Carta d'identita (CIE) for a foreigner

Carta d'identita (CIE) for a foreigner in Italy: why it needs residenza first, booking at the comune, documents, cost and timing, CIE instead of SPID.

Author: permesso.love editorial team- updated October 11, 2026- 13 min read- how we verify

In short

The carta d'identita elettronica (CIE) is the Italian ID document with an electronic chip, issued by the comune. For a non-citizen foreigner it becomes available once residenza is done: registration is what opens the right to a CIE. Below is why the residenza -> CIE chain exists, how to book at the comune, what to bring, how much it costs, and how a carta d'identita differs from the permesso and from SPID. This is an overview based on community experience and comune rules, not legal advice; details depend on your comune, so verify them on official sources.

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If you have not registered yet, start with the basics on codice fiscale and residenza after arrival, and for how to reach the anagrafe and what to do while you wait, see booking the anagrafe and getting residenza. Keeping your address and document pack handy is easy in the tool:

Document-pack assemblerList by motive and questura

In brief: community data

CIE only after residenza: per the community the comune will not let you book until your codice fiscale is in the residents' register - without registration you only have a domicilio.
The fee is around 22 euro: per the community it is paid on the spot, the card arrives by post in 7-10 working days (sometimes up to a couple of weeks); treat amounts and timing as current-check.
Adult validity is usually 10 years: it is not tied to the permesso term, so you need not reissue it for each new permesso (per the community).
The paper ricevuta is not for travel: inside Italy it works as an ID document, but it is marked non valida per l'espatrio - you cross borders on your passport.
Code 154 instead of 135 blocks issuance: for those born in the USSR the correct code is 135; the error is fixed via the comune and Agenzia delle Entrate.

Why a carta d'identita is not issued without residenza

The main fork almost everyone trips over: the CIE is tied to registration. The comune issues a carta d'identita only to someone already entered in the anagrafe at an address in that comune. Until residenza is done you have, at best, a domicilio (an address for correspondence), and that is not enough for a CIE - the system normally will not accept the request.

In practice it looks like a catch-22: you try to book a CIE on the comune website, enter your codice fiscale, and the system does not find you in the residents' register and gives no slot. According to the community, this is the first sign that the issue is not the website but that registration is not finished.

I tried to book a carta d'identita in Milano, but the system seemed not to see my codice fiscale and gave no appuntamento. It turned out to make sense: I was not registered yet. As soon as residenza was done, the booking slot appeared on its own.

community member, rephrasedpersonal opinion

The flip side of this chain is a rare exception: in some cases where registration is allowed on the ricevuta (for example with the lavoro subordinato motive and a ready nulla osta from the prefettura), the carta d'identita then becomes available too - even before the plastic permesso. This depends on the motive and the comune, so do not count on it in advance - more on registration by ricevuta in the article on codice fiscale and residenza.

A year of waiting without residenza

According to the community, someone waiting a long time for a questura convocazione lives all that time without registration - only with a domicilio, and a carta d'identita is not available. That is painful, because the residenza date drives your length of stay, access to the CIE and a range of services. That is why people try to get registration done as early as their motive allows.

CIE, permesso and SPID: how they differ

Three things are easy to confuse because they are all "about identity and status." In fact each has its own role.

Document	What it confirms	Who issues it	What it is for in daily life
Permesso di soggiorno	The right to be in Italy (residence permit)	Questura / Polizia di Stato	Legal status, renewal, travel with re-entry
Carta d'identita (CIE)	Identity (internal ID) with a chip	Comune (anagrafe)	Bank, buying a car, hotel, logging in to public services via the chip
SPID	Digital identity for logging in to websites	Accredited providers	Login to INPS, agenzia entrate, comune portals

The key practical point per the community: CIE and SPID are partly interchangeable for logging in to public services. Via the CIE chip (with the app and NFC on your phone, or a card reader) you can log in to the same places SPID gives access to. So those who have a CIE sometimes do not need SPID at all; and conversely, with a CIE in hand SPID is very quick to set up. On the login methods themselves see the articles on SPID and PEC and CIE.

For a long time I could not see why I needed both a permesso and a carta d'identita - they both seemed like "documents." I sorted it out: I show the permesso to border officers and the questura, and the carta d'identita at the bank, at the hotel and when I registered a car. Plus I log in to the tax office site via its chip, without SPID.

community member, rephrasedpersonal opinion

SPID and CIE: where the system is heading

According to the community, the authorities are gradually shifting the emphasis from SPID to the CIE and a digital document wallet. In practice that means investing in getting a CIE is convenient for the future: it is both an ID document and a key to public services. But both tools work for now - pick whichever is more accessible in your situation.

