Italy residence permit glossary: what terms mean

Short answer: the permesso di soggiorno is the residence-permit card, issued by the questura (the police immigration office); you apply for it with the KIT postale at the post office within 8 working days of entering on a visto D. The ricevuta is the filing receipt, residenza is registration at an address with the comune, and the codice fiscale is the tax code without which no contract gets signed. Below are 50 terms grouped by topic, with how often they come up in the chats and a link to the detailed guide. This is not legal advice: we cite the rules where we checked them against the official text, and amounts and deadlines should be verified on the official sites.

Which terms come up most often in the chats?

Terms by stage of the move

1. Before the visa, still at home: visto D, nulla osta, Decreto Flussi, apostille, traduzione giurata, dichiarazione di valore, ospitalita, Prenot@Mi.
2. The first 8 working days in Italy: KIT postale, marca da bollo, ricevuta, questura, codice fiscale.
3. The first months: residenza, anagrafe, comune, ASL, tessera sanitaria, medico di base, CIE, SPID, PEC.
4. Living and renewing: partita IVA, regime forfettario, commercialista, CAF and patronato, INPS, IRPEF, ISEE, the 183-day rule, conversione della patente.
5. After 5 and 10 years: permesso UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo, cittadinanza.

Not sure which route and which terms concern you? Start with the route matcher:

Documents and statuses

permesso di soggiorno

The Italian residence permit, the plastic card giving the right to live legally in the country. It is arranged inside Italy after entering on a D visa: under art. 5 D.Lgs. 286/1998 the application is due within 8 working days of entry. More: KIT and permesso step by step, permesso renewal.

visto D

The national long-stay visa (type D, more than 90 days). It gives the right to enter Italy in order to then arrange a permesso di soggiorno on the chosen ground. More: how to choose a route.

visto C

The short-stay Schengen visa (type C): no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. Fine for tourism and trips, but it does not give the right to apply for a residence permit. More: Schengen visa C.

ricevuta

The post-office receipt confirming you have filed the KIT for a residence permit. While the card is being made, it confirms your legal stay; travel on it has limits. More: travel on a ricevuta.

KIT postale

The paper application set (kit permesso) in an envelope, filled in and handed in at a post office with a Sportello Amico to request or renew a permesso. It needs a EUR 16 marca da bollo. More: how to fill in the KIT.

Nulla Osta

The Italian side's prior clearance for a visa or permit on some grounds (salaried work, family reunification). It is issued by the Sportello Unico at the prefettura. More: nulla osta, lavoro autonomo steps.

carta d'identita / CIE

The Italian identity card. The CIE (carta d'identita elettronica) is its electronic version with a chip; a foreigner gets it from the comune after registering with the anagrafe (residenza). More: carta d'identita, SPID, PEC and CIE.

visto di reingresso

The re-entry visa: requested at an Italian consulate when you need to return to Italy without a valid permit or ricevuta in hand. It is issued after your questura agrees. More: renewal and absence, stolen passport or permesso.

permesso UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo

The open-ended permit that chat members often call the permanent permit or carta di soggiorno. Under art. 9 D.Lgs. 286/1998 you apply after 5 years with a valid permesso, an income at least equal to the assegno sociale and proof of Italian. More: long-term permit after 5 years.

autocertificazione

A self-declaration under art. 46 DPR 445/2000: instead of a certificate from the comune you state yourself where you live, with whom and what the registers hold on you; Italian offices must accept it. More: autocertificazione example.

certificato / estratto

The names of civil-status certificates and extracts. A Russian marriage certificate is translated as certificato di matrimonio; an Italian comune issues an estratto per riassunto (an extract with annotations) or, on express request, an estratto per copia integrale (a full copy). More: documents for Italy.

Authorities and institutions

questura

The provincial police headquarters, immigration office (ufficio immigrazione). You come here to give fingerprints, and this is where the permesso is processed and handed out. More: what the questura is and how to deal with it, the questura in Parma as an example.

prefettura / Sportello Unico

The prefecture and its immigration one-stop shop (Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione), which handles the nulla osta for work and family reunification, as well as citizenship applications. More: family reunification.

comune / anagrafe

The comune is the municipality; the anagrafe is its population register, where you register your address (residenza). It also issues the CIE and household certificates. More: anagrafe registration.

ASL

The local health authority (Azienda Sanitaria Locale). This is where you enrol in the national health service (SSN) and choose a family doctor. More: SSN and the tessera sanitaria.

medico di base

The SSN family doctor chosen at the ASL: they write referrals (impegnativa) and prescriptions. More: medico di base.

STP

A code for foreigners without a valid permesso, under which urgent and essential care is provided. More: emergencies and STP.

