Italy Visa Information

Learn4good provides general information on study, travel, work visa and business visa requirements and the addresses of embassies worldwide. You should contact your local embassy or consulate for the most up-to-date information or visa forms.

Who requires a visa?
Required by all except:
All countries and territories that are members of the Schengen acquis, of the EU or of EFTA.

All countries and territories that are members of the Schengen acquis, of the EU or of EFTA. Positive visa list of countries (also known as White Schengen List) from whose citizens no visa is required to enter the territory of the EU member states for a period of maximum 90 days.

Albania*****, Andorra***, Antigua and Barbuda , Argentina, Austria*, Australia (including the Cocos Islands, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island)**, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium*, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina*****, Brazil***, Brunei, Bulgaria*, Canada**, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus*, Czech Republic*, Denmark*, El Salvador, Estonia*, Finland*, France*(including French Guyane, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, New Caledonia, Réunion, St Pierre and Miquelon), Germany, Greece*, Guatemala, Honduras***, Hungary*, Iceland**, Ireland*, Israel**, Italy*, Japan**, Korea (South)**, Latvia*, Liechtenstein**, Lithuania*, Luxembourg*, Macao, Macedonia*****, Malaysia, Malta*, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco***, Montenegro*****, Netherlands*, New Zealand (including the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau)**, Nicaragua, Norway*, Panama, Paraguay, Poland*, Portugal*, Romania*, Saint Christopher and Nevis, San Marino***, Serbia******, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic*, Slovenia*, Spain* (including Spanish territories in North Africa with Ceuta and Melilla), Sweden*, Switzerland**, Taiwan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (including the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Bermuda)*****, United States of America (including Virgin Islands of the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico)**, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela. Without a visa, however, citizens of the above countries may not stay longer than three months every half-year or take up gainful employment requiring a work permit. Excepted are the following.

• * Citizens of European Union member states.
• ** If required, citizens of member states of the European Economic Area and some other countries may obtain a residence and/or work permit after entry.
• *** Provided that they do not intend to enter into employment, citizens of Honduras, Monaco, San Marino may obtain any residence permit required after entry.
• ***** British Nationals (Overseas) with corresponding BN(O) passports are also exempt from the visa requirement.
• ***** The visa waiver applies only to holders of biometric passports.
• ****** The visa waiver applies only to holders of biometric passports (excluding holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate (in Serbian: Koordinaciona uprava)

Nationals of San Marino, the Holy See and Switzerland do not require a visa in any case.

The citizens of the following countries are required to obtain visas for transit through Italian airports:
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Colombia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Somalia and Sri Lanka.

For long stays (above 90 days) for whatever purpose all aliens are required to hold a visa, even if they are nationals of countries which do not require transit or short-stay visas.

Entry Visa types and validity
Pursuant to the Visa Code (EC Regulation no. 810/2009, which entered into effect on 5 April 2010) visas are divided into three main categories:

• Uniform Schengen Visas (USV): valid for all the Contracting Parties' territories, issued for

Airport Transit (type A); Transit (type B), type of visa abolished by the above Visa Code. As of 5 April 2010 Transit visas are all type C; brief-sojourn or travel visas (type C), valid for up to 90 days, for single or multiple entry.

Exceptionally, the Schengen regulation enables important or well-known persons who frequently require a visa and who can provide the necessary guarantees, to be issued type C visas which permit a visit of up to 90 days in any half-year and are valid for one (C1), two (C2), three (C3) or five years (C5).

• Limited Territorial Validity Visas (LTV): these are only valid for the Schengen State whose representative issued the visa (or in particular cases for other Schengen states where specifically named) without any possibility of access to or transit through the territory of any other Schengen States. They are issued solely for humanitarian reasons, or in the national interest, or under international obligations as an exception to the common USV system. An alien may not directly apply for these visas, which are issued in a few specific cases by the diplomatic or consular representative when it deems it appropriate to issue the visa for the reasons as stated even though not all the conditions are met for the issue of a Uniform Schengen Visa, or when the applicant does not hold a validly recognised travel document, in particular emergencies or in case of need.

