When a foreign person enters Italy, it does not matter whether legally or not, he has the right to apply for international protection to the Italian State by Law. And if you are planning to come to Italy for what so ever reason and intend to stay for more than 90 days, you will definitely need to apply for and have a resident permit. Resident permit or permit of stay is an official document that non-EU citizens must request on their arrival if they are going to stay in Italy for more than 90 days. The duration of the permit can range from 6 months to 5 years which is subject to renewal when it expires.

If you are already in Italy and have your residence permit , you must renew it before it expires. You must apply for renewal at least:

90 days before expiry date if your residence permit is valid for 2 years;

60 days before expiry date if your residence permit is valid for 1 year;

30 days before expiry date in all other cases.

TYPES OF RESIDENT PERMITS IN ITALY

Foreigners require different permits depending on their national status and on how long they have lived in Italy. The permits can be categorized into four categories:

1. Resident permit for international protection
2. Resident permit for special cases
3. Resident permit for regular cases
4. EU Long term resident permit

RESIDENT PERMIT FOR INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION.

The Italian Constitution by law gives right to asylum or international protection to a foreigner who, in his home country, is denied the actual exercise of democratic freedoms. There are basically two types of resident permits given on humanitarian grounds:

1. Permesso di Soggiorno per Asilo Politico
2. Permesso di Soggiorno per Protezione Sussidiaria

Permesso di Soggiorno per Asilo Politico

The Permesso di Soggiorno per Asilo Politico is for people who are recognized as refugees in Italy. For you to be recognized as a refugee, the foreign citizen must have a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, belonging to a certain social group, or political opinion, and outside the territory of the country of which s/he is a national and cannot or does not, because of this fear, avail himself or herself of the protection of that country. This permit guarantees you a legal stay in Italy for 5 years which can also be renewed when it expires.

It’s very important to keep in mind that returning to your country of origin, or trying to contact the embassy of your country of origin in Italy for your country passport is forbidden when you hold this permesso or stay permit. Instead you should request for a travel document called a Documento di Viaggio, which will act a substitute for your national passport.

The permit entitles the holder to:

– Carry out both autonomous and subordinate work.

– Access public employment.

– Access the National Health Service.

– Access the INPS assistance services.

– Access to study.

– Family reunification: the political asylum holder can request the entry into Italy of his family members without having to demonstrate the accommodation and income requirements required for holders of other types of residence permits.

– Italian citizenship: the time required to apply for Italian citizenship by naturalization is reduced by half, since it takes 5 years to stay in Italy instead of 10.

HOW TO RENEW PERMESSO SOGGIORNO PER ASILO POLITICO

To renew this kind of permesso, you need to go to the questura of the city where you are registered as a resident and apply for renewal. When you go, you’ll need to bring your permesso di soggiorno and any other ID documents you have. The questura may ask you for more documents.

Permesso di Soggiorno per Protezione Sussidiaria

You are entitled to subsidiary protection and the Permesso di Soggiorno per Protezione Sussidiaria if you don’t fulfill all the requirements for refugee status, but still face a real risk of suffering serious harm if you return to your country of origin.

Serious harm means the risk of death penalty or execution, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Serious and individual threat to your life by reasons of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.

This permit guarantees you a legal stay in Italy for 5 years which can also be renewed when it expires.

Holders of this permit may travel to their home country but if you’re planning to travel back to your home country, make sure you first get in touch with a lawyer who can advise you on your situation as it may affect your permesso from being renewed.

The permit entitles the holder to:

– Carry out both autonomous and subordinate work.

– Access public employment.

– Access the National Health Service.

– Access the INPS assistance services.

– Access to the study.

– Family reunification: in this case too, the holder of subsidiary protection can request the entry into Italy of his family members without having to demonstrate the accommodation and income requirements required for holders of other types of residence permit.

