Formación del Gel.

What is the Permit to Stay?

It is an authorization issued by the Police Commissioner (Questore) that be- stows on the foreigner the right to stay in Italian territory. Permits to stay have various lengths of duration.

When and where can I request the Permit to Stay?

It is absolutely obligatory that you request a Permit to Stay within eight work- ing days from the day you enter the Italian territory or when you entered a Schengen state (except in cases of entry and residence in Italy for visits, busi- ness, tourism, or study that do not last more than three months, for which it is sufficient to declare your presence either to the border authority upon entry or at Offices of the Chief of Police in the province in which you re- side during your stay), and the request must be made:

• at select post offices, utilizing the kit made available through the post of- fices, “Patronati”, and select city halls;

• in case you are requesting a Permit to Stay for one of the following rea- sons, then you may do so directly with the Police Commissioner (Questore della Provincia) of the province in which you find yourself

• political asylum (request - release) • medical treatments

• athletic competitions • legal reasons

• the integration of a minor • unaccompanied minor • humanitarian reasons

• request for status as a stateless person (release) • working vacation

• residency card for family members of an Italian or EU citizen.

Note: If this is your first request for a permit to stay for subordinate employ- ment or family reunification, then the application will be provided by the Cen- tral Immigration Desk (which has already issued the necessary “nulla osta”). The Central Immigration Desk will give you the application, along with the kit that has to be sent via the post offfice, when you sign the residency contract.

Which documents do I have to present in order to obtain a Per- mit to Stay?

Your passport and entry visa. You will be given a form which you should fill out with the following information: your personal data and the personal data of any of your children who are minors and accompanying you, the place and the reason for your stay in Italy. You must also attach 4 passport-sized photos to the request. The Offices of the Chief of Police will keep a copy of all the doc- uments. Instead, another copy will be delivered you as a receipt and it should contain: the stamp of the office where you presented your application, the sig- nature of the entrusted official, the date in which the application was present- ed, and the date when you should be able to collect your finished Permit to Stay.

Warning: Foreigners who request a Permit to Stay are subjected to finger-

printing and must bring photographs.

How long does the Permit to Stay last?

It depends on the type of Permit to Stay you possess.

A Permit to Stay for work/employment reasons:

The duration of the residence permit is the same as that of the “contract to stay” (or work contract) stipulated between an Italian employer or foreign employer legally residing in Italy and a foreign worker. Nonetheless, it cannot exceed: • a total of 9 months if you have one or more contracts for seasonal employment; • 1 year if you have a fixed-term contract for subordinate employment; • 2 years if you have an open-term contract for subordinate employment; • 2 years if you have a contract for self-employment.

Permits to stay for other reasons:

The duration of the Permit to Stay coincides with the duration of the entry visa and nonetheless cannot exceed:

• 1 year according to the duration of the academic course that you are at- tending; the permit is renewable year by year for multi-year classes (class- es lasting more than one year);

• 3 months for visits, business and tourism;

• the duration necessary to complete the procedures for the granting or recog- nition of: acquiring Italian citizenship; the condition of being a stateless person; political refugee status; emigration to another country from Italy; • A pre-defined duration based on the documented necessities for all other cases.

In the cases of family re-unification and self-employment, the duration of the Permit to Stay cannot exceed 2 years.

Warning: if you prove (by means of a passport or other document that shows

the date of departure from Italy following the end of the previous stay for seasonal employment) that you have come to Italy for at least 2 years con- secutively to carry out seasonal employment activities, in the event that you have been carrying out the same type of work for the same employer, your employer can request that you be issued a multi-year permit.

The release of a “nulla osta” for multi-year employment (valid for a period of up to 3 years) occurs within the limits of the annual entry quotas for seasonal employment. In practice, the “nulla osta” for multi-year employment gives you the advantage of being able to enter Italy for three consecutive years in order to carry out, always for the same period of time (at most nine months) a pre-estab- lished type of seasonal employment with a pre-established employer without hav- ing to follow the procedure regulating entry flows each year. You will, on the basis of the multi-year “nulla osta”, be given a permit to stay for multi-year sea- sonal work. This, however, still requires you to request a visa to enter the coun- try each year from the appropriate diplomatic representative or consulate at which time you will need to present the proposal for a contract to stay for seasonal work prepared by the intended employer. Furthermore, every year, within 8 days af- ter entering Italy, you must go to the Central Immigration Desk in order to sign the contract to stay for employment reasons.

How can I renew my Permit to Stay?

You must present a request for renewal to the Office of the Chief of Police of the Province in which you have your legal residence, respecting these deadlines: • 90 days before the expiration of your Permit to Stay, if you have an open-

term contract to stay for “subordinate” employment;

• 60 days before the expiration of your Permit to Stay, if you have a fixed- term contract to stay for “subordinate” employment;

• 30 days before the expiration of your Permit to Stay in all other cases.

How long does the renewal last?

The Permit to Stay is renewed for a period no longer than that of the orig- inal Permit to Stay.

When is a Permit to Stay not renewable?

A Permit to Stay cannot be renewed or extended if you have interrupted your stay in Italy, living in another country for an continuous period longer than 6 months, or for a period equal to more than half the period of validity of your Permit to Stay, unless you can prove there are serious reasons (such as mili- tary service and similar reasons) for your extended absence from the country.

I have a Permit to Stay for tourism. Can I renew it?

Yes, but only for serious motives, such as humanitarian reasons or due to constitutional and international obligations.

Can I convert my Permit to Stay for study reasons into a Permit