A permesso for a child: two routes

How to legalize a newborn or child in Italy: addition to a parent's permesso or an own card, deadlines, documents and community experience at the questure.

Author: permesso.love editorial team- updated September 11, 2026- 7 min read- how we verify

In short

A child in Italy needs their own legal status - but it is arranged differently than for an adult. Minors are legalized through their parents: as a general rule the younger ones are added to a parent's permesso, while older ones get their own card. In practice everything hinges on the child's age, the type of the parent's permesso and the habits of the specific questura. Below is how it works: addition versus an own card, how to file for a newborn, what to bring, what it costs per community experience and what changes at 14 and 18. The article is part of the series on paperwork after giving birth. This is a guide, not legal advice.

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In brief: community data

Under 14 - addition, but often an own card: per the community the younger ones are added to a parent's permesso, yet many questure print a separate electronic card even for an infant, and the family gets a ricevuta for each person.
Cheaper than an adult: for a child under 14 the community pays only the card issuance (around 30 euros) without the adult contributo, plus the kit fee and a marca da bollo - check the amounts in the kit instructions.
File for a newborn quickly: they are included in the next renewal in one kit or filed as a separate update, but first you register the birth and get the codice fiscale.
Fingerprints are not taken from little ones: per the community small children are limited to a photo, while questure differ on requiring the child's presence at card pickup.
The 14 and 18 milestones: at 14 an own permesso is issued valid as long as the parent's, at 18 the family ground ends and the document is converted into studio or lavoro (per the community, prepared in advance).

Addition or an own permesso: how it works

The basic logic of the rules on the status of minors:

Age	What is arranged	Comment
Under 14	Addition to a parent's permesso	The child appears in the parent's document; a number of questure issue children separate electronic cards
14-18	Own permesso	Validity tied to the parent's
From 18	Conversion	Studio, lavoro or another own ground

Two things matter here. First: the addition is not a formality but full legalization; without it the child has no confirmed status, which comes back to bite at travel and in any procedure. Second: with electronic cards the line between "addition" and "an own card" has blurred - per community experience many questure print a separate document even for an infant, and at filing the family gets a separate ricevuta for each person, children included.

We filed as a family of four - and received four ricevute, one for each of us, the youngest included. The logic is simple: since the fee for the child's card was paid, the receipt for it is separate too.

community member, rephrasedpersonal opinion

A newborn: how and when to file

If the child was born in Italy to parents with a valid permesso, their stay is legal through the parents, but the status has to be formalized. Per community experience there are two scenarios:

The parent's permesso is up for renewal soon. Then the child is simply included in the renewal filing: you enter their data in the kit form and attach the birth certificate. One kit - parent plus child.
The renewal is far away. Then a separate update is filed: a kit with the child's data and the accompanying logic of "a newborn is being added to the permesso". Some questure take such questions directly or via PEC - the channels differ.

Do not drag it out: without a formalized status the child cannot leave and come back, and questions will pop up in any procedure. First register the birth and get the codice fiscale - that is covered in the article on registering a newborn - and then file with the questura. The envelope mechanics are in the article on the postal kit.

The child arrived with you rather than being born here?

For children entering on a reunification visa or al seguito the logic is similar: filing together with the parent, the addition or an own card by age. The family routes themselves are compared in the article on ricongiungimento and coesione, and the special case - a parent's permesso based on the child's health - in the article on assistenza minori.

Documents and cost

The typical set for a child per community experience:

the birth certificate with a translation (for those born in Italy - an extract from the comune);
copies of both parents' passports and permessi;
the child's passport, if there is one, and their codice fiscale;
photos - per the questura's requirements;
proof of address and, for some grounds, housing documents.

Money-wise a child's filing is lighter than an adult's: for a child under 14, per the community, you pay only the cost of issuing the electronic card - around 30 euros, without the adult contributo. Plus the general kit expenses: the mailing fee and a marca da bollo depending on the case. The amounts get revised periodically - check the kit instructions and your questura's announcements.

