Art. 31 TU: permit via the juvenile court

How to legalize a child in Italy: what routes there are

A permesso for a child in Italy works differently than for an adult: a minor's status almost always follows the status of the accompanying parent, while the child themselves is protected especially strongly. If you are thinking about how to bring a child to Italy and legalize the whole family, according to the community there are three different pillars, and it is important not to confuse them:

• al seguito (familiari al seguito) - the family obtains D visas and enters together with the main applicant;
• assistenza minori (Art. 31) - the court route through the protection of the child's interests, the child already attending an Italian school;
• ricongiungimento (classic reunification) - when the main applicant has already settled in Italy, and the family arrives later.

The terminology in the chats is used loosely and inconsistently, so below we sort these routes by substance, not by names. Not sure what suits your family? Start with the route matcher - five questions and a guideline on the grounds. This is not legal advice: verify the final conditions on official websites.

Real immigration lawyers in Italy are civil-law lawyers, and they are truly needed only where there's a court: an Art. 31 case on the protection of a minor or an appeal of an asylum refusal. In routine permesso matters local "helpers" more often confuse the client than help.

What the Art. 31 (assistenza minori) route is and who it suits

The route under Art. 31 of the consolidated immigration law (Testo unico) is a permesso di soggiorno per assistenza minori, which, according to the community, is issued by the juvenile court (Tribunale per i Minorenni), not by the consulate and not by the questura. At its core is the protection of the interests of a foreign child who lives and studies in Italy. It is important to understand right away: this is not a fast program and not a fairy tale, but a long court process.

According to the community, the typical sequence looks like this:

1. the child is enrolled in an Italian state school;
2. they attend school - according to the community, about half a year before the submission;
3. then a petition is filed with the court;
4. the hearing is set for about a year later;
5. the written decision comes another few months after that;
6. with this decision they go to the questura for the permesso and wait another roughly half a year to a year.

In total, according to the community - about two years, if not more. All this time the guardianship social service (servizio di tutela) may come to the school, talk with the child, teachers and neighbors, visit the family at home, and the child must study continuously both during the process and after the decision.

A few clarifications about the process from practitioners' words. First, according to the community you cannot go to the court "head-on": the family is first taken through a preliminary legalization (temporary documents for about a month or two), with which you can get settled, get the children settled and calmly prepare the main package. Second, the application is submitted through the telematic system to the court of the jurisdiction where the family lives, and after the visit the guardianship authorities and a child psychologist come - to talk with both the parents and the children and make sure the children really are comfortable here. Third, the hearing itself is often a formality: according to accounts, many cases were resolved without the applicants present, sometimes even without a lawyer, since there is no respondent and the judge issues the decision based on the collected documents. With a correctly assembled package, decisions in such cases, according to specialists, are almost always in the family's favor. And a separate warning: while the case is ongoing, the police may push the family to apply for political asylum (asilo politico) - practitioners advise not to agree, because with asylum the rights are different and the passport is taken, and just to wait for the court summons.

Under Art. 31 you cannot arrive with children and immediately take papers to the court - you need grounds. So we work in stages: first a preliminary legalization on temporary documents, then assembling the package and submitting through the telematic system. Next come the guardianship authorities and a child psychologist to see that the children are doing well. The hearing itself is often a formality; in my cases they were resolved even without the family present. And I warn separately: they will try to talk you into political asylum - do not agree, with the right documents the guardianship court is on your side anyway.

They really did visit us: a lady from guardianship came, separately a psychologist, they talked with the children, asked the teachers and even the neighbors whether the children like it here. They didn't summon us to the hearing itself - the judge decided everything based on the documents. The main thing was that the children attended school continuously and it was clear they had settled in.

We went through this route almost from start to finish: we enrolled our son in school, attended for about half a year, then filed with the court. It dragged on about a year until the hearing, another few months we waited for the written decision, then the questura. In total about two years. It's long, expensive and not at all a fairy tale - but all that time we were in Italy legally.

