[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]You don’t need to wait for Italian citizenship to stay in Italy and enjoy an unlimited right of residence. All family members of Italian citizens have a right to reside in Italy, no matter what their nationality.
Family members – spouse or partner, children up to 21 years old and the partner’s children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents… – have a right to a residence permit. After five years, they have a right to permanent residence.
Which family members are entitled to a Residence Card?
- Spouses and partners
- Children of the couple (until 21 years of age)
- Children of the Italian citizen or of the non-Italian spouse or partner (until 21 years of age)
- Children above 21 years of age, if maintained by the Italian citizen
- Parents, if maintained by the Italian citizen
- Grandchildren and grandparents of the Italian citizen
- The parent’s of the Italian citizen’s spouse (or same-sex registered partner)
Example:
The parents of a Chinese daughter who resides in Italy and is married (or registered in a same-sex partnership) with an Italian citizen have a right to enter (visa-free) and stay in Italy under option #6. If their daughter has children in Italy, the right of said parents to enter and stay in Italy falls additionally under option #5.
Basis: Article 2 of Italian Legislative Decree of February 6th, 2007 no. 30
Did you know that…?
> Since February 2017 Italy has extended the right to citizenship and all residence rights to same-sex spouses/partners.
> The right of residence extends to any other of the 27 states which are part of the European Union. You can take up residence and stay as long as you wish, no matter if you work, study or enjoy your retirement. That is the core of family rights for every Italian (thus European) citizen.
How does it work?
Just move to Italy with your Italian family member.
In some cases, you may need a visa to move to Italy. That depends on your nationality. Find out here how to obtain a visa.
Once in Italy, you will register with the immigration authorities (Questura). I have a tip for you: sometimes the Italian authority grants a temporary “Family Residence Permit” to the family members of Italian citizens.
That is a 2-years residence permit called Permesso di Soggiorno per Motivi Familiari.
This permit is enough for family members to access health care coverage, work, study, and travel visa-free to the other 27 European Union member states.
However, this type of permit has some distinct disadvantages. It doesn’t allow you to:
… stay in any other European Union member state after three months;
… work or study in any other European Union member state, even on a temporary basis;
… enjoy any social/healthcare benefit in any other European Union member state;
… avoid a time-consuming renewal process: every second yearyou must undergo a full review of requirements and documents which takes months.
Is there an alternative?
Yes. My advice is to opt for a RESIDENCE CARD.
In fact, family members to Italian citizens (or to any other European Union citizen) have a right to a long-term residence card. Besides, after 5 years of residence in Italy, you are entitled to a permanent card. In Italian, it is officially called “Permesso di soggiorno per familiari di cittadino comunitario”.
A Residence Card is a special treat for the family members because the family is so important in Italy.
As a family member of an Italian citizen, you are eligible for the 5-years residence card and have free access to work, business, studies, health care, and most rights on a par with Italian citizens.
Italian authorities tend to give a 1 or 2-year “Family Residence Permit” if you don’t insist on a 5-year Residence card. That might have to do with the fact that a Residence Card sets you free from bureacratic renewal procedures for a long time and enjoys benefits for at least five years. But the law is on your part. So it’s up to you to claim your rights and demand a Residence Card.
Residence cards for Italian citizens’ family members are free of charge.
How can you obtain a Residence Card?
You just hand to the local immigration office the following:
A copy of your passport (show the original)
An official certificate proving that you are a family member (e.g. a marriage certificate)
Copy of your Italian family member’s id card
Documents of your income, showing that your family have a sufficient income and do not have to depend on the public security (you don’t ned to have a job for that)
Remember: Residence cards are for families residing in Italy. In order to obtain it, both you and your Italian citizen family member need to move to and reside in Italy.
Alternatively, you can have a similar residence card if you move with your Italian family member to another country within the European Union.
For parents:
In case the applicant is the parent of an Italian citizen or of the Italian citizen’s spouse (or same-sex registered partner) as per categories #4 and #6 above, additional documents are required to prove that the applicant is partly or totally maintained by the concerned child (i.e. the Italian citizen or of the Italian citizen’s spouse or same-sex registered partner). This requirement is called “Vivenza a carico”.
Viable documents to this end are bank statements showing that the concerned child sent money to the parent, tax reports, and statements by accountants, as well as any other official statement from Italy or from the authorities of the applicant’s country of origin/residence. Such documents should be translated into Italian and legalized by the Italian Consulate.
Alternatively, the parent may first apply for a residence permit for family reasons and the child should add the parent to the Italian tax report for that year. The following year, the Italian tax report will be accepted as a sufficient document to obtain a 5-year residence card.
In some circumstances, the parents of minors with Italian citizenship can be granted a residence permit, even if they do not live together. In that case, it is important to show the authorities both proof of family tie (the child’s birth record showing parentship) and of the parent’s right of shared custody or visit.
Now it’s your turn…
Let me know with your comment on this page: how does this information work for you?
Which other information would be useful for you to know?
Free compact guide SPECIAL RESIDENCE CARD KEY
Are you interested to know more about some requirements for the residence card?
You can receive more information about sufficient income limit to apply for a residence card, or the conditions to keep or lose your card, or how you can obtain a Residence Card if you settle in another country in Europe.
