FAMILY REUNIFICATION PROGRAM

It’s a two-step procedure: first apply for Entry Clearance at your area Prefecture’s Unified Immigration Desk. Subsequently  a visa must be applied for at the Italian embassy in the country of origin.   

To ask for Entry Clearance, you must:

• Get at your local post office a digital identity known as SPID.

• Buy a € 16 revenue stamp.
• With the SPID enter the www.nullaostalavoro.dlci.interno.it, and fill out the application making sure to include the number of the revenue stamp that you have purchased.

Consequently, you will be contacted for an appointment by the local Unified Immigration Desk.  You will have to bring the following papers with you:

• Original version of the revenue stamp specified in the application.
• Another €16.00 revenue stamp to apply to the Entry Clearance.
• Your residence permit plus a photocopy.
• A copy, if available, of the ID of family members asking to be reunited.

To verify family ties, bring a  family status certificate and proof of residence. This can be done via self-certification.

Once you have obtained the Entry Clearance, it must be sent to the family relative seeking reunification. He/she must go to the local Italian diplomatic mission and collect the visa that in the meantime the Unified Immigration Desk will have sent electronically.

Furthermore you will receive a written communication with the number of the Unified Immigration Desk where an appointment must be set for the relative who is joining you in Italy. From the moment your relative arrives in Italy, you will have just 8 days to contact the Unified Immigration Desk and set an appointment to get a residence permit.

If the procedure is followed, and the application is approved, the Entry Clearance will be issued within 90 days and family reunification can proceed. If for any reason the Entry Clearance application is turned down, but you believe that you are eligible, you can file an appeal at the local territorial court, immigration division.

According to Italian law a visa must be granted within 30 days of the application date, but do not be surprised if delays occur.

• Before sending the application, make sure that all fields are filled, especially those that ask the names and date of birth (dob,) of your relatives. The names and dob on the application must agree with those in the passport.

• Communicate the country of origin or residence of your relatives. If an Italian embassy is not present in that country, communicate immediately the country where your relative can apply for a visa. It’s possible to change this information at a later point, but it will take time, and it must be authorized by the Prefecture.

• If you have special protection status you DO NOT have to meet the housing, income, and health insurance requirements.

Entry Clearance lasts six months from date it is issued. Therefore it must be delivered to the appropriate embassy with the six months. Make sure that all papers necessary to request the visa are ready, and if the appointment at the embassy is delayed, consult Numero Verde Arci (Free Number,) local organizations or a lawyer.