Camera di Commercio

The chamber of commerce. For lavoro autonomo this is where you get the certificate of the economic parameters of the activity; businesses are registered here too. More: business in Italy.

Agenzia delle Entrate

The Italian revenue agency. It issues the codice fiscale and the partita IVA, receives tax returns and prints the plastic tessera sanitaria. More: codice fiscale and residenza.

INPS

The national social security institute: pension contributions, benefits, ISEE. The self-employed pay contributions to INPS, including to the gestione separata. More: pensions and INPS.

CAF and patronato

A CAF is a tax assistance centre (the 730 return, ISEE); a patronato gives free help with benefits, pensions and some permit applications. More: patronato and CAF.

Prenot@Mi

The booking system of Italian consulates, including for legalization of a translation and the dichiarazione di valore. More: documents for Italy.

Identifiers and registration

codice fiscale

The Italian tax code (like a taxpayer number), 16 characters. Needed almost everywhere: contracts, banks, healthcare. Sometimes a temporary code is issued first and replaced later. More: how the codice fiscale works, how to get a codice fiscale.

residenza

Official registration of your address with the comune (anagrafe). It opens access to the CIE and to full enrolment in healthcare. On forms, localita or comune di residenza is the town where you are registered. More: residenza and registration.

tessera sanitaria

The health card confirming enrolment in the national health system. You enrol at the ASL, and the plastic card is printed and mailed by the Agenzia delle Entrate. More: the tessera sanitaria and SSN.

SPID

The public digital identity (Sistema Pubblico di Identita Digitale) for logging in to Italian government websites. More: how to get SPID.

PEC

Certified e-mail (posta elettronica certificata): a message from it has the legal weight of a registered letter with receipt. Needed for correspondence with offices, and often set up together with a partita IVA. More: PEC and CIE.

ISEE

The household economic indicator that determines discounts, benefits and nursery fees. It is calculated from the DSU declaration on the INPS portal or at a CAF. More: ISEE and DSU.

Work and taxes

lavoro autonomo

Self-employment (working for yourself or as a freelancer). One of the grounds for a D visa and permit; you do not need to open an Italian partita IVA in advance to apply for the visa. More: the Lavoro autonomo section, the Partita IVA myth.

lavoro subordinato

Salaried employment under an employment contract. Entry from abroad usually goes through the Decreto Flussi quotas and a nulla osta. More: work permit.

nomade digitale

Digital nomad: a permit ground (under a 2024 decree) for highly qualified remote workers with a stable income from outside Italy. There are requirements on income, experience and insurance. More: the Digital Nomad section.

residenza elettiva

Elective residence: a permit ground for people with a stable passive income from outside Italy (pension, rent, dividends). You may not work on this permit. More: residenza elettiva requirements.

Partita IVA

The Italian VAT number, opened for self-employed activity. On its own it does not give a residence permit. More: the Partita IVA myth.

codice ATECO

The activity code stated when opening a partita IVA. It sets the income coefficient under the forfettario and shapes which documents are asked for at renewal. More: unregulated professions.

regime forfettario

The simplified tax regime for small incomes, with a reduced rate and a turnover ceiling. More: forfettario tax.

regime impatriati

A tax relief for people who move their tax residence to Italy and work here: part of the income is not taxed. The conditions are strict. More: impatriati or forfettario.

IRPEF

The progressive personal income tax; under the forfettario a single substitute tax is paid instead. More: taxes in Italy.

commercialista

An Italian accountant and tax adviser: opens the partita IVA, handles taxes, returns and contributions. More: what a commercialista costs.

Decreto Flussi

The decree setting entry quotas for work. It fixes how many work nulla osta for salaried, seasonal and self-employed work are available in a year. More: work permit and quotas.

Family and housing

ricongiungimento / coesione

Family reunification. Ricongiungimento is when a family member joins you in Italy on a nulla osta; coesione is when the relative is already legally in the country. More: ricongiungimento or coesione.

assistenza minori (art.31)

Article 31 D.Lgs. 286/1998: permission for a parent to stay in the interest of a minor child in serious circumstances. It is granted by the juvenile court and is not automatic. More: children and assistenza minori.

idoneita alloggiativa

A comune certificate of housing suitability (floor area and sanitary standards for the number of occupants). Required for family reunification; requirements depend on the region and the comune. More: idoneita alloggiativa.

ospitalita

The declaration of hosting a foreigner: under art. 7 D.Lgs. 286/1998 the host notifies the police within 48 hours of move-in. Often used when you have no lease of your own. More: dichiarazione di ospitalita example.

