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After your trip: the homecoming checklist

Updated on

What's worth doing when you get home, step by step: claims, customs, health, expenses and photos.

In short

Nine things to do when you're back, in the order they come up: at the airport, baggage and customs; in the first few days, the flight refund, insurance, eSIM and subscriptions, expenses; in the weeks after, health and photos; then the next trip.

The rules on claims, baggage and customs below apply to anyone returning to Italy; each step cites the official sources and the date we checked them.

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  1. Damaged, delayed or lost baggage

    Baggage deadlines are counted in days, and the first step happens at the airport, before you leave.

    • Suitcase damaged or not arrived: file the P.I.R. report at the Lost and Found desk before leaving the baggage reclaim hall, and keep the copy.
    • Damaged baggage: written claim to the airline within 7 days of receipt, with the P.I.R., the baggage tag and the booking.
    • Delayed baggage: written claim within 21 days of delivery; keep the receipts for what you had to buy while waiting.
    • If the baggage hasn't been found within 21 days of the P.I.R., claim compensation for loss with a list of what it contained.

    Sources: ENAC: Damaged or lost baggage: the claim, EUR-Lex: Montreal Convention on international air carriage, checked on .

  2. Customs when returning from a non-EU country

    What you buy outside the European Union enters Italy duty-free only within the allowances: above them, it must be declared.

    • Arriving by air or sea you can bring goods for personal use up to €430 per person (€300 by land, €150 under 15).
    • Above the threshold, duties are paid on the full value of the item, not just the excess: keep your receipts handy.
    • Tobacco and alcohol have separate limits: 200 cigarettes, 1 litre of spirits (or 2 litres under 22%), 4 litres of wine and 16 of beer; nothing under 17.
    • With €10,000 or more in cash, including foreign currency, fill in the declaration at customs.

    Sources: Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli: Customs charter for travellers, Commissione europea: Cash controls, checked on .

  3. Delayed or cancelled flight: the compensation

    Arrived 3 or more hours late, flight cancelled or boarding denied: make the claim now, at home, with your boarding passes still in hand.

    • Under European Regulation 261/2004 compensation is €€250,400 or €600 per person depending on distance, for flights departing from the EU and those bound for the EU with a European airline, barring extraordinary circumstances.
    • Write to the airline that issued the ticket, using its form or the EU complaint form: attach your boarding pass, booking and expense receipts.
    • The deadline is two years from the flight, but some airlines reject claims after 6 months: better not to wait.
    • If the airline hasn't replied after six weeks, or the reply doesn't convince you, you can file a complaint with ENAC.

    Sources: EUR-Lex: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, ENAC: How to file a claim for a delay, cancellation or denied boarding, checked on .

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  4. Insurance: filing a claim

    Medical expenses, a theft, lost baggage: if you had travel insurance, you claim the refund when you're back, and every policy has its own deadlines.

    • Check your policy terms for how many days you have to open a claim and how: often through the app or the customer area.
    • Gather the originals: medical invoices and receipts, medical reports, the baggage P.I.R., the police report for a theft.
    • For baggage, keep the claim to the airline and its reply together: you need them for the policy too.
    • Make a copy of everything before sending the originals.

  5. eSIM, roaming and subscriptions

    What you activated for the trip keeps costing money, or renews itself, until you switch it off.

    • Set your Italian SIM back as the data line and turn off the trip eSIM.
    • Cancel automatic renewals: data plans, VPNs, maps or transport apps you got for the trip.
    • If you activated a roaming add-on with your carrier, check that it doesn't renew itself the following month.

  6. Expenses, cards and leftover currency

    The trip is really over when the accounts add up: settle them while you still remember who paid for what.

    • Travelled as a group? Split the expenses right away, with a shared sheet or an app, while the receipts are fresh.
    • Check your card statement: fees on foreign-currency payments and withdrawals, hotel or car charges that arrived after you left.
    • Car and apartment deposits sometimes take weeks to be released: note when they were held and chase them if they don't come back.
    • Did you claim a VAT refund (tax free) abroad? Keep the receipts and forms until you see the credit.
    • Keep leftover currency for your next trip to the same country: changing it back costs you twice.

  7. Health: fever and illness after you're back

    Some illnesses caught while travelling show up days or weeks later, when you're no longer thinking about it.

    • After a trip to a malaria-risk area, if you have a fever or chills see a doctor immediately: symptoms can appear 7, 15 or more days after the bite.
    • Tell the doctor which countries you visited and when you got back.
    • If you were taking antimalarial prophylaxis, continue it after your return for as long as the doctor told you.

    Source: Istituto Superiore di Sanità: Malaria: what you need to know, checked on .

  8. Photos: the backup and the photo book

    Trip photos often live on just one phone: a theft or a breakdown is all it takes to lose them all.

    • Make a copy straight away with the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, on two different media, one away from home (for example in the cloud).
    • Also offload your camera's memory cards before reusing them.
    • Pick your photos within a few weeks, while the memories are fresh: one page per stop, with the place name and date, and the photo book builds itself.
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  9. Share your trip and plan the next one

    While it's fresh, your trip is also useful to those who leave after you, and to your next one.

    • Leave a review for accommodation, guides and experiences: it's what you read before booking.
    • Note what you'd do again and what you wouldn't: stops too short, extra nights, things left at the bottom of the suitcase.
    • Already have an idea for the next one? Look at flights now: you have time to pick the cheapest dates.

Frequently asked questions after you're back

How long do I have to claim compensation for a delayed flight?

According to ENAC, you can file a claim with the airline that issued the ticket within two years of the flight; since some airlines reject claims received after 6 months, it's best to write straight away.

Source: ENAC: How to file a claim for a delay, cancellation or denied boarding, checked on .

My suitcase arrived damaged or didn't arrive: what do I do?

Before leaving the baggage reclaim hall, file a P.I.R. report at the Lost and Found desk. Then send a written claim to the airline: within 7 days for damage, within 21 days of delivery for a delay.

Sources: ENAC: Damaged or lost baggage: the claim, EUR-Lex: Montreal Convention on international air carriage, checked on .

How much can I bring into Italy from a non-EU country without paying customs duty?

Goods for personal use up to €430 per person if you arrive by air or sea, €300 by land and €150 under 15; tobacco and alcohol have separate limits. Cash of €10,000 or more must be declared.

Sources: Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli: Customs charter for travellers, Commissione europea: Cash controls, checked on .

I have a fever after a trip to the tropics: what should I do?

If you've been in a malaria-risk area, see a doctor immediately and tell them where you've been: symptoms can appear 7, 15 or more days after the bite.

Source: Istituto Superiore di Sanità: Malaria: what you need to know, checked on .

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