According to the community, the permesso under Art. 31 is issued for 1 or 2 years, renewed again through the court, and it can be converted into another type of residence permit (per one specialist, conversion has been possible since 2020). It allows you to work, run a business and study, and the whole family - both parents - receives it at once. But there is a hard restriction: the permesso is annulled and not renewed as soon as the child turns 18.

Starting Art. 31 for the sake of a 17-year-old is almost pointless: the permesso will be reset in about a year, at the coming of age. This is unreliable grounds, and it works well only for younger children - to buy time and over these years find another, stable status.

Another feature of Art. 31: you do not need a national D visa. According to the community, people enter Italy legally on a Schengen visa type C (tourist), and the application is filed already inside the country. Since this is a court case, you need a lawyer accredited at the juvenile court.

For us it all started with a temporary permesso on medical grounds - pregnancy and the baby's first six months of life, issued to the mother and the family on a doctor's certificate. We used this short legal window to calmly switch to other grounds, in our case precisely to Art. 31 through the older child's school.

How al seguito differs from family reunification

al seguito (familiari al seguito) is a separate, standalone route. According to the community, the main applicant first obtains a D visa on their grounds; then, already AFTER the D visa is issued, but still BEFORE entering Italy, a nulla osta al seguito for the spouse and minor children is requested in Italy. After this the family members obtain their D visas at the consulate, and the family enters together.

Why did this route become the main one? According to the community, since December 2024 the rules changed: classic reunification (ricongiungimento) requires the main applicant to have already legally lived in Italy at least 2 years (the exception is refugees with international protection). Because of this the "cheeky" variant of coesione familiare (when the family enters on tourist C visas and converts status already in Italy) has largely been closed off, and it is precisely al seguito that became the main way to bring the whole family at once.

We moved on a D visa for remote work, and we got the nulla osta al seguito for my wife and children in about two and a half months, and the visas themselves - literally a few days after. But it cost us nerves: the joint entry and the 180-day window were scary. You can't relax, everything has to be aligned by dates.

The key advantage of al seguito is income. According to the community, on this route the income can be shown from the country of origin: for example a translated and legalized Russian sole-proprietor tax return for the past full year, instead of Italian income. For the other reunification routes Italian income for the previous year is more often required. It is convenient to estimate the income thresholds and contributions in the income calculator:

According to the community, the income thresholds for reunification are tied to the assegno sociale (per one message from 2024 - about 6542 euro a year). Benchmarks of around ~9800 euro a year per family member were cited, and ~13000 euro for two (even if one of them is a child under 14). At the same time one participant recounted that the questura demanded about 12 thousand instead of ~9800 for a spouse; other rough rules were also encountered (for example ~6 thousand for yourself plus ~3 thousand per added person, or a figure of ~8400). This is not the law, but scattered accounts - verify the current details on the prefecture's website and portaleimmigrazione.it.

How to obtain the nulla osta al seguito and what the deadlines are

According to the community, the nulla osta al seguito is requested online through a representative in Italy who has a notarized power of attorney. The representative needs an SPID (or CIE) to log into the prefecture's portal, so without the help of someone who is already a resident it is practically impossible to manage.

The nicest thing - at the nulla osta al seguito submission stage they accepted a hotel booking for a month instead of a certificate of housing suitability (idoneita alloggiativa). This is an enormous relief: arranging a long-term registered rental agreement and idoneita remotely from abroad is almost impossible.

On housing: for reunification you usually need idoneita alloggiativa (a certificate of housing suitability) for owned or officially rented housing. But specifically for al seguito several participants reported that at the nulla osta submission stage a one-month hotel booking was accepted - licensed hotels are considered inherently compliant with the norms. Some noted that for al seguito the certificate was not asked for even at the questura stage when taking fingerprints, but this depends heavily on the specific office.

The deadlines of the nulla osta al seguito, according to the community, vary widely by prefecture and region: by law - up to 3 months (and several participants cited the right to submit the same packet to the consulate if there is no answer within 3 months), but real cases fell roughly from 1 month to 4-5 months. The family D visas at the consulate were then often given quickly - from a few days to a month (in individual accounts: Moscow about 3 days, Kazakhstan about a month, Belarus about a month and a half).

