I get a lot of questions about applying for an Italian visa. What visa should I get? How long does it take to get a visa? What do I need for my Consulate appointment?
Let's address a few of the questions you may have about getting an Italian visa!
You Have Options for Your Italian Visa
There are several different types of Italian visas, so explore any that may be a good fit:
Student visa
Work visa (you have a job with an Italian company)
Self-employed visa
Elective residency visa (for retirees)
There are a few others, but these are the primary ones you'll want to explore.
You Need a Year to Prep
I get asked by clients when to start the process of applying for a visa. I say you should start your research one year before you plan to move to Italy. For the visa process, you need about six months, though if you're working with a lawyer, ask them what the ideal timeline is.
Some visas, like the self-employed visa I got, have a decreto flussi, which has a quota for how many people can apply for that visa each year. Only, to make it confusing, the "year" isn't from January to December, and it's not always the same, so find out what the deal is with the decreto flussi when you're ready to apply...if it's relevant to your visa.
Also when you have your appointment with your local Consulate, you need to be ready to move within three months of getting your visa approved. It's a bit frustrating to try to plan around a moving target (since you don't know when your visa will be approved)!
Prep (and Double Prep) for your Consulate Appointment
Each Consulate may have its own list of requirements for what you need to bring for your visa appointment, so check what yours asks for.
My advice is to bring more than what's on the list. Bank statements, tax returns, and proof of employment are a few examples of what can be helpful for your appointment. Bring two copies of everything!
It May be Challenging to Get a Consulate Appointment
I'm hearing that right now, a lot of Consulates don't have available appointments. I think this is because the Italian digital nomad visa opened up a few months ago, and there's likely a flood of applications for it.
Be patient. One client said she randomly checked her Consulate site at midnight one day and was able to find an appointment. Start trying early; remember you've got to move to Italy within three months of getting approved, which usually happens within six weeks of your appointment, assuming you get approved.
You're Going to Get Frustrated!
As a planner, it was overwhelmingly stressful for me to plan a major move without being really sure that I was even going to get my visa. There's not much you can do about this except stay calm and trust the process.
I now believe that if you have an appointment, you'll know in that appointment whether there's a problem with your documents that would prevent you from getting the visa. I know the L.A. Consulate also can communicate via email (though they aren't super responsive) once the application has been submitted. So if you've gone to your appointment and weren't told that you were missing anything, start planning for your move!
A Tip if You Need a One-Way Plane Ticket
Part of that frustration is that some visas require you to have a one-way plane ticket to Italy for your Consulate appointment. For me, even three or four months out, I felt nervous about buying a ticket without being sure about the date, so I figured out this trick.
The day of your appointment, book your plane ticket and print a copy of it. You have 24 hours to cancel the ticket, so after your appointment, you can cancel it without a fee. The Consulate isn't going to verify that plane ticket; they just want to see that you've taken the step.
You can rebook your ticket when the price is right and you're more certain about your move date.
You're welcome!
Make Sure You Meet Financial Requirements
This is maybe the only dealbreaker for some who want to get an Italian visa: some visas, like the self-employment visa, require you to have a large sum of money in an account with euros.
First, don't worry about the bank account. That's easy, though you can't open a bank account in Italy until you move here. In this post, I give you a couple of options that will make it easy to transfer dollars to euros.
Here's another trick I came up with: I put the amount required into my Revolut account. I printed the bank statement showing the funds. I believe for the self-employment visa at the time I needed to show €18.000 or close to it.
After that, I pulled the funds to use for my move. The Consulate was happy because they saw (on paper) that I had the money they required. But those funds weren't tied up for long, and I was able to use them for my many expenses.
The Visa Isn't Forever
A lot of people mistakenly think you can live in Italy long-term with a visa, but that's not the case. Most visas are just for a year (with exceptions). It's the permesso di soggiorno that allows you to remain in Italy long-term.
So the visa gets your foot in the door and allows you to stay for a year. But within nine days of arriving, you'll need to fill out a permesso di soggiorno application, followed by an appointment at the Questura. After you get this card, you'll have to renew it a few times before qualifying for an unlimited permesso.
Navigating the visa process can be overwhelming, I know. If you still have questions, let's set up a Pick-My-Brain session to get the answers you're looking for.
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