14 short answers to questions from relocation chats about Italy. Compiled from community experience and our own articles: figures and fees change, so verify the current details on official sites. This is not legal advice.
Updated: 2026-09-13
There is no fixed price: the apostille is a state fee (often higher for civil registry certificates), a sworn translation is billed per translation page, consular certification per sheet. Per the community a family document package runs into hundreds of euro. Translators and agencies charge differently - collect quotes in advance.
Per the community yes: a court translator (traduttore giurato) at the tribunal does it, or apostilled originals are sent to an accredited translator in Russia. Either way you need the apostilled original - the apostille itself is only issued in the country that issued the document, you cannot get it from Italy. Check the current rules.
It is the consular evaluation of your diploma for Italy. Per the community it is not always required for the lavoro autonomo visa but strengthens the package, and for regulated professions and university admission it is requested more often. Usually the original diploma with an education-authority apostille is needed. It is slow - start early.
For Italian citizenship, per community practice, yes: prefectures want an apostilled certificate with translation. The apostille on the police certificate is issued by the interior ministry itself, so it is easier to order it with the apostille straight away. The validity guideline is about 6 months, so do not get it too early. Confirm with your prefecture.
Per the community there are three working routes: order it via Gosuslugi and have someone in Russia collect the paper version with the apostille; do it through an MFC by power of attorney; or request it at a Russian consulate in Italy. The first is usually the fastest, the consular one the slowest. This is not legal advice.
Per the community the fast route is an Italian notary: certification, apostille and a Russian translation took people about a week or a week and a half, and Russian authorities accept such documents. The Russian consulate is cheaper, but appointment slots take months. Agree the wording for your specific transaction in advance with the party who will use it.
Per the community do not expect it fast: the 10-year biometric passport is printed in Russia and travels by diplomatic mail, so in EU countries the wait often stretches to 5-7 months; a month and a half to two is considered lucky. Plan a margin and watch the validity of your current document. Check the consulate website for current terms.
While the Italian consulate reviews your D visa it keeps your passport - sometimes for months, and you cannot be left without a valid document. So many people get a second passport in advance: per the community only the 10-year biometric one is issued as an additional passport. Verify the rules and the document set with your Russian consulate.
Per the community the most requested are civil registry certificates (marriage, birth, divorce), the diploma, the criminal record certificate and sometimes a power of attorney. Each motive has its own list: certificates are critical for family, the criminal record for citizenship. Our tool builds the legalization chain and a cost estimate for your document set.
It depends on the goal: for unregulated work a legalized translation is often enough, for study you need the dichiarazione di valore or a CIMEA comparability statement, and for regulated professions (doctor, nurse, teacher, engineer with an albo) a riconoscimento via the competent ministry. Paths and timelines differ a lot - start with the overview of all routes. This is not legal advice.
Only in the country that issued the document: civil-registry certificates at the ZAGS/MFC (Russia) or the justice ministry (UA/KZ), degrees at the education authorities, the criminal-record certificate at the interior ministry (Russia) or the Prosecutor General (KZ), notarial acts at the justice ministry. From Italy you act through a representative under a power of attorney. The full matrix for Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan is in the article. This is not legal advice.
By the community the only working path is paid video identification with an operator at a provider that offers it (for example Namirial, Sielte, Aruba, InfoCert). You need a valid passport, a codice fiscale and usually an Italian number; the call is often run in Italian. See the provider-choice article.
By the community the PosteID online form accepts only documents issued in Italy or San Marino at the document-selection stage, so a foreign passport does not pass there. The workaround is a provider with video identification.
By the community, no: the comune issues a CIE only to those already in the anagrafe, so without registration you cannot book. Residenza first, then the CIE.
This theme also has 6 community questions from the chats, answered by members: Community questions: Documents and translations
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