25 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: 2026-10-02
Check the application status on portaleimmigrazione.it and questure.poliziadistato.it using the case number from the ricevuta (the login and password are printed on the receipt). Some questure publish lists of ready cards on their own pages. If the status does not change for a long time - per the community that is normal: the system updates with a delay.
The 12-character numero assicurata from the ricevuta or the 10-character case number from the questura; on portaleimmigrazione.it the login and password printed on the receipt, typed without spaces. Per the community both sites update with a delay.
The police site promises an SMS with the collection date and place, but per the community it does not always arrive and some questure do not send it at all. The site status is treated as decisive, not the SMS. Verify what is current.
Per community reports the plastic card arrives on average 1-3 months after fingerprinting, with a huge spread: fast questure issue it in a couple of weeks, overloaded ones take up to six months. Track readiness online with the number from the ricevuta. These are community observations, not official statistics - verify with your questura.
Per the community the first permesso is usually issued for 1-2 years and renewals for 2-3 years, but the questura decides at its own discretion: the term is often tied to the end date of the rental contract, and paying the fee for 2 years does not guarantee a 2-year card. Check the current practice - this is not legal advice.
Since 4 June 2026 (D.Lgs 83/2026, art. 5 par. 4 of the Testo unico) you file for renewal no later than 90 days before the card expires; the law used to say 60, and filing earlier is allowed. A separate rule covers lateness: if the card expired more than 60 days ago and no renewal was filed, the stay counts as irregular. In cities with long queues people file much earlier so the appointment does not drift too far. The post office date fixes your application. Verify on questure.poliziadistato.it.
It is a preliminary refusal notice: the authority lists what is missing and gives you a deadline to object - the classic guideline is about 10 days, but the exact term is written in the letter itself. Per the community it works like a request for more evidence: most people who replied in time with documents were approved, while silence turns it into a final diniego.
Per the community a long continuous absence is a risk for renewal, and for the long-term permit the guideline is no more than 6 months in a row abroad. For a regular renewal people often advise not being away for more than half the card term. The 183-day rule is about tax residency, not the permesso. Verify the rules on interno.gov.it.
It is a preliminary authorization from the Italian authorities for entry under a specific motive: with it you go to the consulate for the D visa. Per the community a work-motive authorization lives about 3 months, the family-reunification one up to 6. It does not guarantee the visa: the consul assesses the whole case. The digital nomad route needs no nulla osta.
Per community experience speed depends heavily on the city: small questure often issue the card in weeks, while large overloaded ones take months. We compiled a comparison of questure by fingerprint and card waits from community reports - these are guidelines, not official statistics; verify real timing with the questura itself.
It is the integration agreement signed with the first permesso: per the community you start with about 16 credits and must reach about 30 by the end of the term, plus A2 language and civic knowledge. Attending the civic-education session (the film) is critical - skipping it burns most of the starting credits. Verify on interno.gov.it.
The file is being worked: checks are under way or the card is being printed; no action is needed from you. Per community reports people wait 1-3 months after fingerprints, longer in large questure. The tool decodes any phrase from the portal, the police site or an SMS.
No: the system simply found no file for that number. Most often the kit was posted recently or the number was mistyped (10-character pratica or 12-character assicurata, no spaces); less often the card was already issued. A refusal is always served as a written decision, never as a line on a website.
The card is ready at the office shown on the site. Not every questura sends an SMS: if the status has been showing for 2-3 weeks, go during opening hours with your passport, ricevuta and old permesso. Per the community this is how people collect the card without a summons in many cities.
At publication, protezione temporanea cards are renewed at the questura until 4 March 2027; the extension of the regime to 4 March 2028 is agreed at EU level, check the Italian procedure on interno.gov.it. This is not legal advice.
Yes: under Law 213/2023 (art. 1 par. 396) the card is converted via the kit postale into a permesso per lavoro for the work actually performed, employed or self-employed. Confirm the conditions and document list with your questura. This is not legal advice.
From 4 June 2026 (D.Lgs. 83/2026) the benchmark is 90 days before the card expires instead of the previous 60; the questura now gets the same period to decide. Check the text on normattiva.it. This is not legal advice.
The official Polizia di Stato portal for booking the ufficio immigrazione. Per questura notices it covers permessi not filed through the postal kit (family of an EU citizen, cure mediche, gravidanza, protection); each questura sets its list. It works only from Italian territory.
No: you can log in with SPID or simply register with codice fiscale, email and phone and confirm via the emailed link. The account is personal, one per person. Verify what is current on the portal.
Per the community slots appear in waves: check regularly, take the first available date and move it earlier later, and for urgent cases write to the ufficio immigrazione PEC with documents. These are observations, not a rule.
The questura is the provincial police headquarters; its Ufficio Immigrazione runs the permesso: fingerprints, card issuance. The prefettura (Sportello Unico) handles family reunification, the integration agreement and citizenship, while the comune covers residenza and the carta d'identita. See the article for the full breakdown.
You must appear in person for fingerprints after mailing the kit, to collect the ready card (ritiro), and in special cases such as nulla osta or document requests. Booking differs: some questure invite you via the kit receipt, others use Prenota Facile - check your own questura's procedure.
Yes, there are two tools: an accesso agli atti request under law 241/1990 (the right to see your own file, with a 30-day answer deadline) and a sollecito - a written demand to conclude the case once the statutory terms have expired. Both are sent by PEC to your questura's ufficio immigrazione address. Per the community some questure answer the next day, others stay silent - no guarantees, but the paper trail helps with escalation. This is not legal advice.
By the community it depends on the comune: a portal/ANPR, email or PEC, or a walk-in queue. Check your comune website for the open channel for the dichiarazione di residenza. The residenza date is the filing day.
By the community, usually no: what intermediaries charge for, patronati and CAF do free (the kit, ISEE, benefit applications). Paid help is justified in complex cases, but vet the person: no blind prepayment, no guarantee promises, no handing over originals and passwords. See the intermediaries guide.
This theme also has 6 community questions from the chats, answered by members: Community questions: Permesso and the questura
Practitioners' detailed breakdowns on this theme: Permesso and the questura (1).
Not legal advice. Where the answers come from
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