Finances, documents, legalization

marca da bollo

A revenue stamp bought at a tobacconist and stuck on applications and documents. The KIT for a permesso needs a EUR 16 stamp. More: KIT and permesso.

apostille / dichiarazione di valore / CIMEA

Ways of getting foreign documents recognized in Italy: the apostille (certification under the 1961 Hague Convention, to which Italy, Russia and Belarus are parties), the dichiarazione di valore (a consulate statement on the value of an education document; EUR 50 at the Moscow consulate) and CIMEA (comparison of a qualification). More: document legalization and translation.

traduzione giurata

A sworn translation: the translator swears to the translation at a court or before a notary, after which Italian offices accept it. The alternative is a translation by an accredited translator certified by the Italian consulate. More: documents for Italy.

183-day rule

The days-of-presence rule. The number of days in Italy affects tax residence, and a long continuous absence can get in the way of renewing the permit. These are different rules; this is not legal advice. More: renewal and absence.

conversione della patente

Converting a foreign driving licence into an Italian one. Possible only for countries with which Italy has an agreement; otherwise you take the test again. More: licence conversion in Italy.

Business presence and citizenship

rappresentanza / filiale

A representative office or branch of a foreign company in Italy. A separate ground for its manager under art. 27 D.Lgs. 286/1998 is tied to it. More: representative office (rappresentanza).

PMZ / cittadinanza

PMZ is chat shorthand for the permanent permit (permesso UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo, after 5 years), cittadinanza is Italian citizenship. Under Law 91/1992 the general term for non-EU citizens is 10 years of legal residence, with Italian at level B1 or above (art. 9.1). More: Italian citizenship.

Common confusions in terms

The longest thing I confused was the ricevuta and the permesso itself. In fact the receipt from the post office is only confirmation that the application was accepted, while the plastic card is issued much later. You can live and renew on the receipt, but it is not the final status.

I did not immediately understand that residenza and permesso are different things. I already had the permission to reside, but not yet registration in the comune, and without it I could not get either a CIE or proper assignment to a doctor. These are two separate steps, not one.

The most common confusion among newcomers is between the D visa and the permesso. The visa is only needed to enter, while the residence status is the permesso di soggiorno, arranged inside Italy after arrival. And a separate common myth: that an opened Partita IVA by itself gives the right to a residence permit - it does not.

Related articles

• Where to start: choosing a route - how to understand which permit ground is yours.
• Documents for Italy - apostille, translation, certificate validity and the Italian names of documents.
• KIT and permesso step by step - the central procedure many terms lead to.
• Codice fiscale and residenza - the basic identifiers.
• Status, renewal and travel - what the ricevuta means and the timelines.
• Italian bureaucracy - how the offices and queues work.

Official sources

• D.Lgs. 286/1998 (consolidated immigration act), art. 5 (8 working days to request the permesso) and art. 9 (long-term resident permit): normattiva.it
• Law 91/1992 on citizenship: normattiva.it
• Visas to Italy: vistoperitalia.esteri.it
• Immigration portal: portaleimmigrazione.it
• Poste Italiane: poste.it
• Questure (police): questure.poliziadistato.it
• Revenue agency: agenziaentrate.gov.it
• INPS: inps.it

Frequently asked questions

Where do I start with the terms?

With a chain of four words: visto D (the entry visa) -> KIT postale (the permit application at the post office, within 8 working days of entry) -> ricevuta (the filing receipt) -> permesso di soggiorno (the permit card itself, issued by the questura). The other terms serve these steps.

What is the difference between permesso and residenza?

The permesso di soggiorno is the state's permission to live in Italy (the permit card from the questura). Residenza is registration at an address with the comune (the anagrafe). They are two different steps: people usually apply for the permesso first and then register with the anagrafe, and without residenza there is no CIE.

What is a partita IVA in Italy?

A VAT number opened to work for yourself: without it you cannot invoice as self-employed. It is opened free of charge with the Agenzia delle Entrate, usually through a commercialista; the partita IVA itself does not give a residence permit. This is not tax advice.

What do localita di residenza or comune di residenza mean on a form?

The town (comune) where you are registered as resident. If you have no residenza yet, codice fiscale forms usually take your address of stay or your address abroad - the office explains which in the instructions to the form.

How is the permesso UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo different from citizenship?

It is an open-ended residence permit: under art. 9 D.Lgs. 286/1998 you apply after 5 years with a valid permesso and an income at least equal to the assegno sociale. Citizenship (cittadinanza) is a separate procedure under Law 91/1992, as a general rule after 10 years of residence and with Italian at level B1 or above.

Can these definitions be treated as a legal norm?

No. These are orientation explanations with links to the rules where we checked them; amounts and deadlines change. This is not legal advice, verify the current details on the official sites.

Related materials

• Permesso di soggiorno (Italian residence permit) guide