At our questura there was a real catastrophe: the official dug in his heels that my wife and child had entered on tourist visas and could not go through al seguito, only through coesione, and my case was outright "blocked by Rome". The conclusion is simple: local offices interpret the rules in their own way, and you have to be ready for it.

An important nuance on timing: the main applicant on a D visa must enter Italy within 180 days of the date the visa is issued (for lavoro autonomo this is Art. 26(7) Testo Unico 286/98; the visa itself must be issued or refused within 120 days). The visa al seguito requires joint/simultaneous entry: as soon as the main applicant has entered or submitted the postal packet (kit) for the permesso, the al seguito option is no longer available, and the spouse will have to wait 2 years for classic reunification. For more on the three family routes

• in the article on ricongiungimento, coesione and al seguito.

How to include a child in the permesso after entry

According to the community, after entry you must report to the prefecture/questura and submit the "kit" for the permesso within 8 days of the first entry (this is a legal requirement; verify on portaleimmigrazione.it). Minors are included in the same KIT as the accompanying parent - either at the first submission or later in a separate submission. For al seguito the kit is often filled out at the prefecture itself, and there they may have you sign an accordo di integrazione (integration agreement). How the postal submission works and what the questura's deadlines are - we break down in the article on the KIT and the permesso; field by field on a real form, the KIT filler will help you get through it.

An important fork by the child's age, which is discussed in the community. A child under 14 is usually "included" in the accompanying parent's permesso - in the fingerprints letter they often ask outright to bring photos of children under 14 for this. But for a child aged 14 to 18 several participants and consultants indicated that more often a separate KIT is filled out, and they are not entered into the parent's form. If the KIT is submitted for both parents at once, the child, according to accounts, was entered into both. These are scattered observations, not a strict rule - verify the procedure for your child's age on portaleimmigrazione.it and at your questura.

After arranging the status, next come the codice fiscale, registration and healthcare for the child - the order of these steps is broken down in the article on codice fiscale and residenza. According to the community, when registering residenza with a minor the authorities (comune/questura) often physically check the housing - precisely because there is a child in the family.

School as a condition of Art. 31: briefly

School is a mandatory condition of the Art. 31 route: the child must study continuously. According to the community, enrolling in a state school requires neither a permesso nor residenza in advance - it can be done on a Schengen visa too; compulsory education in Italy runs to age 16, and the start date of the school year is set by the region (usually September). How the school system works and what to bring to the secretariat is covered in the articles school in Italy for an immigrant's child and nursery and school: iscrizione and documents.

According to the community, a child's right to medical care applies even if they are on the territory alone or illegally, and the "protection of the minor" overrides administrative status (with reference to Art. 32 of the Constitution and Art. 34 of the Testo Unico). Children's citizenship is a separate topic, covered in the section on Italian citizenship.

What documents you need for a child to move

According to the community, when moving with a minor it is worth gathering and putting in order the documents in advance:

• Consent to travel. Notarized consent of the second parent is usually needed when the child travels with one parent or a third person. According to the community, the advice is to make it right away, valid until 18 / for several years, and to specify Schengen and many countries; sometimes a translation (into English/Italian) and certification are required - it depends on the border and the airline. A separate nuance according to the community: at the notary they often take not one but two papers - consent to travel to Schengen countries (needed for the visa) and a separate consent for arranging/residing on a residence permit in Italy (needed already on the spot); both are advised to be apostilled, translated and legalized. Participants also noted that different countries have their own validity periods for such consent (somewhere they accept a fresh one, no older than a few months, somewhere up to a year), and the certificates and consent can be left out of the KIT at first if they are not yet ready, and brought to the fingerprints instead.
• The child's certificates and documents. A birth certificate (and the parents' marriage certificate) for life in Italy must be apostilled and translated. The exact path for each document and country is suggested by the legalization tool, and a general breakdown is in the article on apostille and sworn translation.
• The second parent's consent to reunification. For a minor's reunification it is also required.
• Sponsorship. A minor cannot sign an invitation/sponsorship themselves. At the same time, for Schengen tourist visas a sponsor letter is now accepted ONLY for minor children from their parents - adults must show their own funds.