I went to the questura through the walk-in line and got my card within a month, but with my child it did not work that way: they said the child needed a separate filing, apparently only through the post office. It took a long time to figure out - every questura has its own ways.

community member, rephrasedpersonal opinion

The child's presence and fingerprints

What worries parents most is the logistics: whether to haul an infant to the questura. There is no universal answer:

children are usually brought for the filing and the photo;
per community experience fingerprints are not taken from small children - for the little ones it is photo only;
at pickup of the ready card the practice diverges: some questure hand the child's card to the parent without the child, some require everyone to come.

Confirm when booking. And mind the timing: per the community, children's cases sometimes stall if the parent's permesso is mid-renewal - the questura waits for the fate of the main document, and the family receives the cards as a package.

Travel, age 14 and adulthood

Three storylines that come up in the community constantly:

Travel. At the border the child needs their own passport and proof of status - the card or the ricevuta. Leaving with only a ricevuta is a zone of nuances: the rules and practice are covered in the article on trips from Italy.
Age 14. A child who was added to a parent's permit gets their own permesso valid as long as the parent's. When renewing the parent's kit, children over 14 can no longer be entered in the form - they have their own track.
Age 18. The family ground ends and the document is converted: most often into studio via a university, or lavoro. Per community experience the conversion is prepared ahead, so as not to be left with an expired ground.

This is not legal advice

How children are legalized depends heavily on the questura and your ground. Everything above is general rules plus community observations. Verify your case with the questura, a patronato or a specialized lawyer; the official procedure descriptions are on portaleimmigrazione.it and the questure pages.

Giving birth in Italy: the paperwork - the parent article: the full checklist after a child is born.
Registering a newborn - the civil record, the codice fiscale and the extracts.
A child's passport at the consulate - the Russian line: citizenship and the passport.
The postal kit for the permesso - how the envelope and filing work.
Ricongiungimento versus coesione - the family legalization routes.
School and daycare: enrolling a child - the next step after the documents.

Official sources

portaleimmigrazione.it - permesso di soggiorno filing and statuses, kit instructions.
interno.gov.it - Italian Ministry of the Interior: rules on the stay of foreigners and minors.
questure.poliziadistato.it - the questure pages: announcements, booking channels, PEC.
poste.it - post offices with a Sportello Amico for filing the kit.
normattiva.it - the immigration Testo Unico (d.lgs. 286/1998), the rules on minors.

Frequently asked questions

Does a newborn in Italy need their own permesso?

The child is legalized through the parents: as a general rule children under 14 are added to a parent's permesso, but in the era of electronic cards many questure issue children separate documents. You report the birth to the questura and file for the addition or an update as early as possible. Practice varies - check with your questura, this is not legal advice.

How do you add a child to a parent's permesso?

The standard path is the postal kit: you enter the child's data in the form and attach the birth certificate with a translation plus copies of the parents' and the child's documents. Per community experience a minor is filed in the same kit as the parent - at the first filing, at renewal, or as a separate update after the birth. The set depends on the questura - this is not legal advice.

How much does a child's permesso cost?

Per the community, for a child under 14 you pay only the cost of issuing the electronic card - around 30 euros, without the adult contributo - plus the kit fee and a marca da bollo depending on the case. Exact amounts depend on age and filing type and change periodically - check the kit instructions and your questura's announcements. This is not legal advice.

Does the child have to come to the questura in person?

Children are usually brought for the filing and the photo, but per community experience the presence requirements - especially at card pickup - differ between questure: some hand the card to the parent, some ask you to come with the child. Per the community, fingerprints are not taken from small children. Confirm with your questura when booking - this is not legal advice.

What happens to a child's permesso at 14 and at 18?

From age 14 a child who was added to a parent's permit gets their own permesso valid as long as the parent's. At 18 the family ground ends: the young adult converts the document - most often into studio via a university, or into lavoro. Per community experience the conversion is prepared in advance, before the birthday. This is not legal advice.

Can you file for a child's permesso while the child is not in Italy yet?

By the general logic the child has to enter legally: on a reunification visa, al seguito with a parent, or on another ground - and only then is included in a filing in Italy. Community members who tried to file for a child outside Italy ran into refusals and questions. Discuss your scenario with the questura or a patronato - this is not legal advice.

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