Reading time: 10 min · Published by Phoenix Relocation Group · September 2026
Many international transfers are confirmed in September and October for a start date in January. On paper, three months is comfortable. In practice, the calendar is shorter than it looks: Milan closes for two days in early December, then again for most of the fortnight around Christmas and Epiphany. Offices, schools, landlords and removal companies all slow down at exactly the moment you need them.
The professionals we support who arrive well in January have one thing in common: the key decisions were taken in October. Those who start in December spend their first weeks in Milan in a serviced apartment, waiting for things that could have been ready.
This is the plan we use, month by month.
Why a January move is different
A January arrival has real advantages. You start the tax year as a resident from day one, the rental market is calmer than in September, and families can use the natural break of the school calendar.
It also has a specific trap: the holidays. In 2026, Milan observes Sant’Ambrogio, the city’s patron saint, on 7 December, followed by the Immaculate Conception on 8 December, which creates a four-day weekend. Lombardy state schools then break from 23 to 31 December and from 2 to 5 January, and 6 January is a national holiday. Between those dates, public counters, notaries, agencies and many landlords are hard to reach. Anything that requires a signature, an appointment or a delivery should be scheduled either before mid-December or after 7 January.
October: the decisions that set everything else
October is for choosing, not for executing.
Define the housing brief. Before looking at listings, fix three parameters: where the children will go to school, where you will work, and your commute tolerance at peak hours. Proximity to a metro station matters more to Milan rents today than the name of the neighbourhood, and it matters to your daily life too. These three points narrow the city to two or three areas, and that is where the search happens.
Check the market reality. Milan’s rental market paused in 2026. According to Immobiliare.it data, the average asking rent stood at 23.30 euros per square metre in the second quarter, flat on the previous quarter and down 1.5 per cent year on year. That average hides wide differences between districts, and the same source forecasts rents rising again in the first half of 2027. For a January arrival, this argues for signing a lease in November or early December rather than waiting.
Start the school conversation. Italian state schools must accept foreign pupils at any point in the school year under Article 45 of Presidential Decree 394/1999, and place them in the class matching their age unless the teaching staff decide otherwise. International schools run their own admissions, most on a rolling basis, and availability is decided class by class. Contact admissions offices now, gather two years of school reports and immunisation records, and book a visit, either in person on a scouting trip or by video.
Get a codice fiscale. Your Italian tax code is needed for a lease, a bank account, utilities and almost every form you will sign. It can be issued by an Italian consulate before you leave. It is free, and it is the most useful pre-arrival step that most people skip.
For non-EU nationals: confirm the permit timeline. Under Legislative Decree 83/2026, in force since June 2026, the statutory processing time for the combined work and residence authorisation is ninety days from a complete application, and the employer now has a legal duty to pass on communications promptly. In practice the statutory term is often exceeded. For a January start, the application should already be filed. If it is not, raise it with your employer this week.
November: housing and the international move
November is when the two biggest logistical projects run in parallel.
Secure the apartment. Most landlords in Milan will not hold a property for two months, so for a January entry the realistic window to sign is from mid-November to early December. Viewings can take place on a scouting trip or by live video with someone on site who knows what to look for. A standard file for an employee includes a passport, the codice fiscale, the employment contract or an employer letter stating role, salary and start date, and recent payslips. Some landlords ask for a bank guarantee or a lease signed by the employer.
Choose the contract type with your time horizon in mind. A standard open-market lease runs four years plus four. A regulated-rent lease runs three years plus two, with rents capped by the Milan local agreement. A transitional lease lasts between one and eighteen months, cannot be renewed, and must be justified by a documented temporary need such as a fixed-term assignment; if the justification is weak, it can be requalified as a standard lease. The security deposit is capped at three months’ rent.
One check is non-negotiable: the lease must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate within thirty days of signing. Without a registered lease, your residency registration will stall, and with it your health enrolment and most of your settling-in steps.
