Before you start

Residence registered with the comune, or a valid permesso and an address
Codice fiscale
Permesso di soggiorno or its receipt, for non-EU nationals
Proof of income, for voluntary registration

Step-by-step

1
Work out whether your registration is free or paid
Employees, the self-employed, their families and several permit categories register at no cost. Students, elective residents and others outside those categories pay the annual voluntary contribution.
In personWho: YouWeek 2–4
2
Register at the ULSS 3 Serenissima district office
Take your documents to the district counter for your address and choose a medico di medicina generale from the local list. In the historic centre the choice of practices is genuinely limited by the shrinking resident population — ask about surgery locations across the sestieri before choosing.
In personWho: You
3
Pay the voluntary contribution if it applies
Since the 2024 budget law it is calculated on the previous year's worldwide income at 7.5% on a first band and 4% above it, with minimums of €700 for students, €1,200 for au pairs and €2,000 for most adults. It expires on 31 December whenever you pay.
In personWho: You
4
Collect the tessera sanitaria
The health card carries your codice fiscale and doubles as the European Health Insurance Card. It is posted to your registered address.
OnlineWho: You
5
Learn which hospital does what
The Ospedale Civile at Santi Giovanni e Paolo serves the historic centre; the Ospedale dell'Angelo in Mestre is the larger facility with the fuller range of specialties. Many specialist appointments and procedures will be on the mainland, and the journey needs planning into the day.
OnlineWho: You
6
Know the emergency numbers and how help arrives
The Veneto has no unified NUE 112 answering centre yet, so 118 reaches an ambulance, 115 the fire brigade and 113 the police directly. In the historic centre all of them arrive by boat, then on foot with a stretcher over bridges — which is why giving the exact sestiere and number, and a nearby landmark, matters more here than an address elsewhere.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Codice fiscale
Permesso di soggiorno or filing receipt
Certificate of residence or self-declared address
Employment contract or proof of self-employment
Proof of previous year's income, for the voluntary contribution

Things most newcomers don’t know

The Veneto has no unified NUE 112 answering centre yet, which changes which number you dial.

Italy delivers the single European emergency number through regional answering centres, and as of mid-2026 the Veneto and Campania are the last two regions without one — the Veneto's plan is for two centres, in the province of Venice and at Verona, with operability dependent on funding and recruitment. Until then, 118 reaches an ambulance, 115 the fire brigade and 113 the police directly, while 112 reaches the Carabinieri. Anyone arriving from a region where 112 does everything should learn the distinction before they need it.

Source: Regione Veneto; Dipartimento della Protezione Civile

In the historic centre, emergency help arrives by boat and then on foot, and your address description matters.

Ambulances and fire appliances are boats. They reach the nearest fondamenta and the crew continues on foot with equipment, over bridges and up staircases. A Venetian address is a sestiere and a number with no street name, which is close to useless to a crew under time pressure. Knowing the nearest campo, church or canal — and being able to say it calmly — is a practical skill that residents here acquire and newcomers do not have.

Source: community-reported

The bigger hospital is in Mestre, and that shapes where some people choose to live.

The Ospedale Civile in the centre handles a great deal, but the Ospedale dell'Angelo on the mainland is the larger facility with the fuller specialist range, and many appointments and procedures happen there. For someone with a chronic condition or young children, the difference between a fifteen-minute walk and a boat-plus-bus journey to routine appointments is a genuine input into the centre-versus-mainland decision.

Source: Azienda ULSS 3 Serenissima

The voluntary SSN contribution stopped being a flat €387.34 on 1 January 2024.

The 2024 budget law replaced the flat fee with an income-based charge — 7.5% on a first band, 4% above — with minimums of €2,000 for most adults, €700 for students and €1,200 for au pairs. Venice's Ca' Foscari and IUAV student population and its elective-resident population are both squarely affected, and both routinely budget from pre-2024 pages that remain online.

Source: Ministry of Health; 2024 budget law

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming 112 works as a unified emergency number — it does not yet in the Veneto.
Giving only a sestiere and number to an emergency operator instead of a landmark.
Choosing a GP without checking where their surgery actually is across the sestieri.
Budgeting the pre-2024 flat contribution of €387.34.
Underestimating how often routine specialist care means a trip to Mestre.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.