Notice and Information for foreign nationals

Rights and duties of foreign nationals for long-term stays in Italy – over 90 days






 Types of Visas


Voluntary work (national quotas)

For stays for the purpose of Voluntary work, authorised with a nulla osta (authorization) issued in accordance with article 27bis of Legislative Decree 25 July 1998, n. 286, for the issue of a residence permit the foreign national must first of all attend the “Sportello Unico” for Immigration (S.U.I) ) in the Prefecture which is territorially competent and which issued the initial authorisation/nulla osta for the issue of the visa, in order to fill out and sign the required documentation and to collect the residence permit request form. This must then be sent personally to the authorised Post Offices (Sportello Amico), using the relevant kit available in those post offices.

Authorised institutions and Municipalities (see “Ricerca Strutture”) will provide, free of charge and within their institutional remit, information, consultancy and assistance to the foreign national on how to correctly complete the requests to be sent. When the form is sent, the Post Office will issue a receipt bearing two personal identification codes (userid and password) which can be used by the person concerned to follow the state of the application by logging on to the Immigration Portal. The Post Office will also provide the person concerned with an appointment date at which time photo-dactyloscopic records will be obtained. The Police Headquarters will subsequently inform the person concerned when the residence permit will be provided.

Note: This type of entry refers to persons who have previously obtained a specific nulla osta for entry due to voluntary work issued by the “Sportello Unico” for Immigration (S.U.I) and these entries are ascribed to a national quota. Since the coming into force of the specific legislation: art. 27bis of Legislative Decree 25 July 1998, n. 286, up until 2015 it appears that no authorisations for national quotas have been issued to volunteers and therefore at the moment for this type of entry neither authorisations/nulla osta nor entry visas are being issued. The visa for voluntary work is, however, issued also for specific European programmes attributable to the European Voluntary Service and not to national quotas. If you are therefore the holder of a visa for voluntary work issued for entries due to European programmes, you should visit the relevant section on the obligations of foreign national referred to at the section “Voluntary Work (European Voluntary Service)”.



Registration of personal details

All foreign nationals not belonging to the European Union, in possession of a valid residence permit, are obliged to request registration in the Municipality where they intend to establish their residence (Legislative Decree 286/98 art. 6 comma 7 and Decree of the President of the Republic 394/99 art. 15).



Integration Agreement

From 10 March 2012 the Integration Agreement has come into force for foreign nationals who request a residence permit for a period of not less than a year. This new instrument is aimed at establishing a real path to integration through the knowledge of the Italian language and fundamental civic principles. The Agreement aims to stipulate a pact, with a reciprocal commitment, to provide instruments for language, culture and the general principles of the Italian Constitution on the part of the State and, on the part of the foreign national an undertaking to respect the rules of civil society in order to pursue, in the interests of both, an orderly route to integration based on the principle of credits. The Integration Agreement is addressed to foreign nationals over the age of 16 and who enter Italy for the first time for a long stay and is stipulated at the “Sportello Unico” for Immigration in the Prefecture or the Police Headquarters at the same time as the request for a residence permit of the duration of not less than a year.



Health Insurance

In accordance with art. 34 of the Consolidated Act n. 286/98, the foreign national is obliged to register with the National Health Service (S.S.N.) if the stay is due to Adoption, Employment, Self-Employment and Family Reasons. For other reasons, the foreign national may instead ensure him or herself against illnesses, accidents or for maternity by taking out a specific Insurance Policy or through a voluntary registration with the National Health Service which is also valid for the dependent family members. Voluntary registration with the National Health Service in favour of dependent family members of a foreign national residing for reasons of study or au pair placement is not valid. In this regard, the relevant legislation on health insurance for foreign nationals in Italy is applied, on the basis of international bilateral or multilateral treaties and agreements of reciprocity signed by Italy.



National emergency numbers in Italy

Emergency numbers are special numbers that allow those in distress or in a hazardous situation to easily contact the appropriate services that can provide assistance.

Emergency numbers are free of charge, so they can be reached from mobile phones with no credit (and in some cases without a SIM card), and can receive and manage emergency calls and requests for assistance 24 / 7. To dial an emergency number you do not need to add an area code: the call will automatically be forwarded to the relevant incident room.

  • 112 Carabinieri: emergency number
  • 113 Polizia di stato (Police): emergency number
  • 117 Guardia di Finanza (Fiscal and Customs Police): emergency number
  • 115 Fire Brigade: emergency number
  • 118 Health emergency / First aid
  • 1530 Coast Guard
  • 1515 Environmental emergency / Fire prevention services – State Forestry Corps
  • 0637518261-2 Telefono Rosa (Pink helpline), for the prevention of violence against women
  • 114 Child emergency helpline. Service managed by Telefono Azzurro (Sky blue helpline - only from a landline telephone number)
  • 1 96 96 Telefono Azzurro (Sky blue helpline – free child helpline)
  • 800 025 777 Telefono Arcobaleno (Rainbow helpline – for the prevention of any form of child abuse
  • 1522 Prevention of violence against women
  • 1500 Emergencies for public health
  • 06 36225 Unità di Crisi del Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (Crisis Management Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation)



Useful numbers in Italy

  • 1518 CIS: For information on Italian roads and motorways (real time information on traffic and road conditions)
  • 803116 Roadside assistance
  • 170 National and international calls through an operator
  • 803160 Poste italiane (Italian Postal Service) – information
  • 892021 Ferrovie dello Stato – Trenitalia (Italian State Railways)
  • 800.137.079 Abandoned pets