The Italian Carta di Soggiorno

So you’ve gotten familiar with visas to Italy, and you’ve heard about the permesso di soggiorno, but there is one more name you might hear around -the Carta di Soggiorno. The Carta di Soggiorno is essentially a permanent residency card, valid for a longer period. It is awarded to those who are married to an Italian, and to other residents who have held legal residency for 5 years. There are some minor differences between the two versions of the Carta di Soggiorno, let’s have a look!

How can you be Eligible for a Carta di Soggiorno?

Let’s look first at eligibility via residency. You will need to be a legal resident for at least 5 years: meaning not having just a permesso di soggiorno (like a student one), but registered as a resident. This means with a valid housing contract, at your local Municipality and through the Agenzie della Entrate. But it is not only your residency, you will also need to have paid your Italian taxes for at least the last year and prove that you have an income of over €6,079.45 per year. (Note, this is for an individual, if children or dependents are included the amount goes up.)

What you need to apply:

• • Copy of your passport & codice fiscale
• • Copy of your last “dichiarazione dei redditi” (Tax Return)
• • A certificate of “casellario giudiziale” meaning a criminal background check
• • Copy of your current pay stubs or invoices if you work freelance
• • Proof of an alloggio idoneo, this is a check to make sure your house is habitable
• • Proof of B1 proficiency of Italian
• • Proof of residency
• • The fees: €30 for the permesso and €16 marca da bollo

Keep in mind these are not what you need to get the marriage carta di soggiorno. We’ll cover that below.

As you can see, there may be some documents that are difficult to find, let’s go ahead and take it one step at a time.

Dichiarazione de redditi:

Check with your commercialista or employer. They should have this on file if you do not in your own files.

Casellario Giudiziale-

to get this you will need to look up your local Casellario. Schedule an appointment or bring your documents directly to apply. You will need a copy of your passport and permesso di soggiorno together with a completed form they will provide you with. I also recommend you check the local Casellario website to see if they request any other form. You will also need to bring the fees of €3.87, another € 3.87 if you want to receive the form that same day. Then if the criminal record happens to be longer than 2 pages you will also have to purchase a €16 marca da bollo.

Certificate of idoneità alloggiativa:

This is a certificate of housing suitability that certifies the house where you are living has all the requirements of the law on housing. You can ask your landlord, they may have had one done. If they don’t, you will need to request it at your local Sportello Unico d’Immigrazione. You will have to bring your carta d’identità, permesso di soggiorno and passport; Two marche da bollo for €16; Rental Contract (registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate), or proof of purchase. If you happen to be living with someone as a guest, you will need a letter from the owner of the property certifying they know you are there and are okay with it.

Plus you will most likely need a declaration that states the gas and electric setup of the house conforms to the legal standards. This must be given by an authorized technician- again your landlord may already have it. Check-in with your nearest Sportello Unico d’Immigrazione if you aren’t sure about these documents.

Proof of B1 Italian:

Even if you speak it every day at work you will need an official certificate stating your level, which can be acquired in a few different ways. Either through an exam offered by a certified institution; the official carta test offered by local authorities; a diploma from an Italian school; a degree, or enrollment in an Italian degree program.

What do you need for the Carta di Soggiorno for marriage?

To apply for the carta di soggiorno through marriage, you will need:

• Copies of your and your spouses passports
• copies of your marriage certificate
• proof of residency (your spouses) and that it is habitable.
• €16 Marca da bollo

This is a short list, and in some cases, they may request more documentation. The process for this carta di soggiorno is a bit different. Rather than applying through the post office, you can go directly to the Questura.

How long is the Carta di Soggiorno valid?

While you might here that this Carta di Soggiorno is illimitato, there are some technicalities. One acquired through marriage must be renewed after 5 years, then it is not necessary to renew. One acquired through residency is technically valid without renewal. However, if you have name, address, passport, etc changes, you need to file an update.