Getting your EU long term residence permit (formerly called Carta di Soggiorno)

After five years of continuous residence in Italy, you are able to apply for the EU Long Term Residence Permit. This is a step up and replacement from your Permesso di Soggiorno. It is valid for Ten years instead of two (or one) that the Permesso is valid for. However……like many things in Italy, it will depend on where you live. The Brits who were here pre-Brexit are automatically granted a ten year card as part of the Brexit Agreement. For the rest of us Non-EU nationals, a five year card is offered. Because the number of people wanting to apply for this in many regions, people find that the knowledge of the rules and process is sometimes lacking. It is also being reported that some areas are just refusing to take applications at all. Fair or not, most everyone has discovered that the Italian bureaucracy operates in its own world and at its own pa

Permesso 1

1. Step One

Acquire the Permesso di Soggiorno packet from the post office. Filling out the form is mostly the same, On Line 7 you will check the Carta di Soggiorno box. 

Important - When Picking Up

Documents to bring when picking up your card. The original post office receipt. Your Passport and your OLD Permesso.

The web site Italy.refugee.info has a detailed post on the Long Term Permesso

2. Step Two

Documents you will need.

  • Proof of a place to life (deed or registered lease) If you have a certificate of habitation include it. You are supposed to have received one with your deed, but it seems to be rare that people actually ever get one. (You will need a certificate of habitation. They call it a Ideoneita Abitativa. If you do not have it, you will need to go to the Comune and apply for one. They will give you forms that you wil need to have a geometra or architect fill out and take back and submit. This ended up costing 250 Euro)
    • Proof of health coverage Normally our Italian Tessara Sanitaria
    • Proof of income. Include a copy of your most recent Italian tax return as this time they will want you to show that you are reporting sufficient income to Italy (Update: They wanted more income info from us. We submitted five years of income tax returns. It is called the Unico and you get copies from your accountant.) 
    • Copy of every page of your passport whether stamped or blank. 
    • Copy of your Identity card and any other document that shows what commune you are resident in, 
    • Print out a copy of your latest bank statement (they did no ask for this but I included it anyway)
    • Your photos like with Permesso

3. Additional Requirements

New documents you did not need for your Premesso applications, but will need for your Carta application

    • You will go to the local Tribunale (courthouse) to get A: Certificato dei Carichi Pendenti (Certify you are clear of pending charges) and B: Certificato casellario giudiziale (Certify you are clear of criminal records) We needed bollo of 16 and 7. 
    • You will need to pass an A2 test. You will not receive a certificate for this. Only a vague pass or no pass pop up when you check back on the site. It is supposedly in the records available to the people at the Questura. 

4. The Fees

You will take your stuff to the Post Office just like with your Permesso. The fees are

  • One Marco di Bollo for 16 Euro
  • You will fill out the payment form included with your Permesso Packet for 130.46
  • You will pay an additional 30.00 just like with your Permesso. 

5. Wrapping Up

You will get the same receipts as with Permesso and you will be given an appointment with your Questura. It is very possible that when you get to the Questura appointment they will think it cannot be done. We were able to get Lanciano to call the Chieti office and the conversation was basically – Really? They can? Well, ok then. They processed it and took our fingerprints and photos. Currently (as of 2023) everything is taking very long and we anticipate waiting up to a year.