Question: If I’m already in Italy, can I skip getting a visa and go straight to applying for a Permit to Stay (Permesso di Soggiorno/PdS)?
Answer: The standard immigration process is to get the visa, get the PdS kit at the post office, file the kit within 8 days of arriving in Italy, receive the appointment, submit your fingerprints and then pick up card when it’s ready. This process normally applies to any person who is not from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland.
If certain circumstances apply, a visa is not required and you can apply for immigration status directly in Italy. Here we talk about this option.
Aside from the scenarios above, there is an alternative process with some significant caveats. The less common method is that some Questura (Italian immigration office) might allow people to make an appointment with them directly, not via the PdS kit. This includes creating an online account (without a SPID) and then scheduling an appointment with the Questura. If you go this route, it can be quicker than applying through the postal kit. But while it’s possible, it’s most definitely unusual and more work. Some Questura offices might even allow you to walk in without a SPID registration.
If you go straight to the Questura, the representatives would want to understand your immigration status, to determine if you’re in Italy legally and some might accept that you’re here on a visa waiver, i.e., based on a passport that allows you to spend up to 90 days in Italy (or Schengen area) within 180 days without the need of a visa.
The law says the PdS process should be completed in 90 days. However, in real life, this rarely happens. If those 90 days end after your visa waiver expires, you will need to get out of country and the Schengen both. Failing to do so will result in “overstaying”. In such a scenario, if when you go to pick up your PdS you have overstayed, they might deny your PdS. Or they might go ahead and give it to you even if overstayed, because, well, Italy.
Between the rules and what actually happens, there is sometimes flexibility as a result of the culture, or there might be a rule interpreted or special policies that are enforced at the local Questura. Some might have established a routine in which they accept the PdS application without a visa.
Outside of the standard three-step process (Consulate Visa, Poste KIT, Questura PdS) it becomes a gamble: the end result becomes less predictable as it might be affected by multiple variable and less controllable factors. Our recommendation to all our clients who are moving to Italy on a permanent basis, which usually requires some kind of permanent plans (e.g., selling a house, closing bank accounts, etc.) is to get a visa first. That will provide a one-year flexibility term to account for mismanagement by Italian bureaucratic offices, missteps along the way, random problems that could occur.
If you decide to go outside this process, you should take into consideration that you’re setting yourself up for a potential major disaster, if some random stars do not align perfectly. The potential consequences (e.g., fines, a ban from entering not only Italy but also Schengen) could be very painful. So you have to decide, is it worth it?
It’s like homeowners insurance: you are not required to get it but are you comfortable every day knowing you could lose everything? You have to decide the kind of person you are. Relocating requires your focus on so many aspects, for example with respect to estate/tax planning, where to live, enrolling kids in school, health registration, etc. We recommend the standard three-step process described above to put the immigration process on autopilot and gain more control over its outcome.
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