Before applying for residency for non EU citizens you must first take care of your Permesso di Soggiorno

by Amy Mancino

The Permesso di Soggiorno (PdiS) is your most important document if you are a non-EU citizen in Italy. It can be translated to Permit to Stay.  Many places (online and in books) translate this as a residency permit which gets very confusing as there is also residency through the comune(city hall) but this is something else.  The PdiS is not just for those who are planning on moving to Italy but for anyone who will be in Italy for more than 90 days.  For stays less than 90 days you only need only a passport entry stamp from the Italian airport.  If you entered via another European country, within 8 days you must visit the local questura  (state police headquarters) and request a stamped Dichiarazione di Presenza http://www.interno.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/assets/files/14/0798_2007_07_27_Dichiarazione_di_presenza.pdf>  (declaration of presence).

for up to 1 year 14,62(marca da bollo) 30,00 assicurata..28,60 for bollettino plus 80 euro
for 1 year to 2 years 14,62 plus 30,00 plus 28,60 plus 100 euro

for over 2 years 14,62 plus 30,00 plus 28,60 plus 200 euro The marca da bollo should be acquired before you go to the post office; you can pay for the permesso and postage at the post office. You must pay in cash. The post office in Florence only requires photocopies of you passport pages with writing on them and of course the visa page if you have one.

You will be given a receipt for the kit. It’s very important that you save this as it provides proof you’ve applied. It includes a user id and password that enable you to check the status of your kit at http://www.portaleimmigrazione.it .

Once your kit has been mailed it will be processed, you will receive a letter indicating date/time of your convocazione appointment at the questura to submit 4 photographs and be fingerprinted; or, if there are any open questions to answer them. Subsequently, you can check online at http://questure.poliziadistato.it/stranieri/  to find out when to pickup your new permesso, which is a digitized card.

You must go to the questura in Via della Fortezza number 17 arrive about 15 minutes before your appointment time and show your paper that the post office gave you, you will then be given a number and must wait until it is called. Bring the copy of your letter, your passport and a copy of the pages with writing or stamps or visas on them and all the documents you have pertaining to your immigration to Italy, (lease, work papers, pay slips etc) bring 4 pictures, you can get them done at any photo booth that does id pictures or at the photographer. Remember not to cover your eyes or face too much with hair. Here are examples http://www.fotografi.org/fototessera/default.htm.

Once you have submitted all the necessary forms to the questura window, you will fingerprinted and then asked for a cell phone number as the notifications of pdis ready to be picked up are sent by sms.

Once you receive your sms that the pdis is ready. Get all the same docs you brought to the first appointment and go to the questura on the date in the SMS, do not worry if you cannot make it. Just makes sure you don’t go early in the morning as pickups are only in the afternoon. I suggest going around 12 noon and asking if they are giving out numbers for afternoon pickups which usually start around 1:30 pm but ask the Policeman at the door as things often change. On Friday they are closed in the afternoon so pickups are done in the morning.

If you have minor children they will only need to be brought to your first appointment. There is no need to bring them to pick-ups but remember to bring their original passports with you.

Once you have your permesso I suggest you make a fotocopy or scan of it.

Residency in Florence as a non EU citizen

Once you have your Permesso di Soggiorno you have to register it.

To apply for residency in Florence as a non EU citizen you must first have your permesso di soggiorno.

Once you have this you must bring it to the Anagrafe office to have them register it. Bring your original passport(s) and registered contract if you are renting.

There is also the possibility of registering your documents by fax or by mail. The fax is sometimes hard to get through so you may want to send by registered letter that sends you the receipt(A/R). After 2 days you should get a letter that they are processing and usually within 15 days they approve the residency with the right to revoke if they send someone to the house and you are not living there or if there is some problem with your permesso. I strongly suggest the by mail or fax method as its proven to be faster and easier then trying to make an appointment at the anagrafe or waiting in line.

Related articles

• My Road to Italian Citizenship! (firenzemoms4moms.wordpress.com)