Last Updated on May 27, 2025 by admin

If you’re a citizen of a non-EU country and you move to Italy, you’ll have to get a permesso di soggiorno. What is a permesso di soggiorno, exactly? It’s basically a residence permit that you’re required to get after you’ve been granted a visa and have entered the country. The type of permesso di soggiorno you’ll get depends on the type of visa you have.

How can you get a permesso di soggiorno? Like many things in Italy, it’s not easy to do. I’ve decided to outline the steps you’ll need to take in order to get it. 

Many people are curious about how to get a permesso di soggiorno without having a visa. The short answer is that you generally need a visa first, and that visa has to be issued in your home country. I believe the exceptions are in cases of marriage or family reunification, but if you want to work or study in Italy, including those of you who are coming on the new digital nomad visa, you’ll have to get a visa first.

This post is intended for people who are coming to Italy for work or study purposes and who have already secured a visa.

How to get a stay permit in Italy (permesso di soggiorno)

Note: I’ll start by saying that I had a work visa when I wrote this post. Since then, I got my Italian citizenship, so no more permesso for me!

I was in Italy on a “lavoro autonomo”, or self-employment visa, but the contract I was given from the university I worked at meant that I was treated like an employee for tax purposes (as in, they deducted from my payments, rather than me having to submit invoices and have a freelance tax account). If this doesn’t make sense to you, don’t worry, because it doesn’t make sense to me either.

I also had a student visa once upon a time, but the application process for a student permesso has changed since then, so I’m not sure of the exact details, but I have a good idea of what you need since my husband went through the procedure not too long ago.

If you are here on a student visa and are wondering how to get a permesso di soggiorno, this post will still come in handy. If you have specific questions, let me know in the comments and I’ll see what I can do to help!

Before we start

As I said above, once you’ve gotten a visa and have arrived in Italy, you’ll have to apply for your permesso di soggiorno. If you’ve come here to work or study, there will probably be someone to help you out at your workplace or school, but it’s nice to know what to expect ahead of time in order to be prepared.

I’d recommend beginning the process as soon as possible. Officially, you must apply within eight working days of your arrival in Italy.

Step one: get a codice fiscale (social security/tax ID number)

One of the first things you’ll need to do is obtain a codice fiscale, which is like a social security number or tax identification number. It is requested constantly for identification purposes, so the sooner you get one, the better. 

Here’s more on getting your codice fiscale.

Step two: get your ‘kit’

When you’ve gotten your codice fiscale, you’ll be ready to go to a post office and pick up your permesso application, which is called a “kit”.

It consists of an envelope that contains two application forms, as well as the directions for filling them out.  You’ll have to provide your name and address, as well as your reason for being in Italy, and some other details.

If there is someone at your workplace or school who can look over your application, I highly recommend asking them to do so. If something is filled out incorrectly, your already lengthy application process might become even lengthier.

Step three: gather your documents (and make copies of everything!)

Once you’ve completed your kit, you’ll have to make sure you have all of the relevant documents in order, which you’ll have to submit with your application. These documents vary depending on the type of visa you have. You can find the list of visa types and the required associated documents here. The English page is under construction (shocker), but you’ll get the gist of what you need if you copy and paste into Google translate.

Step four: get your identity-card-sized photos

Regardless of your visa type, you’ll need four identity card-sized photos of yourself, which you can get in photo booths around most cities. Check the metro/train stations and supermarkets as they often have them. Make sure you get the “documento d’identità” format, rather than passport ones. I just recently found out that they’re a different size!

Step five: get a ‘marca da bollo’

You’ll also need a marca da bollo, which is often requested for official documents. I have no real idea what it is or what purpose it serves, but you need one.

For the application for your permesso di soggiorno, they cost about 16 euros and you can purchase them in a tabaccheria (a place to buy cigarettes, stamps, and other miscellany, as well as make photocopies or send faxes [sometimes] and marche da bollo).

Step six: submit the kit at the sportello amico at the post office

Once you’ve gotten your codice fiscale and other documents, your marca da bollo and your passport photos, you’ll go back to the post office, but not just any post office! It has to be one with a “sportello amico.” You can find out where they are located by doing a Google search and clicking on the post offices in your area. You’ll go in, take a ticket for the sportello amico, and wait until your number is called. The person there will look over your documents and process your payment.

Costs vary, again, depending on what type of visa you’re getting. My initial application for my work visa cost around 200 euro (including postage for the kit, which is about 30 euros) but my renewal application for my second year only cost about 70 euros.

The price is different for students. I believe the initial cost is around 116 euro.

Sometimes, the person at the sportello amico isn’t sure what you owe (this happened to my husband one year). Unfortunately, this will delay the process, because they won’t tell you the exact amount until you go to the questura for your appointment. The questura will calculate the amount due, which you’ll have to pay by, yes, going back to the post office. You then have to bring the receipt back to the questura as proof of payment.

Step seven: get your appointment paper and receipt (and cling to them for dear life)

You’ll be issued a piece of paper that gives you the date and time for an appointment to collect your permesso, along with the receipts that proved you’ve paid for your application.

The appointment paper has a list of the documents you’ll need to submit with your application, and the receipt has a tracking number so that you can check the status of your permesso di soggiorno online.

These papers are really important to hang onto, so make sure you put them in a safe place! You might want to make a copy to carry around with you as well. They actually are considered to be your permesso until you get your actual card, so if anyone were to ever ask to see your documents in Italy, producing a copy of your receipt would count as proof of identity and proof that you’re in the country legally.

Step eight: go to the questura on the day of your appointment

When your appointment day comes, you’ll go to the questura (police station). Bring copies of your appointment and receipt paper, along with the originals, as well as copies of all of the documents you submitted with your application. Like I said above, you’ll need some additional documents too. These vary depending on what type of visa you have, including the sub-classes of work visas. When I go I bring copies of everything I think I could possibly need.

Here’s the list of what I used to bring:

– Work contract

– Housing information (I had a dichiarazione di ospitalità, but a lease or housing contract are also acceptable)

– Passport (which contained my visa)

– Insurance policy

– Enrollment in INPS, for tax purposes (this is where your tax money will go if you’re working here)

-Codice fiscale

– Recent pay stubs (for renewal of permesso di soggiorno. If it’s your first one, I’d bring a bank statement in case you have to prove that you can support yourself for a bit)

I brought these documents for my initial application, and I brought them to my renewal appointment too. If you’re renewing your permesso, you’ll also need to show your tax return from the previous year if you have a work visa.

Note for student visa holders:

If you’re in a student visa, you’ll have to bring proof of enrollment in your school, as well as proof that you have finances to support yourself for the duration of your study. The daily amount needed should be available on the website of the Italian consulate in your jurisdiction. You’ll need to show that you have health insurance as well. Your school or university should be able to provide guidance on this.

When you renew your student permesso di soggiorno, you’ll have to bring proof that you’ve passed your exams. You can also get this from your school/university.

At the appointment itself, an agent will look over everything to make sure it’s in order. You’ll also have to get fingerprinted.

Step nine: Wait for your text message (that may never come)

In some cities, you will receive a text message telling you when to pick your permesso up, and you can also track it online. In Rome, they instruct you to check their online tracking system 40 days after your appointment – no text message is sent.

After my initial application, I never received the text message. I went back to the questura after about six months to find out what was going on, and they told me to come back in a month. I had applied in November, had my appointment in December, went in June to find out what was up, and got my permesso di soggiorno officially in July (and had to renew it in October).

Like I said before, if you have any questions let me know in the comments and I’ll be happy to see if I can help.

In bocca al lupo!

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