This one has a deadline
Residence permit application
Counted as 8 working days from your arrival.
If you miss it: Applying late is an irregularity on your immigration record. It is usually recoverable for students, but it complicates every renewal afterwards and it is entirely avoidable.
The numbers
Deadline to apply
Official8 working days
Working days are Monday to Friday. The clock starts on your first FULL day in Italy, not the day you land.
Total to budget
Official≈ €116.46
Bring cash. Plus 4 passport photos and photocopy costs.
Time until the permit is issued
OfficialNot before 40 days from your first appointment
In practice it is usually far longer. Your postal receipt is your legal document in the meantime. It lets you stay, re-enter Italy and register with services.
How it goes
Collect the yellow kit from a Sportello Amico post office
The application kit is a yellow envelope handed out free at post offices carrying the sign. Not every post office has one, so check before queueing. The university's SAOS desk helps international students fill it in at no cost. Use them; the forms are in Italian and a mistake means starting again.
Poste Italiane, Sportello Amico branchesAsk at the counter which nearby branch has the desk if yours does not.Open in Maps →Assemble what goes inside
A €16.00 , sold at tabaccherie authorised to sell them (not all are, so ask at the counter first); photocopies of every written page of your passport including all visa and stamp pages; proof of accommodation. A registered , , or housing certificate; proof of valid health cover; and certification of your university enrolment for the current academic year.
Revenue stamp (marca da bollo):€16.00Health cover must be usable in Italy
The requirement is not merely that you hold a policy. It must be demonstrably valid in Italy, and a policy with an office that can be contacted here is what satisfies the counter. A travel policy bought at home with no Italian presence is a common cause of rejection. Read the health cover guide before buying anything.
Submit the sealed envelope at the post office
Bring your original passport. You pay the postal handling fee and the electronic permit fee at this point. You will be given receipts. Three sheets. Keep every one of them.
Post office handling fee:€30.00Electronic permit fee:€70.46Total to budget:≈ €116.46Attend your Questura appointment
The receipt carries a date for the Immigration Office, where your fingerprints are taken. Bring four passport photographs, the originals of everything you photocopied, your passport and the postal receipts.
Questura di Padova, Ufficio ImmigrazionePiazza Zanellato 7, 35131 PadovaOpen in Maps →Wait, and understand what you are holding meanwhile
The permit is not issued before 40 days from the first appointment and in practice takes considerably longer. Your postal receipt is not a placeholder: it is the document that makes your stay lawful while you wait, and it is what you show to register for services. Guard it the way you would guard the card.
Time until the permit is issued:Not before 40 days from your first appointmentCollect it when the SMS arrives
The sends an SMS when the card is ready. Collection is in the afternoon on set days, with your passport and receipts.
Permit collection:Monday to Thursday, from 14:30
What actually goes wrong
Collected from students who hit these. This section is the reason to read the page twice.
Counting the eight days from the day you landed
They are working days, Monday to Friday, and the first day counted is the first full day after arrival. A Saturday landing gives you more room than you think, but a landing before a public holiday gives you less. The checklist on this site computes the exact date for you.
Buying insurance that does not qualify
The cheapest travel policies do not satisfy the residence permit requirement, and you only find out at the counter after paying. Buying twice is the usual outcome. Confirm the policy is accepted for a before you pay.
Losing a postal receipt
There are three sheets and they are needed for different things. The registry office and the health service both want to see one. Photograph all of them the moment you receive them and keep the paper somewhere that is not your wallet.
Leaving Italy before the permit or receipt is sorted
Travel plans in your first months need thought. What you may do while the permit is pending depends on your documents, and getting this wrong can mean being refused re-entry. Ask SAOS before booking anything, not after.
Where this comes from
Reviewed every 90 days. Something changed? Tell us.