Who can apply for a national visa and residence card (“carta di soggiorno”) for family members of EU citizens?
- A family member of an EU citizen (or of an Italian citizen) who intends to move to Italy to live with them and who is required a visa to enter the Schengen area must apply for a national visa (Type D) for family reasons at the Italian Consulate. You can consult here a list of countries whose citizens must require a visa to enter the Schengen area.
- Once they have entered Italy with the National Visa, the non-EU citizen must apply for a residence card within eight days through the post office. This procedure also applies to cases where the family member accompanies the EU or Italian citizen to Italy. In any case, the EU or Italian citizen should be (or become) a registered resident in Italy.
Please note that the residence card may also be requested by family members of citizens of the following nations, even if they are not members of the European Union, provided that they are already residents in Italy:
- Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein;
- The Swiss Confederation;
- San Marino.
The following family members are considered to be entitled to a residence card as family members of an EU citizen:
For the purpose of obtaining a national visa for a family member of an EU citizen, the following family members are considered eligible:
- spouse or partner in a civil union (registered same-sex unions) done in an EU Member State that recognizes such unions as equivalent to marriage;
- children of the EU citizen or of their spouse, who are under the age of 21 or economically dependent;
- parents of the EU citizen or of their spouse, if economically dependent.
Main requirements for applying for a residence card as a family member of an EU citizen
- the EU or Italian family member must have or obtain registered residence in Italy;
- the Italian or EU citizen must prove that he has a minimum gross annual income from lawful sources not lower than €11,000 (for the first family member), increased by €3,500 gross for each additional family member. The residence card applicant’s income is also taken into account for the satisfaction of the income requirement.
Main procedural steps
- application for a national visa for family reasons;
- apply for the residence card within 8 days of entry;
- registration of the applicant’s fingerprints at the Police headquarters and submission of the relevant documentation in original;
issuance of the residence permit.
Timing
The average processing timing for obtaining a residence permit for family members of EU citizens is approximately three to four months from the date of application.
Validity of residence card for family member of an EU citizen
The residence permit issued to family members of an Italian or EU citizen is valid for five years and renewable.
The residence permit is renewable under the same conditions as the first issue, as long as the foreigner is never away from the Italian territory for six continuous months or more.
The residence permit for family reasons allows the foreign national to work in Italy.
After five years of holding a residence permit, one can apply for a permanent residence permit (also known as a long-term permit), provided they are registered as a civil and tax resident in Italy at the time of application and can demonstrate knowledge of the Italian language at level A2 (the second level on a six-level scale).