Arriving in Italy: permesso di soggiorno within 8 working days, codice fiscale, SSN registration

Information checked on 25 October 2026.

In Italy, the D visa is not enough: you must apply for a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) within 8 working days of entering the country. A student files the application at the post office with the postal kit, for about €116; a family member joining relatives goes through the Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione of the Prefettura. Then come the summons to the Questura for fingerprints, the codice fiscale, registration with the national health service (SSN), the declaration of residence at the municipality and, for a stay of at least one year, the integration agreement. This article is part of our guide to the steps after arriving in Europe on a long-stay visa.

The steps after arriving in Italy, in order

Every Questura and every municipality has its own organisation: always check their website before going.

The student's permesso di soggiorno: 8 working days, at the post office

According to the Polizia di Stato, the first permit must be applied for within 8 working days of entering Italy. For studies, it goes through the postal kit (kit postale): a free envelope with the forms, available at a "Sportello Amico" post office. You fill it in, then hand it in at a counter of the same network.

For a first study permit, the Questura of Monza asks you to include in the kit:

• a copy of your valid passport (identity pages, visas, entry and exit stamps);
• a copy of the study visa;
• a statement of accommodation (dichiarazione di ospitalità);
• a copy of the study file submitted to the Italian embassy, stamped and signed by the consulate;
• the revenue stamp and the receipt of the postal payment slip (see the amounts below).

The exact list depends on your Questura: read your province's list.

The cost, according to the Immigration Portal's table:

• €16 revenue stamp (marca da bollo), bought at a tobacconist;
• €70.46 to pay by postal slip before filing: €30.46 for producing the electronic permit and a €40 contribution for a permit of more than three months and up to one year;
• €30 postage, paid at the post office when filing.

That makes €116.46 for a study permit of one year or less. For a permit of more than one year and up to two years, the contribution rises to €50 (slip of €80.46).

The ricevuta, the Questura summons, the issue of the permit

When you file, the post office gives you a receipt (ricevuta). Keep it with your passport: it proves you applied for your permit on time. According to the Questure's guide, it also carries a user ID (on the right) and a password (on the left) that open the tracking on portaleimmigrazione.it, where the summons date and the documents to bring appear. The Polizia di Stato states that, for a first permit requested for work or family reunification, the ricevuta gives the same rights as the permit. Before any trip outside Italy while you wait, ask your Questura.

On the date indicated, you go to the Questura for fingerprinting (rilievi fotodattiloscopici). After that, issuing the permit takes about 60 days on average from the application, according to the Polizia di Stato, but it varies a lot from city to city. You follow progress on questure.poliziadistato.it/stranieri, which also shows the office where you collect the permit once it is ready.

For studies, the permit is issued for one year at most, on proof of enrolment, and then renewed.

Family reunification: going through the Sportello Unico

If you arrive through family reunification (ricongiungimento familiare), the route is different. Your family first obtained the authorisation (nulla osta) in Italy from the Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione, the Prefettura's one-stop office, and you received the visa on that basis.

After arrival, you must report to that Sportello Unico within 8 working days, by appointment, according to the Prefettura of Udine (Cosenza's speaks of 8 days). The Prefettura of Catania states that a person who does not show up is considered to be staying irregularly. At the Sportello Unico:

• the permit application form is filled in with you;
• you receive your codice fiscale;
• you sign the integration agreement, if your permit lasts at least one year.

The file then goes through the post office, and the Questura summons you for fingerprints. The permit for family reasons allows you to work, study and access the national health service. Its cost follows the length of your family member's permit: €70.46 per slip for one year, €80.46 for two years, plus the €16 stamp, according to the Questura of Monza.

The codice fiscale

The codice fiscale is your identifier for almost everything: lease, bank, doctor, employment contract. According to the Agenzia delle Entrate, a foreigner applying for a residence permit normally receives a codice fiscale through the Ministry of the Interior (Questura or Sportello Unico), without going to its offices. You can also request it from the Italian consulate before leaving, or at an Agenzia delle Entrate office in Italy, by appointment for a first assignment, with your passport and visa.

Healthcare: SSN registration or private insurance

Students: you can register voluntarily with the national health service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, SSN) by paying a flat contribution of €700 per year, using form F24, according to the Ministry of Health. Registration is individual, valid for the calendar year, and does not cover your family members. It is done at the ASL (local health agency) where you live. The other option is private insurance valid in Italy: check that it is accepted for your permit.

Family members joining: holders of a permit for family reasons fall under compulsory SSN registration, without that contribution. You then choose a family doctor (medico di base) at the ASL.

Residence at the municipality (residenza anagrafica)

Once settled, you declare your residence at the municipality's registry office (anagrafe). The municipality of Milan asks you to do so within 20 days of moving in. For family reunification, the Prefettura of Cosenza gives a 20-day deadline from sending the permit application. Bring your passport and permit, or the ricevuta if the permit is not ready yet. The municipality then checks that you really live at the declared address. Residence gives access to the Italian identity card and makes choosing a doctor easier.

The integration agreement (accordo di integrazione)

According to the Ministry of the Interior, every foreigner over 16, entering for the first time and applying for a permit of at least one year, signs an integration agreement at the Prefettura or the Questura. It lasts two years. You receive 16 credits on signing and must have at least 30 at the check, with A2 level in Italian and sufficient knowledge of civic culture. A free civic training session must be attended within three months: missing it costs 15 credits.

Students: according to the Prefettura of Trieste, students enrolled at university, in a master's or a doctorate have been exempt from the civic session and the civic culture tests since 10 March 2015. They prove their enrolment and attendance. Below 30 credits but above zero, the agreement is extended by one year.

Working while studying

The study permit allows employment of 20 hours a week at most, within a limit of 1,040 hours a year (article 14 of Presidential Decree 394/1999). The National Labour Inspectorate specified in its note of 24 May 2022 that the weekly limit cannot be exceeded, even in summer, even under the annual cap.

Renewing your permit

The immigration law (article 5 of Legislative Decree 286/1998) requires you to apply for renewal at least 60 days before expiry, through the same postal kit for studies. For a student, the Questura of Monza asks in particular for proof of enrolment, the record of exams passed, health insurance and funds at least equal to the annual amount of the assegno sociale (social allowance). Do not count on tolerance: file on time.

Finding your compatriots in Italy

Italian procedures make more sense when a compatriot shows you the right post office or the right queue at the Questura. On Compatri, the Italy page brings together the cities and meetups, for example Rome and Milan. The diaspora pages lead to the communities: Senegalese in Italy, Moroccans in Italy, Tunisians in Italy, Nigerians in Italy. You can join your community before leaving and read how mutual help between compatriots works.

Still comparing study destinations? Our comparison of studying in Europe from Africa sets out the fundamental differences. Compatri does not carry out any procedure for you: for a specific case, the Questura, the Sportello Unico and your municipality remain your official contacts.

Official sources

• Polizia di Stato: issuing the residence permit
• Immigration Portal: table of costs
• Questura of Monza and Brianza: permits requested with the postal kit
• Questure: guide to the Immigration Portal (PDF)
• Polizia di Stato: online tracking of the residence permit
• Prefettura of Udine: family reunification
• Prefettura of Catania: family reunifications
• Agenzia delle Entrate: the codice fiscale
• Ministry of Health: FAQ for non-EU foreigners
• Municipality of Milan: change of residence
• Prefettura of Cosenza: family reunification
• Ministry of the Interior: integration agreement
• Prefettura of Trieste: integration agreement