How to get your first Tessera Sanitaria card

Hey, you!

Yes, you, frowning, trying to find information about how to get a tessera sanitaria in Italy, turn that frown upside down, I got you 🙂

I am going to share my experience as someone who has a Milan residence and is an employee with a working visa.

Here’s the TLDR:

1. Go to https://prenota.zerocoda.it/ and book your appointment for the nearest ASL to your location
2. Research about who do you want as your family doctor. Look up at https://www.ats-milano.it/portale/Cerca-medico-o-pediatra based on your location
3. To the appointment date, bring your original documents, like passport, permesso di soggiorno, codice fiscale. Also, bring copies of those original documents, plus, your last month’s busta paga, contract with your employer, and proof that you are the residence of that city

• Note: If you are currently renewing your permesso di soggiorno, consider waiting until you receive your new permesso card. You can still go for the appointment but you will only be given a temporary tessera sanitaria paper that will last for 6 months. Then once you get your permesso card, you need to go back to ASL to receive the permanent tessera sanitaria card with the same length as your permesso.

Hope this helps anyone in my same situation as I was stuck with no information and had to learn some things the hard way. I hope this will save you some back and forth visits and heartache from Italian bureaucracy. Good luck!