How Long Can I Stay Out Of Italy With My Permit Of Stay?

This is a question often asked by people who moved here or who are planning to move here permanently (i.e not as tourists).

They are most worried that they cannot go back to their country and stay there for prolonged periods of time.

As a general rule, if you have obtained a permit of stay, you cannot stay out of Italy longer than half the validity of your permit. Therefore, if your permit is one year valid, you cannot stay out of Italy longer than six months.

If you are aiming at obtaining the permit for “soggiornanti di lungo periodo” after five years of legal residency in Italy, then you cannot stay out of Italy longer than six consecutive months, and longer than 10 months in five years.

If you have just applied for your permit and still have to attend the appointment at the Questura, or have attended the appointment at the Questura but still haven’t received your permit, as a general rule, you can go out of Italy and return to Italy with your Poste receipt. Beware, you can’t go around Europe with your Poste receipt, therefore you can go in and out of Italy without passing through any other Schengen countries.

Exceptions apply; therefore this article is not exhaustive and is a guidance only.

If you need assistance and wish to arrange a consultation, please do get in touch.

Barbara De Benedittis Relocation and Legal in Italy