• Long sojourn or "national" Visas (NV), which are only valid for visits that are longer than 90 days (type D), with one or more entries, in the territory of the Schengen State whose diplomatic mission issued the visa. Holders of type D visas are permitted to circulate freely in Schengen countries other than the issuing one for a period of not more than 90 days per half-year and only if the visa is valid.

Procedures and documentation need for issuing visas:
Visa applications must be submitted in writing, giving all the details required on the special visa application form which must be signed by the applicant, and accompanied by one passport-size photograph. As a rule, aliens applying for visas must visit the diplomatic or consular offices in person to be interviewed on the reasons and circumstances of the visit.

Applications must be accompanied by a valid travel document on which it is materially possible to appose the visa, together with any supporting documents that may be required.

This documentation, depending on the type of visa requested or which the Mission deems it can issue, is obliged to state:

• the purpose of the visit
• means of transport and return
• means of support during travel and sojourn
• accommodation arrangements.

Once the visa application is accepted on the basis of the documentation produced by the applicant and the results of the interview, which is normally conducted directly and personally, the diplomatic mission carries out the statutory preliminary security checks. This involves line accessing the SIS (Schengen Information System) through the "world visa network", to consult the list of aliens to be refused admission into the Schengen area.

What documents will be required?
Two recent passport size photograph;
One application form duly completed and signed at the Consulate;
Passport valid three months over planned stay in Italy;
Copy of the passport page containing holder’s data and those mentioning an extension of validity.
A letter of acceptance from school or University in Italy indicating place, duration of the course and dates of attendance;
A letter addressed to this Italian Consulate, stating that you own private means of support.
If you are a recipient of financial aid, please submit a statement;
A letter from your bank indicating your account number, financial status, and balance. The letter must be signed by a bank official;
Flight reservations (round trip).

Note: Health Insurance Proof of Health Insurance must be shown to the competent local authorities in Italy (Questura) in order to obtain your residency permit (Permesso di Soggiorno). A Health Insurance Policy can be purchased on arrival in Italy at the Post Office, from Inassitalia, that is specially designed by the Italian Government for foreign students to cover all medical expenses without disbursing any money in case of illness.

Time required to issue a visa:
The terms for issuance of a Schengen visa are listed in art. 23 of the Visa Code: 15 days, extendable in specific cases to 60.

Visa denials
It should also be kept in mind that an alien cannot be considered as having a “right” to a visa but rather a simple “legitimate interest”. Denials must be justified and communicated to the person in question in a language understandable to that person or, short of that, in English, French, Spanish or Arabic. Persons denied visas may lodge a claim with the Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale (T.A.R.) (regional administrative court) of Lazio within 60 days of receipt of notification of denial. In the case of visas denied for joining or accompanying family members only eventual claims can be made to the authorised regular court.

Other information:
All aliens who enter Italy legally, including those who are not required to hold a visa, must comply with the rules governing the stay of aliens in Italy, and are required to report their presence on Italian territory to the local Central Police Station (‘Questura’) of the province in which they are staying within 8 working days from the date of entry, and apply for a residence permit (‘permesso di soggiorno’) pursuant to article 5 of Law 286/1998. Aliens requesting this residence permit are required to be fingerprinted.

It is this residence permit (‘permesso di soggiorno’) alone, which is issued for the reason and for the period indicated on the visa, which authorises an alien to stay in Italy.

Under Schengen rules, the residence permit issued by the Questura police authorities (or the diplomatic or service identity card issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to holders of a long-stay visa, permits aliens, unless express limitations are imposed, to enter and leave the Schengen area and travel freely for a period of not more than 90 days in any 6-month period within territories of the other Contracting States, provided that they hold a currently valid national passport or equivalent travel document. Nevertheless, all aliens are required to report their presence to the police authorities in the territory of any other Schengen states within 3 working days of entry.

Embassy contact information:
Please contact the nearest Italian Embassy for information on what documentation you may require to enter Italy.

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Source & Copyright: The source of the above visa and immigration information and copyright owner/s is the:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Roma - URL: www.esteri.it

The viewer/user of this web page should use the above information as a guideline only, and should always contact the above sources or the user's own government representatives for the most up-to-date information at that moment in time, before making a final decision to travel to that country or destination.