Required Entry Documentation: Permesso di Soggiorno

What is a Permesso di Soggiorno?
In addition to the paperwork you are required to provide for your student visa obtained through your Italian consulate in the US, upon arrival in Italy you will be required to apply for a separate document called a permesso di soggiorno or “permit to stay”. This document is required by Italian law and allows you to stay in Italy for duration of your student visa.

What we need from you
Once you arrive in Florence, the Syracuse University in Florence staff will assist you in filing the required paperwork. In a series of special mandatory meetings held in Florence during orientation week, a staff member will help you fill out the official modulo or form needed to request the permesso di soggiorno. You will also need to submit the following legal documentation:

These are legal documents which must be submitted to the local police department within a few days of your arrival; any late submissions can be turned away by the police, thus refusing your permission to stay in Italy or study with Syracuse University. Therefore you must turn in the permesso di soggiorno form and documents within the strict deadlines presented at the orientation meetings. Furthermore, your presence at these meetings is absolutely mandatory because you will be identified by an Italian authority during the meetings; please bring your passports to the meetings for this purpose.

What does it cost?
The cost for the permit is €98.50 in processing fees (divided into €58.50 for local permit application fees and €40 for mandatory Italian insurance required for the permit) to be collected by SU Abroad in New York before you depart for Italy. Please note that these fees are directed entirely towards your permesso di soggiorno expenses and are not utilized by Syracuse University. For students that do not pay the Euro 98.50 processing fees before departure for Italy, the expenses will be automatically deducted from your local transportation funds in Florence.

How it works
After the school staff gathers your necessary forms and paperwork from you for your permesso di soggiorno, a staff member will take this paperwork on your behalf to the local authorities. Soon after the Questura (police department) will assign you an appointment by letter calling you into the Questura personally on a certain date and time to present your 4 passport photos and be electronically fingerprinted. You must attend this appointment in person and the school cannot change the appointment for you or contact the Questura on your behalf. Absences are your responsibility. At the end of this appointment, the Questura will assign you a second appointment calling you to the Questura once again to pick-up your finished permesso.

A permesso di soggiorno is required for any non-European Union foreigner who stays in Italy more than 3 months. If your student visa is granted for more than 3 months, you are obliged to file the permesso di soggiorno. Foreigners who come to Italy for less than 3 months do not need to file for a permit to stay, rather a simple form called a Dichiarazione di Presenza (Declaration of Presence) which is given to visitors upon arrival in Italian airports or Schenagan country airports.

Exceptions
European Union passport holders do not need to a file a permesso di soggiorno, however are required to present themselves personally at the local Anagrafa office in Florence with a passport and Italian insurance policy valid for the duration of their stay. Italian passport holders do not need to file a permesso.