Permesso di Soggiorno
The Permesso di Soggiorno (PdiS) is your most important document if you are a foreigner 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 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 8 days. Basically, every foreign national needs to register at the police station. If you are staying in a hotel or vacation rental, they should register you themselves (this is why they record the information on your passport when you check in). If staying with family, friends or at your own residence, they you need to go to the local questura and do so within 8 business days of arriving. Do not assume that because your passport is not stamped that you have more time. To apply you will need the following items:
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The application form. You will need to pick this up at your questura as they are not the same at different offices and the form will be different depending on the type of permit you are looking for.
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5 passport size photos which can be obtained at any of the photo kiosks around (normally near the town hall and at train and bus stations),
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a valid passport with photocopies of all pertinent pages (picture page, entry stamp, any amendments, etc.),
- a tax stamp called a marca da bolla. The value on these changes so it is best to ask for how much before. These stamps are used for all different government documents. They can be found at any tobacco shop called Tabaccheria (will have a large sign outside with a black T)
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rental or purchase contract for your housing with at least one photocopy of it
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Proof of medical insurance or proof of registration with the Italian National Health (SSN) program.
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a fingerprint record (done earlier at the questura)
These are the base requirements. There are additional things you will need for the different types of PdiS.
PdiS for Work (permesso di soggiorno per lavoro subordinato)
- Letter from your employer stating you are an employee
- Proof of income (busta paga-paycheck)
- Your stato di servizio which you can get from your company or proof that your company is making contributions in your name at INPS (Instituto Nazionale di Previdenza Sociale) which is like social security.
PdiS for Independent Work (permesso per lavoro autonomo)
- Your Partita IVA which is your Italian Sales Tax ID
- Proof of registration with the Registro Esercenti Commercio which is the business register
- Any permits that are needed to do your type of business
PdiS for Job Searching (permesso per attesa occupazione)
- Registration at the local unemployment office (centro dell'impiego)
- Please note, valid for EU citizens only
PdiS for Students (permesso per studio)
- Acceptance letter from the school, receipts for paymen
Check out the State Police/Questura info here http://www.poliziadistato.it/pds/cittadino/stranieri/st2.htm
A lot of info on the different types of PdiS can be found here but some of the info has not been updated recently (still has Lire not € but the rest seems to still be accurate). http://stranieriinitalia.it/inglese/page1.html
Once you apply, they will give you a receipt (cedolino) and tell you when you should come back. Normally it takes about a month to get the official piece of paper. Once you do get the official document, make sure that you have it on your person AT ALL TIMES along with your passport or carta d’identità.