We were told more than once: for Schengen a sponsor letter now works only in the "parent - child" pairing. Adults - students, the unemployed, homemakers - will have to show their own account balance and three months of account movement. This rule, fortunately, does not apply to children.

We were bringing the child without the father, and at the notary they explained to us to take two separate papers right away: one consent to travel to Schengen - for the visa, and a second one for arranging the residence permit in Italy - already for the questura. We apostilled, translated and legalized both. Had we known in advance, we would have done it in one visit to the notary, but instead we had to go back.

A separate pain is renting. An owner won't give a long-term registered agreement to someone with no documents, no stable work and especially with a child: Italian law protects tenants, evicting them is not easy. That's why families with children at the start almost always live in short bookings and through local agencies once on the spot.

Related articles

• Ricongiungimento, coesione or al seguito - the three family-reunification routes and how they differ.
• Family reunification in Italy - a general overview of the family grounds.
• The KIT and the permesso: the 8-day deadline - postal submission after arrival.
• Codice fiscale, residenza and tessera sanitaria - first steps in Italy, including with a child.
• Document legalization - apostille and sworn translation of certificates.
• Italian citizenship: overview - including the route for children.

Official sources

• interno.gov.it - the Ministry of the Interior (residence permits, family grounds, protection of minors).
• portaleimmigrazione.it - submission of the nulla osta, kit and permesso, deadlines.
• esteri.it - the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and D visas for family members (al seguito).
• istruzione.it - the Ministry of Education: enrolling a child in school.
• salute.gov.it - a child's right to medical care.
• questure.poliziadistato.it - the questura websites by region.

Frequently asked questions

Does a child need a separate residence permit, or are they included in the parent's permesso?

According to the community, a minor is usually included in the same KIT (kit-postale) as the accompanying parent - either at the first submission or later in a separate submission. A separate adult permesso is not issued for them; the child's status follows the parent's status. Verify the submission procedure on portaleimmigrazione.it - this is not legal advice.

Can you enroll a child in an Italian school without a residence permit and without registration?

According to the community, yes: enrollment in a state school requires neither a permesso nor residenza in advance - they accept children on a Schengen visa too. Compulsory education in Italy runs to age 16; classes are formed in the summer, and the start date of the school year is set by the region (usually September). Verify the exact admission rules at the chosen school and on istruzione.it.

Does it make sense to start Art. 31 for a 17-year-old?

According to the community and per practitioners' words - almost never: the assistenza minori permesso is annulled on reaching 18, and for a 17-year-old it will be reset in about a year. This route suits younger children who have years to find other grounds to live in the country in that time. This is not legal advice.

Do you need the second parent's consent for the child to travel?

According to the community, notarized consent to travel is usually needed when the child travels with one parent or a third person; for a minor's reunification the second parent's consent is also required. The advice is to make the consent right away, valid until 18 and for many countries, sometimes with a translation and certification - the requirements depend on the border and the airline. This is not legal advice.

Can you show income from the country of origin rather than Italian income?

According to the community, with al seguito the income can be confirmed from the country of origin - for example a translated and legalized sole-proprietor tax return for the past full year, instead of total Italian income. For the other reunification routes Italian income for the past year is more often required. Verify the current requirements on the prefecture's website and portaleimmigrazione.it - this is not legal advice.

Related materials - Family reunification

• Family reunification in Italy 2026: nulla osta, income
• Ricongiungimento or coesione in 2026
• Idoneita alloggiativa: who needs it, rules
• Nursery and school: iscrizione, documents

Next stepItalian residence route matcherFive questions show the best-fit permit: lavoro autonomo, digital nomad, residenza elettiva or family.

Documents for this topic

• Declaration of Hospitality / Guarantee for Tourist Visa (Mod. Dich. Invito)
• Notification form for providing housing/employment to a foreigner (Comunicazione di ospitalita, Art. 7 D.Lgs. 286/98)
• Document Checklist for Family Reunification (ricongiungimento familiare) - Patronato ACLI Turin, 2023