What you need for a carta d'identita: documents

The exact list differs by comune and is shown when you book on the comune website, but per the community the basic set for a non-citizen foreigner looks like this:

a valid permesso di soggiorno (or carta di soggiorno) - proof of legal status;
your passport (original);
codice fiscale or tessera sanitaria - so your data is pulled up in the system;
one tessera-format photo; in many comuni it is scanned right at the desk and handed back;
money for the fee (usually paid on the spot).

Per the community, make sure in advance that the correct codice fiscale is in the database: if a wrong code is stored (a common case - 154 instead of 135 for those born in the USSR), CIE issuance can be blocked until the code is fixed. How that is fixed is in the section on codes 135 and 154 in the article on codice fiscale.

The standard autocertificazione and dichiarazione that are sometimes requested are easy to fill in and print in the module builder:

Printable modulesFill in and print

I went to the comune for a carta d'identita: I showed my carta di soggiorno, tessera sanitaria, a photo (scanned and returned) and my passport, and paid 22 euro on the spot. They said to wait 7-10 days, and in the meantime gave me a paper version and a note on how to use the electronic card.

community member, rephrasedpersonal opinion

How to book the CIE at the comune

Booking almost everywhere goes through the comune website (the anagrafe / servizi demografici / CIE section) or the shared agendacie portal. Per the community, the order is as follows:

Step 1. Check that residenza is done

Until registration is finished the system will not let you book: it does not find your codice fiscale in the residents' register. First make sure residenza is done (you got confirmation, or it shows in your comune account).

Step 2. Find an appuntamento slot

On the comune website you choose the service "rilascio carta d'identita elettronica" and a free date. In big cities slots come in waves, like other bookings, so people check the portal regularly and take the first available date.

Step 3. Come with documents and pay

On the appointed day you bring the permesso, passport, photo and codice fiscale and pay the fee. At the desk they check your data, photograph or scan the picture, and take a signature and fingerprint for the chip.

Step 4. Get the ricevuta

They immediately issue a paper ricevuta della richiesta CIE - inside Italy it works as an ID document until the plastic arrives, but it is not valid for travel abroad.

Step 5. Wait for the card by post

The CIE is printed by the central institute and sent by registered post to your address (per the community, in 7-10 working days). Some comuni let you choose delivery to the comune itself for pickup.

We did not wait for convenient dates to open up - we grabbed the first available CIE slot and just showed up. It all went smoothly, and the cards came by post later. Sometimes it is better to take what is offered than to hunt for the perfect date.

community member, rephrasedpersonal opinion

Cost, timing and validity

Per the community the CIE fee is around 22 euro, usually paid on the spot. The plastic arrives by post in 7-10 working days, sometimes up to a couple of weeks - it depends on the comune and its workload. Amounts and timing are time-sensitive; check the current details on your comune's website.

The CIE's validity depends on the holder's age (for adults - usually 10 years), not on the permesso's validity: per the community it happens that the permesso is for two years while the carta d'identita is issued for ten - and there is no need to reissue it for each new permesso. When you move, the CIE is updated to the new residenza - see the article on cambio residenza.

A common question is whether the carta d'identita's validity matches the permesso's. Usually not: the CIE has its own term by age and lives its own life. But watch one thing - the accuracy of your anagrafe data and the correct codice fiscale: it is database mismatches, not the permesso term, that most often stall issuance. This is community experience, not legal advice.

permesso.love editorseditors' note

Paper carta d'identita: no longer valid from 3 August 2026

The old paper carta d'identita stopped being valid on 03.08.2026, whatever expiry date is printed on it: EU regulation 2025/1208 decided it, and the Italian Interior Ministry passed it on to the comuni with DAIT circulars n. 76 of 16.12.2025 and n. 8 of 02.02.2026. You can swap a paper card for a CIE at any time, and it does not count as a duplicate - no double fee for the swap.

Decree-law D.L. n. 108 of 26.06.2026 (art. 11) softened the transition - as explained by DAIT circular n. 58 of 30.06.2026 (checked 11.10.2026):

until 31.01.2027 a paper card that has not expired is still accepted inside Italy: by public offices and consulates, for health, pension and insurance services, at the post office and at the bank. For travel abroad after 03.08.2026 it is not valid in any case;
in urgent cases, when there is no time to wait for a CIE, the mayor can issue a provisional paper ID: valid for at most 6 months, not renewable, issued until 31.12.2027 and handed back when you collect the CIE. The circular warns that some countries may not accept it at the border.

The circular speaks of Italian citizens. For a foreigner the carta d'identita never was a travel document - you travel on your passport and permesso - and how the provisional document applies to foreigners is for your comune to confirm.

The paper CIE ricevuta: what you can do with it

Until the plastic arrives the comune issues a paper ricevuta della richiesta di carta d'identita. Per the community and the text of the receipt itself, it contains your data, the officer's signature and stamp, and works inside Italy as an ID document - but it is explicitly marked as not valid for travel abroad (non valida per l'espatrio). So you can handle ordinary matters inside the country with it, while for travel you still need your passport. The ricevuta of the permesso di soggiorno is a different document, with its own guide: travel on the ricevuta.

