Permesso di Soggiorno for Students: How to Get and Renew Your Italian Residence Permit

The permesso di soggiorno per motivi di studio is the residence permit that lets a non-EU student live in Italy legally after entering on a Type D visa. You must apply within 8 working days of arrival, using the postal kit at a post office with a "Sportello Amico" counter or a university desk where one exists. A first permit of up to one year costs about $133 (€116.46) in fees. You renew it every year, at least 60 days before it expires, and renewal depends on passing exams: at least one in the first year and two in each later year.

Euro amounts are official; dollar figures are approximate, at the ECB rate of 23 September 2026 (€1 = $1.1411).

Visa, permit and receipt: what each one does

Processing times for the card vary by Questura. Until then, the ricevuta is your key document: carry it with your passport, photograph it and keep the access codes printed on it, which you need to track your application.

When to apply: 8 working days after arrival

The 2026–2028 MUR rules require you to apply within eight working days of arriving in Italy, to the Questura of the city where you will live. Count working days from the entry stamp. If you entered through another Schengen country, keep your boarding pass or ticket as proof of the date you reached Italy.

Do not wait until you have found a flat or received a letter from your university. You can file with a temporary address. Once you move, report the new address to the Questura: Article 6 of the Consolidated Immigration Act gives you 15 days.

Where to file your application

• Post office with "Sportello Amico". Each person can collect one kit on showing a passport. The completed kit is accepted only at offices in the Sportello Amico network; find one on poste.it or via the free number 800 200 309, and book a counter slot in the Poste Italiane app to save time.
• University desk. The MUR rules allow filing through desks at universities where they exist. Check your welcome email to see whether your university runs one and whether the international office helps with the forms.
• Patronati and municipalities. According to the State Police, patronati (free advice centres) and some municipalities complete the form for free. You still hand it in at the post office.

What is in the kit and what to attach

The kit contains an envelope with a yellow stripe, two forms and instructions. Form 1 is mandatory. Form 2 is only for applicants with income; a first-time student usually skips it, while a working student can use it at renewal to document earnings.

For a first study permit, the Immigration Portal (Poste Italiane and the Interior Ministry) asks for:

• a copy of every page of your passport, including the visa and entry stamp;
• a copy of the document describing your course, stamped by the consulate when the visa was issued;
• a copy of health insurance valid in Italy for the whole permit period, covering illness and accidents.

All copies go on A4 paper. You show your original passport for identification and put the receipt for the $80 (€70.46) payment slip in the envelope. Also keep proof of address (lease or host letter), your enrolment letter and identical photos for the Questura; the number required is on your appointment letter. Hand the envelope in unsealed, as Poste Italiane requires.

How much the student permit costs

For a permit valid between one and two years the fee is $55 (€50) instead of $46 (€40). The same payments apply to each renewal.

What happens after the post office: Questura, fingerprints, card

1. At the post office you receive the ricevuta and a letter with the date, time and address of your Questura appointment.
2. At the Questura your fingerprints and photo are taken. Bring your passport, the ricevuta, the originals of what you sent and the photos. If anything is missing, the immigration office tells you what to bring. A Declaration of Value is not among those documents: under the MUR rules it is not required for the permit.
3. Tax code (codice fiscale). Italy's Revenue Agency states that the Questura assigns a codice fiscale to foreign nationals applying for or renewing a permit. If you need it earlier, for a lease or enrolment, get it from the Italian consulate before departure or from an Agenzia delle Entrate office by appointment.
4. Tracking. Before the Questura appointment, check status on portaleimmigrazione.it with the username and password on your receipt; after fingerprinting, use the State Police website. You collect the card in person.

Once you hold the card, you can register as a resident with your municipality (iscrizione anagrafica), using your passport and valid permit. Registration gives you a residence certificate and an Italian identity card (carta d'identità). It is not required for the permit itself.

While your permit is pending, the university may enrol you conditionally (con riserva) until June of the following year, and the Questura confirms the outcome on the university's request.

What your landlord must do

Under Article 7 of Italy's Consolidated Immigration Act, anyone who houses a non-EU national must notify the police in writing within 48 hours, whatever the length of stay and even for relatives. Hotels, B&Bs and hostels register their guests themselves through the "Alloggiati Web" system. Ask your landlord for a copy of the notification or of the registered lease: the address on your application must match your documents.

Which health cover you need: private policy or SSN

You need insurance when you file. After that there are two options:

• A private policy valid in Italy with no limits on emergency hospital care. Foreign policies may need proof of coverage; the Embassy in Astana, for example, asks for a consular statement.
• Voluntary registration with the SSN. Students with no income other than grants or benefits from Italian public bodies pay $800 (€700) a year. Registration runs to 31 December of the year you pay, whatever the payment date, and cannot be split into months. If you arrive in September, a private policy until December and SSN registration from January can make more sense.

How to renew the permit: conditions and documents

Apply for renewal at least 60 days before your card expires. The process is the same: kit, post office, Questura and the same fees.

Exceptions and limits

• With documented serious illness or force majeure, the permit can be renewed after one passed exam, but the total number of renewals does not increase.
• A study permit cannot be renewed for more than three years beyond the standard length of the programme.
• Switching to another degree is allowed if the university approves it; moving to a private institution is not covered by this rule.
• Formal withdrawal from studies (rinuncia agli studi) ends your basis for residence: you would have to leave Italy and apply for a new visa for another programme.

If exams are going badly, talk to your tutor or the international office before the exam session, not after the Questura raises it.

How to stay after graduation: conversion and job search

Graduates have three legal routes to stay, and nearly all of them require acting while the study permit is still valid.

A conversion to salaried employment also needs a housing suitability certificate (idoneità alloggiativa) from the municipality, or proof that you have requested one. University students can convert before finishing their degree. For job rules during and after studies, see our guide to working while studying in Italy.

Common mistakes

• Filing after the 8 working days because you have not found a flat. File with a temporary address.
• Sealing the envelope or taking the kit to an office outside the Sportello Amico network.
• Giving an address your documents do not support, or not checking that the landlord notified the police.
• Paying for SSN registration in October without realising it ends on 31 December.
• Losing the ricevuta, which proves legal presence and carries your tracking codes.
• Passing fewer exams than renewal requires and finding out at the Questura.
• Leaving conversion until the study permit has expired. The Ministry of Labour says only a valid permit can be converted. The Council of State has accepted some late applications, but that is no basis for a plan.

Who decides, and how StudyU helps

The Questura issues and renews the permit; the prefecture's Single Immigration Desk (Sportello Unico) handles conversions; the university handles enrolment and exam records. Before arrival you need a visa, covered in our student visa guide. To choose a programme and city, start with our Italy country page or the profiles of the University of Bologna, Sapienza and Politecnico di Milano. StudyU prepares documents and supports applications under a paid contract; the permit decision stays with the Questura.

FAQ

Sources

• MUR: procedures for international students, 2026/27 and 2027/28, Part III
• Immigration Portal: study permit (code 24) and fee table
• State Police: how, where and how much
• Poste Italiane: permit issue and renewal guide
• State Police: duty to report housing of foreign nationals
• Ministry of Labour (Integrazione Migranti): converting a study permit
• Municipality of Alessandria: resident registration for non-EU nationals (example)
• Consolidated Immigration Act (Legislative Decree 286/1998), including Art. 39-bis.1 on the job-search permit
• ASL 1 Liguria: voluntary SSN registration, $800 (€700) for students
• Revenue Agency: tax code for foreign citizens

Facts checked against official sources on 23 September 2026.

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