Long stay visa question

Are you applying through a consultant in the US?

I see from a second read you are in the US. Here's the deal: when you go to the consulate with all your documentation, they will take your passport and keep it until they make a decision about your visa. They can keep it up to 90 days. So, how are you coming to Italy while the consulate has your passport?? Well, there are certain circumstances in which an American can get a second passport and needing to travel while you are applying for a visa is one of those reasons. Assuming your visa is approved by the consulate, once you have it in hand, you will have to leave the Schengen area (most of the EU but not exclusively) and reenter with your new visa/old passport. You could go to the UK for example. It's part of the EU but not part of the Schengen area. You would not have to fly back to the States.

italyinmyfuture wrote:

............. Here's the deal: when you go to the consulate with all your documentation, they will take your passport and keep it until they make a decision about your visa. They can keep it up to 90 days. ................

Won't the applicant require the passport with the new visa in it, which will be in the consulate in the US?

The applicant will give their passport to the consulate at their appointment applying for a long-term visa. They will keep it for up to 90 days. If the applicant wishes to undertake travel that requires a passport while the consulate has their original passport, they may apply for a second passport. The applicant could then travel to Italy on that second passport while the consulate is processing their visa request.

italyinmyfuture wrote:

The applicant will give their passport to the consulate at their appointment applying for a long-term visa. They will keep it for up to 90 days. If the applicant wishes to undertake travel that requires a passport while the consulate has their original passport, they may apply for a second passport. The applicant could then travel to Italy on that second passport while the consulate is processing their visa request.

Yes, I get that. but it's not what I asked.  When they hand in their passport for the visa process, the visa will be stamped in that passport, in the consulate, in the US  .................. they will need that passport to enter the country in their new status ...................... or not ???

Just trying to clarify this.

Cynic
Expat Team

No, that's not how it works. You give them your passport. They review all the documentation - finances, lease in Italy, etc. and they decide if you qualify for the visa. If you do, they attach the visa to your passport and return it to you. This review process takes up to 90 days. Therefore, you are without your passport for up to 90 days.

Perhaps I'm not understanding your question.

italyinmyfuture wrote:

Perhaps I'm not understanding your question.

Perhaps.  I'm not trying to catch you out here, I'm just trying to get a complete picture for the next person who comes along asking this question (I can almost guarantee this will happen).

In your earlier post, you say:

italyinmyfuture wrote:

..... Assuming your visa is approved by the consulate, once you have it in hand, you will have to leave the Schengen area (most of the EU but not exclusively) and reenter with your new visa/old passport.

You then go on to say:

italyinmyfuture wrote:

.....they attach the visa to your passport and return it to you. This review process takes up to 90 days. Therefore, you are without your passport for up to 90 days......

So, if the visa with the new visa stamp is in the consulate in the US, but the applicant is in Italy with her 2nd passport, she will need to go back to the US to pick up her original passport with the visa stamped in it.

Or am I missing something in this process?

Cynic
Expat Team

If the visa is approved, the consulate attaches it to the passport they are holding and mails it back to the applicant. The mail address might be her home in the US, her PO Box, a friend's house if she sold her home or is forwarding her mail, an address in Italy, etc. Obviously, if she's out of the US but her mail isn't being forwarded automatically to wherever she is physically, someone would need to pick up her mail and send it to her. Simply having a passport with a visa attached in one's possession isn't sufficient however. Once she has her passport back, if she's is indeed in Italy, she would still have to leave the Schengen area and upon return, reenter Italy with the passport/visa to get it stamped.

Hi again.

Thanks for the response; so assuming the visa application is successful,  the answer is that the passport does not have to be personally picked up from the consulate/embassy in the USA, they will send it by whatever means relevant to the recipient.  On receipt, they then have to enter Italy from outside the Schengen zone in order to start the process of registration.

Thanks for the clarification.

Cynic
Expat Team

I am a U.S. citizen married to an Italian. We live near Bologna. It is my understanding you must wait in the U.S. for your visa be it a student or work one etc. Might be ways around that but personally I wouldn't risk it. Then once in Italy, you need to have an official place of residence (crashing somewhere won't cut it) so you can go to the 'Questura' and apply for a 'permesso di soggiorno'  (resident permit). This requires your passport, visa, forms to fill out, photos, proof of work or study and so forth. This may allow you to get a health card depending on your situation. You also need to sign up for a 'codice fiscale' which is like a social security card to open a bank account or buy a phone. Let me warn you--they are backed up right now. Can be a real pain. In most big cities there are community organizations that help foreigners navigate the system. You can drive on your U.S. license for one year provided that it is accompanied by an international license you can get at the AAA (which is just a translation).

I am retired, looking to live in Italy for a year.  Can I apply for a residents visa once I am in Italy?

See the expatitaly88 discussion.