It is possible to convert the residence permit for subsidiary protection into a residence permit for work reasons, thus renouncing the status of subsidiary protection

HOW TO RENEW PERMESSO SOGGIORNO PER PROTEZIONE SUSSIDIARIA

To renew your Permesso per Protezione Sussidiaria, you’ll need to make an appointment at the questura. When it reviews your renewal request, the questura may:

1. Ask the Territorial Commission whether the situation in your country of origin has changed, and whether you would still be in danger if you returned.

2. Check whether you have been convicted of any crimes since receiving subsidiary protection.

3. Examine whether you have traveled back to your country of origin since receiving subsidiary protection.

Please read: A-Z Guide to family reunification in Italy

As of October 5, 2018 — the date the Salvini Decree went into effect — Italy no longer issues humanitarian protection or Permessi di Soggiorno per Motivi Umanitari. This permesso is valid for 2 years. If you hold this permesso and it has not yet expired, it is still valid . When it expires you can convert it into a Permesso di Soggiorno per Lavoro, or work permit, if you have a job or business that satisfies certain conditions.

RESIDENT PERMIT ON SPECIAL CASES.

Instead of humanitarian protection, Italy now grants several permits on special cases as follows:

Permit for medical treatment. It is released to foreigners who are able to demonstrate their state of health of exceptional seriousness such that a return would entail a serious risk of compromising his health. The permit in this case has a duration equal to the time certified by the health certification, and in any case not more than one year, and is renewable as long as the health conditions of exceptional severity persist. It is not clear whether this permit can be converted into a work permit.

Permission for disasters. It is issued to foreigners who come from countries that are in a situation of “contingent and exceptional calamity”, a condition that of calamity, still not well defined and which will probably be defined by legal practice. It is not specified, for example, whether it refers only to natural disasters or to other exceptional events. This permit lasts six months and cannot be converted into a work permit.

Permit for acts of particular civil value. It is released to foreigners who perform acts recognized as having great civil value, such as risking their lives to save someone in danger, to prevent or limit a possible public disaster, to contribute to the arrest of wanted persons. This permit lasts for two years, is renewable and can be converted into a work permit.

Social protection permit. This permission was already foreseen in the 1998 law that introduced humanitarian protection and was confirmed by the Salvini decree. It is released to foreigners who need protection, for example from organized crime or from associations for the exploitation of prostitution. In this case, the permit lasts six months renewable for one year and can be converted into a work permit.

Permit for victims of domestic violence. This permit was also already provided for in the 1998 law, and is issued to foreigners who make sure that they are victims of situations of violence or abuse such as to represent a danger to their safety due to his report of such violence or abuse. The permit lasts one year and can be converted into a work permit.

Permit for labor exploitation. Like the previous ones, this permit was already present since 1998 and is issued to foreigners who have reported cases of serious labor exploitation. The permit lasts six months renewable for one year and can be converted into a work permit.

It is more difficult, if not impossible in some cases, to renew the permit and not in all cases the special permit can be converted into a work permit, effectively condemning the people who expire to irregularity.

HOW TO RENEW RESIDENT PERMIT ON SPECIAL CASES.

Applications and renewal requests can be submitted through the Post Office (by compiling the yellow kit “Kit Giallo” which is also available at approved institutions. The application kit must be submitted at the Help Desk (Sportello Amico) at the Post Office, in an open envelope. The applicant must be identifiable by a valid passport or similar document. When the Post Office accepts the application, the foreign national is issued with a legally recognized receipt. The receipt also shows the code required to check the progress status of the application on the website www.portaleimmigrazione.it as well as the appointment date to be photographed at the Police Headquarters (Questura).

The documents to be attached to the application and to be subsequently presented at the photograph appointment at the Police Headquarters (Questura) differ according to the type of residence permit held. These are listed in the application kit or on the website: www.portaleimmigrazione.it.

RESIDENT PERMIT ON REGULAR CASES.