Common problems and how people get around them

The system will not let you book. Almost always the cause is unfinished residenza or a wrong codice fiscale in the database. First fix the registration and the code, then book.
Code 154 instead of 135. For those born in the USSR a wrong code can block CIE issuance; it is fixed via the comune (which has priority in ANPR) and Agenzia delle Entrate, then verified.
No free slots. As with other bookings, slots come in batches; check the portal more often and take the first date.
You need to log in to public services but have no CIE yet. Until the card arrives, use SPID for login; once you have the CIE, its chip lets you log in without SPID.

My database had an old wrong code, and CIE would not let me in. I first went to the comune, they fixed the code in the anagrafe, and only after that let me book. So if it "won't let you in" - dig toward registration and the code, not the website.

community member, rephrasedpersonal opinion

Takeaways

The carta d'identita (CIE) is an internal ID document with a chip; the comune issues it, and only to those already registered in that comune.
Without completed residenza the system usually will not let you book: registration first, then the CIE.
The CIE does not replace the permesso (the right to be in the country) and, for a non-citizen, is not valid for travel abroad - you travel on your passport.
Via the CIE chip you can log in to public services instead of SPID; with a CIE, SPID itself is sometimes unnecessary.
The fee is around 22 euro, the plastic arrives by post in 7-10 days; validity for adults is usually 10 years and is not tied to the permesso term. Check the current details in your comune.

This is not legal advice

This material is general information and is compiled from community experience and comune rules. Document lists, cost, timing and the booking procedure differ by comune and change - check your comune's website and interno.gov.it.

Codice fiscale and residenza after arrival

The tax number and first registration - the basis before a carta d'identita.

Booking the anagrafe and getting residenza

How to reach the comune and what to do while you wait.

Cambio residenza: changing registration

What is updated in the CIE when you move between comuni.

SPID: digital identity

Logging in to public services: SPID and when the CIE chip replaces it.

PEC and CIE for public services

Email and ID for access to services.

Document pack builder

A list of papers for your motive and comune.

Official sources

Ministero dell'Interno - anagrafe, residenza and carta d'identita rules.
DAIT circulars - n. 76/2025, n. 8/2026 and n. 58/2026 on paper cards and the provisional document (checked 11.10.2026).
poliziadistato.it - permesso di soggiorno and a foreigner's status.
Agenzia delle Entrate - codice fiscale and code corrections.
spid.gov.it - digital identity and login to public services.
agid.gov.it - AgID: CIE, digital identity and public services.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get a carta d'identita without residenza?

According to the community - usually no: the comune issues a CIE only to people already entered in the anagrafe at an address in that comune, so the system normally will not accept the codice fiscale of someone without registration and will not let you book. Until residenza is done, you only have a domicilio and a carta d'identita is not available. Verify the procedure in your comune and on interno.gov.it - this is not legal advice.

Why does a foreigner need a CIE if they have a permesso di soggiorno?

According to the community, the permesso confirms the right to be in the country, while the carta d'identita is an internal ID document with an electronic chip: it is handy for proving identity at a bank, when buying a car, at a hotel, and you can also log in to public services with the CIE instead of SPID. They are different documents and one does not replace the other. Verify current rules in your comune - this is not legal advice.

How much does a carta d'identita cost and how long does it take?

According to the community the CIE fee is around 22 euro, paid on the spot, and the plastic card arrives by post in roughly 7-10 working days (sometimes up to a couple of weeks). Until the card arrives the comune issues a paper ricevuta that works as an ID document inside Italy but is not valid for travel abroad. Amounts and timing are time-sensitive - check the current details.

What do you bring to the comune booking for a CIE?

According to the community you bring: a valid permesso di soggiorno (or carta di soggiorno), your passport, codice fiscale or tessera sanitaria, one photo (often scanned on the spot) and money for the fee. The exact list differs by comune and is shown when you book on the comune website, so check it in advance - this is not legal advice.

Can you travel abroad on a carta d'identita?

According to the community, for a non-EU foreigner the carta d'identita works only inside Italy as an ID document and does not replace the passport for travel: you travel on your passport (and permesso where required). EU citizens have different rules. Verify current rules on interno.gov.it - this is not legal advice.

My codice fiscale on the CIE is wrong - will they still issue the card?

According to the community, no: if a wrong code is stored in the database (for example 154 instead of 135 for those born in the USSR), CIE issuance can be blocked until the code is fixed via the comune and Agenzia delle Entrate. Check your code in advance and keep an eye on it at every step. Verify the procedure on agenziaentrate.gov.it - this is not legal advice.

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