As a family member of an Italian citizen, you have a full right to enter and stay in Italy. Depending on your nationality and current residence, you may need an entry visa. The most important information is gathered here in 3 steps.
#1 Check
Are you eligible for residency in Italy? You have such right if you can prove one of the following family relations:
- spouse (or same-sex registered partner)
- children and grandchildren (up to 21 years) of the Italian citizen and those of the spouse
- parents and grandparents of the Italian citizen and those of the spouse
- siblings of the Italian citizen
#2 Prepare
If you are a national of a country listed for visa requirement to Italy/Europe, you need to apply at the closest Italian Consulate for a visa for family members (Visto d’ingresso per familiari di cittadini italiani). Such a visa clears your entry through the border checks upon arrival in Europe (more precisely, in the Schengen area). The terms and requirements for this kind of visa are often not published on the Italian Consulate’s websites. In general, the conditions are more favorable than any other visa, the process is free of charge and shorter. The documents to attach to the application may vary from Consulate to Consulate. Documents required for your visa application: In general, this is what the Italian Consulates require:
- Application form filled in with your data (download here) 1 photo in ICAO format (4.0 x 3.5 cm, color photo with white background, taken within the last 6 months)
- Proof of family relation, e.g. official marriage record. The record must be in full format (i.e. including the names of the parents of each spouse or parents, for birth certificates), legalized/apostilled and translated into Italian. Marriage records must be issued less than 6 months before. That is a requirement, in case the Italian citizen did not register the concerned vital record in Italy as yet (at the municipality in which he is a resident or, if not residing in Italy, at the municipality of Rome);
- Invitation letter signed by the Italian citizen (Dichiarazione di ospitalità, download here) your passport + 2 copies (the passport must be valid for at least 3 months after the planned departure date from the Schengen area and was issued less than 10 years before. The passport must have at least two blank and unmarked visa pages)
- Italian citizen’s passport (copy)
- Flight reservation: The reservation document must indicate the applicant’s name, departure city, and destination. In order to avoid any unnecessary expense, flight ticket confirmation can be done after visa issuance.
- Health care insurance: insurance must be valid for the whole Schengen area. It must cover medical fees, hospitalization and repatriation costs of up to 30,000 euros. The insurance must fully cover the initial period of stay within the Schengen area.
- Letter of authorization for visa application/passport return (in case the applicant does not submit the application in person). For those who choose to submit the application by a representative, it is mandatory to provide a letter of authorization, signed by the applicant, mentioning the name of the representative and his/her contacts. The representative ID must be shown and a copy of the ID must be submitted.
#3 Follow The Process
After submitting your application, you are entitled to obtain a visa within 90 days. This term might be extended one time to 30 more days. Please note that, if your application wasn’t complete from the start, the Consulate can stay the process for the time needed for you to give the missing document (max 90 days).
FAST TRACK: The process goes much faster when the Italian citizen has registered in Italy the document proving the relation. For example, if the Italian citizen has married or had a child outside of Italy, it is very important to register the marriage or birth record at the Italian Consulate (if the Italian citizen resided abroad) or in Italy (at the municipality of residence, office of Stato Civile).
What happens next?
In order to secure your residence in Italy, you are expected to apply for a residence permit or a residence card upon your arrival. The family members within the 1st and 2nd degree (spouse, children up to 21 years, parents, grandparents and grandchildren) can obtain a five-year residence card. The other family members are entitled to obtain a two-year residence permit. You may read here about the differences between the two. It is required to prove that you depend on the Italian citizen for your maintenance and to register your residence at the same address.
Would you like to know more?
Download my Free Guide “4-Step Strategy” to obtain a residence permit for family members, complete with the official forms: Invitation statement by the Italian citizen for the family member to show at the border (or to obtain an entry visa, where applicable): Dichiarazione di alloggio e garanzia
- “Dichiarazione di ospitalità” to be submitted to the immigration police within 48 hours
- “Dichiarazione di presenza” to be submitted to the immigration police within 8 days
+ the list of documents required by the police for the application.
Dear Lara
Thank you for this post.
In the Application Form, I can’t find any provision to indicate a Sibling’s relationship with the citizen.
If you refer to the official visa application form in the article on this page (National, type D), you will not find a specific reference to siblings as family members. The official form is standard for all visa applicants and has to be adapted on a case-to-case basis. You may apply for this or for a Schengen visa (type C) at the Consulate of any member state of the Schengen area (e.g. Belgium, France, Poland…). Once you enter Italy, even on a short-stay visa, you are entitled to enter Italy apply for an extension of your residency based on your family member status. You will need to prove your family relationship by official documents and register your residency address together with your Italian family member.
Hi Lara,
Thanks a lot for the blogs. They are very helpful. I am in a situation where I cannot find the right information. Please let me know if you can add information about my current status.
I moved to Italy in November 2020 to pursue a Ph.D. I am based in Turin. It has been almost three years, and I have applied for student permit applications four times during these three years. However, three months ago, I got married to my wife, who is an Italian citizen. My student permit was expiring on 26th Aug 2023. This time, we decided to change my permit from student to family. So we applied and got an appointment in Questura on 29th Jan 2024.
My kit was prepared by the CISL office, from where I have been making it every time I had to apply. The guy told me that the first time you apply for a family permit, it is always for two years, and the next time you renew it after two years, they will give you the carta di soggiorno for five years. He said that even if you apply for carta di soggiorno now, they will issue you for two years.
When I check on the Turin questura website, there is no clear indication of whether it (carta di soggiorno) can be obtained right after marriage or after having first spent two years on a permit for motive familiare. (https://questure.poliziadistato.it/it/Torino/articolo/688610cecf541530745280528)
At this point, I have already filed for the permesso di soggiorno per motivi familiare (which is for two years, I guess) and am waiting for my appointment.
Do you think there is something I do not understand correctly about how it works, or should I trust the guy from CISL?
I look forward to your insights on this matter.
I really appreciate any help you can provide.
Hello Husama! There’s no legal basis requiring a short-term permit before applying for a 5-year residence card. As an Italian citizen’s spouse, you can directly apply and, if necessary, ask the Police Headquarters for written reasons if they suggest otherwise.You may find out more about this in my article “Know Your Rights: Straight Path to Italy’s 5-Year Residence Card”
Thanks, Lara.
Given that I have already obtained an appointment for permesso di soggiorno per motivi familiare, can I still ask for a 5-year carta di soggiorno? Or one can only get one appointment (and one card) at a time? What does your experience say? Perhaps they can change my application from permesso di soggiorno to carta di soggiorno keeping the same appointment I have right now?
But what are the financial stipulation to get a 5-year carta di soggiorno? Where can I find this information?