Elective residence visa and permit: a focus on the procedure

What is the visa for elective residence visa and permit?

Italian law provides for a particular type of long-stay visa for non-EU citizens who intend to settle in Italy and have sufficient economic resources to support themselves without exercising any work activity.

The purpose of this type of visa is to allow the holder to actually stay in Italy and establish their habitual residence there.

On the contrary, the visa for elective residence does not allow the person who obtains it to work in Italy. We’ve already extensively discussed the elective residence visa and permit, their advantages and requirements in this previous post.

We’ll now focus on their application procedure, detailing all necessary appointments, both for the first phase (Italian consulate of the applicant’s country) and the second phase (italian offices – post office, questura, town hall, national healthcare system).

What is the elective residence visa procedure?

1. First part – Elective Visa Application at the consulate

In order to obtain this type of visa, the candidate must attach to his application to the competent Italian Consulate of the country where he resides,  all the documentation useful to demonstrate that he has:

• Accommodation in Italy where he can elect his residence (so he needs to find an accommodation here first; this can be done remotely appointing an attorney who can sign the contract on his behalf);
• Economic resources such as to allow him to live and support himself without exercising work activity.

In particular, the economic resources available must be such as to imply a certain continuity of income for the future and therefore guarantee financial stability.

The sources of income that best meet the requirement in question are in fact:

• Income, pensions, annuities;
• Income related to ownership of real estate;
• Ownership of economic-commercial activities, provided that these guarantee continuous income over time;
• Other sources however different from dependent employment.

In all cases, the minimum income required by law that the foreigner must satisfy for the purpose of obtaining the visa for elective residence is 31,000 euros per year, for the single applicant.

The visa for elective residence can also be extended to the cohabiting spouse, minor or adult children if cohabiting and dependent and to their parents, if the aforementioned financial conditions are sufficient to guarantee the maintenance of all the interested parties.

It should be noted that the issuance of this type of visa is subject to broad discretionary power by the competent consular authority, since the only legislative indication in this regard is that the economic resources available to the applicant must not be less than three times the annual amount provided for in the directive of the Minister of the Interior of March 1, 2000 (therefore, as mentioned, 31,000 euros).

It is otherwise left to the discretionary assessment of the competent authority the adequacy of the financial means available to the interested party.

The stipulation of a health insurance policy is not a requirement for the issuance of the visa for elective residence but instead for the issuance of the relevant permanent residence permit (see below).

The health insurance must be valid for the entire Schengen area and must have a minimum insurance coverage of 30,000 euros and a minimum duration of 30 days.

In case of refusal of the requested visa, it is possible to appeal to the administrative court, asking the Lazio Regional Administrative Court (TAR)  to annul the measure within 60 days.

2. Second part – Permit Application in Italy

Once the non-EU citizen has obtained the visa for elective residence and has legally entered Italy, he must, within eight days from entering in Italy, submit the relevant application for an Italian residence permit.

1st appointment  in Italy: trip 1 –  application at the Post Office

The application for the issuance of the residence permit is submitted at the authorised post offices with the appropriate forms (so called “KIT Permesso di soggiorno”) and attaching all the documentation required, valid to prove the availability of adequate economic resources, the availability of accommodation in Italy, their documents and payment of the required postal order.

After applying for the residence permit, the post office will issue a receipt that is a valid document in lieu of the final permit until it is issued, so that it should be jealously guarded.

The receipt will also say the date (if already available) of your next important appointment of the process which is the identification at the Questura

The date depends on the current workload of the Questura, but it may vary from 6 month to 10 months after the 1st appointment. Since the wait between the first and second appointment can be very long, what usually happens is that the visa petitioner goes back home until the day of the appointment comes, even though, in theory, the receipt of the application issued at the post office is a is a valid temporary permit to stay in Italy until the residence permit will be issued.

The Police Headquarters (Questura) of the province of residence will be responsible for evaluating the residence permit application.

2nd appointment  in Italy: trip 2 – identification at the Questura

During the 2nd appointment the applicant wil be required to identify himself handing his passport to the office, who will take his fingerprints.

Copy of the documents included in the kit and 4 recent passport photographs are also required.

The officer will hand the applicant a postal slip to pay (after this appointment) the costs for picking up the permit and review the documentation presented by the applicant, pointing out possible missing documents to be produced in the following appointment.

The officer will also inform the applicant about the date of his next appointment (permit pick up) that usually takes place 30-60 days later.

3rd appointment: trip 3 – declaration of residency

Remember that this permit is an elective residence permit? Well, this is the time where the applicant needs to elect his residence in the accommodation he declared in the documents presented at the Questura.

This way, he’ll be able to complete the following task, if he prefers the registration with the Italian National Health Service, instead of the purchase of an expensive health insurance policy.

The declaration is done at the town hall of the city where the applicant has his accommodation (rented or purchased)

4th appointment (optional): trip 3 – application for codice fiscale of family members

The Italian codice fiscale, or fiscal code, is a unique identification number assigned to individuals in Italy, similar to a Social Security Number in the United States. It is an alphanumeric code of 16 characters and is issued by the Italian Revenue Authority. The codice fiscale is required for various legal and administrative purposes, including tax-related matters, entering into legal relationships, such as housing contracts, and conducting financial transactions.

The codice fiscale can be obtained from the Italian Embassy or Consulate in your home country or from the Agenzia delle Entrate office in Italy. The process of obtaining a codice fiscale is free of charge and involves filling out an application form and providing the necessary documentation, such as a passport.

Since the codice fiscale is necessary both for a property purchase or rental, the applicant will have likely already obtained it at the consulate, prior to even applying for the visa.

So this possible appointment will be reserved for getting a codice fiscale for his accompanying family members (typically the spouse and their children).

5th  appointment (optional) in Italy: trip 3 – registration with the Italian National Health Service

As I wrote earlier, this appointment can be skipped if the applicant chose to purchase an health insurance policy.

To register with the Italian National Health Service (SSN) in Italy, the applicant will visit the ASL (local health authority) in their district of residence. The documentation required typically includes a valid ID document, codice fiscale, residence permit application receipt, and other specific documents depending on the individual’s situation. The registration with the SSN is normally valid for the same period as the residence permit. After the period of validity has expired, individuals who have obtained an extension of their residence permit must contact the competent ASL.

The registration is free.

6th  appointment  in Italy: Pick up of the permit at the Questura

The applicant will then produce the required documents at the Questura:

• health insurance policy with minimum coverage or voluntary registration with the National Health Service.
• Additional payments receipts required to pick up the permit (see previous paragraph).
• Possible missing document pointed out in the 2nd appointment.

It is possible, though not likely if all the required documentation has been correctly collected and presented, that the application is dismissed by the Questura.

If this is the case, any refusal measure can be challenged to the Regional Administrative Court with an appeal to be notified within 60 days.