Book temporary housing as a fallback. Even with a signed lease, keys are not always handed over on the planned date, and your shipment may arrive after you do. A furnished apartment for the first two to four weeks removes the pressure. Book it before December, when availability tightens around the holidays.
Plan the shipment and the customs file. If you are moving from the United Kingdom, the United States or anywhere else outside the EU, your household goods are an import. Under EU Regulation 1186/2009, used personal property enters free of import duty and VAT if you have lived outside the EU for at least twelve consecutive months, you have owned and used the goods for at least six months, and you import them within twelve months of establishing residence in Italy. Goods cleared this way generally cannot be sold, lent or hired out for twelve months.
In Italy the relief is claimed with the customs agency’s transfer-of-residence forms, supported by a detailed itemised inventory and proof of your previous residence. Two practical consequences follow. New items bought for the move do not qualify and are subject to 22 per cent Italian VAT plus duty. And the file often requires Italian residency evidence you will not have on day one, so ask your mover now how they will handle clearance and whether storage is needed in the meantime. On a full container of used goods, the difference between relief and no relief commonly runs to several thousand euros. US shippers should also note that household goods valued over 2,500 dollars need an export filing before departure.
December: paperwork before the city closes
December is short. Treat 18 December as your practical deadline for anything that involves an Italian counterpart.
Collect documents from home. School reports, birth and marriage certificates with sworn translations and legalisation where required, proof of previous address and, for tax purposes, certificates of foreign tax residence for the last three years. Offices in your home country are also closing for the holidays.
Prepare the tax file. Arriving in January changes your tax position compared with a mid-year move. Italian tax residency is assessed over the calendar year, with a threshold of 183 days, and Italy does not split the year. A January arrival will normally be resident for the whole of 2027. If you qualify for the impatriate regime, which taxes 50 per cent of qualifying employment income (40 per cent with a minor child) for five years, the relief can apply from your first payroll, provided your written request reaches your employer in time. This is a question for a tax adviser with your dates in front of them, and it should be answered before you land.
Confirm the utilities plan. Electricity, gas and internet can be transferred or activated only with a lease and a codice fiscale, and fibre installation can take several weeks. If the lease is signed in November, start the activation in December so the apartment is live when you arrive.
January: the first two weeks in Milan
Arriving after 7 January, the sequence is fixed. Register with the anagrafe at the Comune di Milano with your registered lease; residency takes effect from the date of your declaration, and the local police then have forty-five days to verify your address with an unannounced visit, so put your name on the letterbox and intercom. Once registered, enrol with the regional health service and choose a GP. Non-EU nationals must also lodge their permit application within eight working days of entry, at a Poste Italiane Sportello Amico counter.
Children can start school as soon as the placement is confirmed. Families who used the autumn to secure a place usually see children in class within the first week or two.
A realistic checklist
- October: housing brief, school contacts, codice fiscale, permit status check
- Mid-November to early December: lease signed and registration confirmed, temporary housing booked, shipment and customs file agreed with the mover
- By 18 December: home-country documents collected, tax adviser consulted, utilities activation launched
- From 7 January: anagrafe registration, health enrolment, permit application if applicable, school start
How we manage January arrivals
At Phoenix Relocation Group, we plan and run relocations to Milan, Rome and Naples for international professionals and their families, in English, French and Italian. For a January move, our work starts in the autumn: defining the housing brief, pre-screening properties and running viewings in person or by video, negotiating and checking the lease, booking temporary accommodation, coordinating with your international mover, school search and admissions support, activating utilities, and handling residency and health registration once you arrive.
The goal is simple: when you land in January, the apartment is ready and the paperwork is already moving.
→ Starting in Milan in January 2027? Get in touch for a free assessment of your relocation plan.
📧 info@phrg.it | 🌐 www.phoenixrelocationgroup.com
Found this useful? Share it with a colleague whose move to Milan starts in the new year.