Family Issues

Inviting family/friends to visit

As you hold a regular residence permit for Italy, you have the right to invite family/friends to visit you for a short period of time. If the person you are inviting needs to apply for a tourist visa, you can support his/her request through an  invitation letter (fac-simile invito per turismo or dichiarazione di ospitalità per turismo if you are planning to host your family/friends at your own place) you can fill out and send to your relative/friend. Through this invitation, you will guarantee adequate accommodation and heath coverage for the time your family/friends will spend with you in Italy.

Family re-union

Being a student, you can have your husband/wife/children come to Italy with you or join you during your stay in Italy through two different options. In both cases you have to prove your accommodation is suitable according to certain requirements set by the Municipality. If you are living in Milano, you can obtain a certification of suitable housing following the procedure explained at the following link.

Moreover, you will have to prove a sufficient income, which varies according to the number of family members you are applying asking for re-union. The minimum income required corresponds to the annual social allowance in Italy, which for the year 2016 corresponds to 5825 €. This amount will be increased of its half for each of the family members who will join you through family re-union.

Case 1

In this case, you will first come to Italy by yourself and subsequently ask for an authorization called "nulla osta" at the "Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione" (the desk in charge of certain immigration issues) through which your family member/s will be able to join you thanks to a visa for family re-union. The procedure will take about 3 or more months. In order to obtain the “nulla osta”, you will have to complete the online request for family re-union on the website https://nullaostalavoro.dlci.interno.it. In order to do so, you must register on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and obtain a user name and password, which you will use to complete the online request for family cohesion by filling out form S (view a sample). You will then receive an appointment at the "Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione", where you will have to take, in original, the two documents mentioned above, related to adequate housing and income. Once your request will be verified, the "Sportello Unico" will send the "nulla osta" for family re-union to the Italian Diplomatic Representative in your country. Your family will then be able to obtain a visa for family reunion, after exhibiting to the Italian diplomatic representative other documents such as:

  • the marriage certificate
  • the birth certificates of your children
  • certificate stating your study programme's duration
  • your stay permit or receipts of application of it

The complete list of required/accepted documents is available at www.prefettura.it.

Once the members of your family arrive in Italy, they will have to apply for a residence permit within 8 working days, following the same procedure you went through upon your arrival.

Case 2

In this second case, you and the family members that will be coming with you to Italy are still living abroad. The procedure therefore has to be carried out while you are still in your home country. This procedure can be carried out only if you have the opportunity to delegate a person who is living in Italy to go to the "Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione" on your behalf. To start the procedure, you must register on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and obtain a user name and password, which you will use to complete the online request for family cohesion by filling out form T (view a sample). You will then receive an appointment at the "Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione", where the person you have delegated will have to take, in original, the two documents mentioned above, related to adequate housing and income.

Family Cohesion

Family cohesion can be requested if you hold a regular residence permit for Italy and wish to obtain a cohesion with a family member who is living in Italy as well, for reasons such as studies, tourism etc. The documents required to obtain a family cohesion are the same as the ones required for family re-union, but to apply for it, it is necessary to fill out the standard kit to apply for a residence permit, filling out the sections related to the family member/s who will be present in Italy thanks to your residence permit and for its same duration. 

Contacts

Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione

Via Servio Tullio 4, Milano