I put this information together in a compact guide: SPECIAL RESIDENCE CARD KEY. If you want to have it for free, ask for it and I will send it to you shortly by email.
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Special Residence Card Key
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Hi I am sumaira from Pakistan.My husband has Italian citizenship.He is doing good job in Italy.I am govt employe in Pakistan and I never want to leave my job. Can I apply for Italian citizenship without leaving job in Pakistan.I avail leave.Can it is necessary for Italian passport I live in Italy.
It is necessary to move to Italy, in order to obtain a residence permit or obtain the Italian citizenship. In principle, you can stay abroad and work there while keeping your residence address in Italy because ther eis no legal obligation for spouses in Italy to cohabit all the time.
Ciao Lara,
I am a dual Italian/Australian citizen and have bought a house in the south of Italy where I have now moved with my Australian wife. My details and our marriage is registered in the commune of my Nonna in the north of Italy and I am also registered with my local commune as a resident in my house.
We plan to live here for around 8-10 months of every year for the foreseeable future.
Is there anything further we NEED to do for my wife to stay legally more than 3 months at a time? Do we HAVE to get the 5 year card? Or is that only if my wife wants to work/study/utilise local health care? We both work for our Australian company from here in Italy over the internet so don’t require her to work or study or receive any benefits. And she is already applying for citizenship by marriage with an Italian consulate in Australia but the process takes some years to come into full effect.
My hope is that simply declaring the fact that she is living with me in my house at the local anagrafe is enough for her to stay longer than 3 months?
Thanks,
Matteo
The law requires both Italian citizens and their non-Italian family members to declare their stay in Italy which exceeds three months time. The obligation concerns the registration to the Population registrar (Anagrafe, in the municipality of residence) and, for non-EU citizens, to the immigration police (Questura of the province of residence). If your wife is not an Italian or EU citizen, she has to register both with the Questura and the local municipality. If she does not fulfill the requirements for a five-years residence card, the police will issue a two-years residence permit. You may keep in mind that such a permit or card are necessary to prove your wive’s legal stay at any police check and to access the health care system (e.g. in case of accident). Moreover, such a permit or card give the opportunity to obtain a residence right of her own in future, in case you need to leave Italy for any reason, of divorce or death.
Thank you for your kind reply Lara,
Oh, I thought that as the wife of an Italian citizen my wife was regarded as the same as an EU citizen by the law in Italy?
And can you please send me the 5-year permit key.
Thanks so much,
Matteo
Hi Lara,
Your website is very much helpful and you too. I’m almost 22 years old. My parents and my little brother is an italian citizen. I don’t have italian citizenship. But I’ve carta di soggiorno. Now my parents want to move to England and want to take me with them. So, can you tell me what do i have to do to get settled in England along with my family. I’ve heard that if anyone have carta europa which means your parents italian citizen then you don’t need visa to go to England and work in there. Can you please calrify me on this topics. It would be very much helpful. You have been very much helpful for this long period. Thank you so much in advance.
In order to settle in the UK as a non-EU family member of an Italian national, it is required to apply for an EU Settlement Scheme family permit. You should check the UK embassy website for that.
I have the same question’
I am 22 now.My father get the italian citizenship though naturalization..And I am living italy about 5/6 years with my family and i am fully dependent on my father and I have the “carta di soggiorno” lungo preiod so my family is planning to go other Eu country..So My question is can i get the “Residents card of a family member of a union citizen??
I want that so can you give me the answer plz
No, a residence card for the family members of EU citizens is for children below 21. But you can study and access the labor market of any other EU member state if you have a “permesso di soggiorno per stranieri residenti di lungo periodo” (formerly called “carta di soggiorno).
Hi Lara! I would like to ask a question regarding my boyfriend who lives in Chile but has a stepsister from his father´s side living in Italy. If I remember well, the stepsister is married to an Italian and therefore she has legal residency there. My question is whether my boyfriend could apply for a residence permit in Italy based on family reunification and what documents are needed from both my boyfriend´s and his stepsister´s side?
Thank you very much,
Niki
No. In-laws are excluded from those which qualify as family members for Italian laws on residence permits.
Buongiorno Lara, I’m 35 years old and my sister obtained the Italian citizenship 9 years ago, she also has been married to an Italian for 8 years, and she has been living in Tuscany for 25 years now.
can I apply for the residence permit if I live with her there, providing the right documents?
thank you in advance.
Yes. You will have to show your birth certificate and your sister’s.
Buongiorno Lara, I was wondering after getting my residency permit as a sibling for an Italian citizen, can I work and study anywhere in Italy?
Mille grazie.
Yes. A residence permit for family members of Italian citizens (including siblings) gives the right to access work and study.
Grazie mille Lara for your quick reply, but I was wondering when I get the residency permit, will I be obliged only to work or study in the same region where I live with my sister or can I work anywhere in italy?
thank you in advance!
The law provides no geographical restrictions to your permit to work or study in Italy.
Salve
cosa succede quando il mio visto scade aspettando il permesso di soggiorno?
Grazie mille
Nulla. L’importante è fare la domanda e ottenere una ricevuta prima che il visto scada.