There are several types of permits to stay on regular cases, the most commonly issued ones are:

Permesso di soggiorno per turismo – for tourists. Technically anyone visiting Italy for over a week who isn’t staying in a hotel, boarding house or an official campsite should apply for one, although in practice this rarely happens;

Permesso di soggiorno per coesione familiare – for the foreign spouse and children of an Italian citizen when they move to Italy together;

Permesso di soggiorno per lavoro – a work permit for an employee;

Permesso di soggiorno per lavoro autonomo/indipendente – for independent or freelance workers;

Permesso di soggiorno per studio – for students;

Permesso di soggiorno per ricongiungimento familiare – for the spouse, children (under 18) and dependent parents of foreigners married to Italian citizens and also for family members from overseas who come to join others already in Italy;

Permesso di soggiorno per dimora – for foreigners establishing residence in Italy who don’t intend to work or study.

HOW TO RENEW RESIDENT PERMIT ON REGULAR CASES.

Applications and renewal requests can be submitted through the Post Office (by compiling the yellow kit “Kit Giallo” which is also available at approved institutions. The application kit must be submitted at the Help Desk (Sportello Amico) at the Post Office, in an open envelope. The applicant must be identifiable by a valid passport or similar document. When the Post Office accepts the application, the foreign national is issued with a legally recognized receipt. The receipt also shows the code required to check the progress status of the application on the website www.portaleimmigrazione.it as well as the appointment date to be photographed at the Police Headquarters (Questura).

The documents to be attached to the application and to be subsequently presented at the photograph appointment at the Police Headquarters (Questura) differ according to the type of residence permit held. These are listed in the application kit or on the website: www.portaleimmigrazione.it.

EU LONG TERM RESIDENT PERMIT.

From February 16th 2007, the EU Long Term Residence Permit replaces the residence card (Carta Di Soggiorno) for foreign nationals. It is issued by the local Police Headquarters (Questura) to persons who have been legally resident in Italy for at least 5 years. The EU Permit does not have an expiry date (it is open-ended) and allows the holder, among other things, to:

1. Enter Italy without a visa;
2. Enter another country within the European Union and reside there for tourism reasons for a period of no longer than 90 days;
3. Apply for maternity benefit;
4. Apply for disability benefit;
5. Work (subject to conversion) in countries who comply with the European Directive 2004/38/CE

HOW TO APPLY

You must be able to demonstrate that:

• you have been residing legally in Italy for at least 5 years;
• your income is sufficient to financially support yourself and your family members;
• you have not been accused of any crime for which you could be arrested or charged, and you are not awaiting trial or sentencing;
• you pass an Italian language test, equivalent to the A2 level standard approved by the Council of Europe for language learning across the Union.

REVOCATION

• absence of the foreign national in the European Union for a period of 12 consecutive months;
• acquisition of the EU Long Term Residence Permit in another European Member State;
• When the foreign national is deemed to be a danger to public order or national security.

RESIDENT PERMIT CONVERSION

Many types of residence permits allow the holder to carry out various activities without having to apply for conversion. Converting one’s residence permit is possible if specific requirements are met.  These differ according to the type of residence permit held.

Nevertheless, if the foreign national wishes to convert the category of his/her residence permit, he/she can apply for conversion. The law allows a limit of 60 days for the issuing, renewal and conversion of residence permits.

LOSS AND DUPLICATION OF RESIDENCE PERMIT

When a residence permit is stolen or lost, you must make a statement as soon as possible with the Police Force.

A duplicate can be applied for by completing the relevant forms that are available in the local Post Office.

The following documents must be attached to the application for a duplicate:

1. Copy of passport

2. Copy of the statement regarding the loss or theft

3. The duplicate is issued subject to payment of residence permit tax stamp of €16.00

A new identify photograph will be taken and a new residence permit will be issued (therefore new photos are required). Average time required for reissue is 60 days.

I would like to hear from you: What are your thoughts on this subject. You can share your thoughts and experiences with me and others in the comments section below!

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