great ones on Hostelworld.

Once your application is approved, you will have plenty of things you need to take care of. Some of them are more urgent than others, so this list breaks down your to-dos, from the most urgent to the least. It may seem like a lot but don’t worry, take it one step at a time!

As you prepare for your working holiday in Italy, check out our library of free articles and guides. Everyone on the pvtistes.net team has done (or is currently on) a working holiday, so everything we write is from personal experience.

This is the perfect chance to learn or brush up on Italian. Babbel is partnering with pvtistes.net to offer 20% off on language courses (learn more). Also check out our other deals for working holiday makers.