Nuclear family allowance is support given by the Italian National Social Security Institute (INPS) to family members of subordinate workers.
On the website of INPS (www.inps.it) one can find all the necessary information regarding the Nuclear family allowance, how to apply for it, and the forms to use.
Who is entitled to Nuclear family allowance?
Apart from Italian citizens, EU and non-EU foreign workers living legally in Italy can apply for the Nuclear family allowance.
In this case, nuclear family members refer to: the applicant (worker); spouse (as long as you are not legally separated or divorced); minor and adult children (in order to qualify for the allowance, adult children must be disabled); dependent grandchildren (if their parents are unemployed); brothers and sisters of the applicant if they are orphans (having lost both parents) and are not beneficiaries of survivor pensions.
Each nuclear family member of a non-EU foreign worker must be resident in Italy unless there are special agreements between the worker’s country and Italy allowing the worker to apply for the allowance for family members in the home country.
Apart from the EU Member States, Italy has signed such agreements with the following countries: Cape Verde, the states of the former Yugoslavia, Liechtenstein, Principality of Monaco, the Republic of San Marino, Switzerland, and Tunisia (for a maximum of 4 children).
Income requirement
A domestic worker is entitled to Nuclear family allowance if his/her income is lower than the amount required to support the nuclear family.
The family’s income, which is the key requirement for qualifying for Nuclear family allowance, is calculated by taking into consideration the worker’s income together with the income of all other nuclear family members. Income in this case refers to the gross income.
All other forms of support to the worker and family foreseen by the law such as severance pay, wages from INAIL, etc are not taken into consideration while calculating the family’s income.
Nuclear family allowance is given by INPS to the worker who can apply for it right from the moment of beginning work.
From 2005, the allowance can be given to the worker’s spouse as long as the worker who applies for it meets the requirements.
The amount given varies depending on the number of hours worked. For domestic workers, the amount is determined by taking into consideration the number of hours worked even if one works for several employers.
The moment one stops working or no longer meets the requirements, INPS stops giving the allowance.
Application
The application for Nuclear family allowance can be submitted telematically by logging on to the website of INPS (www.inps.it).
One must however, first of all apply for a PIN (Personal Identification Number) by either going to an office of INPS or dialling the customer service number.
By Andrea De Rossi
