Visas & permits

Which permit you hold

The visa gets you into Italy; the permesso di soggiorno (residence permit) lets you stay. Its type, printed on the card, decides whether you can work, change employer or bring family.

Getting the permit after you land

1. Within 8 working days of arrival, collect the yellow-striped kit from a post office with a Sportello Amico desk (some permits, such as family reunification and work under the decreto flussi, start at the Prefettura's one-stop shop instead).
2. Fill in the forms (Module 1, plus Module 2 for some types). Patronati and CAF help for free or a small fee; the post office will not.
3. Post it unsealed at the Sportello Amico with photocopies of every passport page, the visa and supporting papers. You pay a €16 marca da bollo, the postal fee, the card fee and a permit fee that depends on the length. Expect roughly €100–200 in total.
4. Keep the ricevuta (receipt) with your passport. With it you can live and work legally and travel home and back on a direct route (not through other Schengen countries).
5. The receipt shows a Questura appointment for fingerprints and photos. Bring 4 passport photos, the originals and the receipt.
6. Check progress online with the receipt number on the Polizia di Stato website, then collect the card at the Questura in person.

Check permit status (Polizia di Stato) ↗ · Portale Immigrazione (kit forms) ↗

Renewals and changes

• Apply to renew before expiry, ideally 60–90 days ahead, with the same kit route. Late applications are possible within 60 days after expiry with a valid reason, but cause problems at work and at borders.
• Bring proof the original reason still holds: employment contract and recent payslips (buste paga), last tax return or CU, housing contract and residence certificate.
• Change of address: update the Anagrafe within 20 days and tell the Questura (or note it on the renewal).
• Converting a permit (study → work, family → work and similar) has its own procedure and sometimes quota limits. Get advice before your current permit expires.
• Leaving Italy for more than 6 months in a row (or more than half the permit's length) can make a non-long-term permit lapse.

Family joining you

• Spouse, minor children, adult dependent children and, under conditions, dependent parents can join through ricongiungimento familiare. Blue Card and ICT holders have a faster track.
• You need: income above a legal minimum that rises with each family member, housing that meets local size and health rules (certificato di idoneità alloggiativa from the Comune) and health cover.
• Most of the housing papers come from your landlord: registered contract, floor plan, system certificates and a signed consent for your family to live there. See Documents from your landlord for the full list and the space each family size needs.
• The nulla osta is requested online at the Prefettura's Sportello Unico; family then apply for visas at the Italian consulate at home.
• Foreign marriage and birth certificates need an apostille (or consular legalisation) and a sworn translation into Italian.

Long-term permit and citizenship

• Long-term EU permit after 5 years of continuous legal residence: proof of income, suitable housing and an A2 Italian certificate (a free test at the Prefettura or a recognised exam). It does not expire for residence purposes; the card itself is renewed as an ID.
• Citizenship by residence for non-EU nationals needs 10 years of registered residence, steady income for the last years, a clean record and a B1 Italian certificate. Processing can take 2–3 years.
• Citizenship by marriage to an Italian: after 2 years of residence in Italy after the wedding (halved with children), plus B1.
• India does not allow dual citizenship: becoming Italian means giving up the Indian passport (you can then apply for OCI). Indonesia also does not allow dual citizenship for adults. Check your own country's rules.