The carta d'identità is a document which shows your identity. In this article you can find out how to get it and what this document can do.
Where to get a carta d'identità
To get your carta d'identità you first need to register at the Registry Office “Anagrafe” of the town or city where you live or where your camp or center is. This procedure is called iscrizione anagrafica.
The Anagrafe will then issue your carta d'identità. This office needs to see your permesso di soggiorno to release a carta d'identità.
In most Comuni (municipalities) it is necessary to make an appointment to get your carta d'identità. We recommend you to check on the website of your Comune to learn about the procedure to a get carta d'identità and the documentation you need to provide.
If you need help, you can also drop us a private message on Facebook.
In some cases, your center or camp might also support you in getting a carta d'identità. Talk to your camp manager.
What will my carta d'identità look like?
If you apply now, you will most likely get an electronic carta d'identità, similar to a credit card and not a paper document as it was in the past.
If your carta d'identità is a paper one, don't worry. It's sill valid until the expiration date that's written on it.
If you are an asylum-seeker
After the Salvini Decree was enforced on October 5, 2018, asylum-seekers were no longer able to register with the anagrafe of the local comune to get a new carta d'identità (art. 13). However, things have recently changed.
Thanks to the new immigration decree, entered into force on October 22, 2020 the right for asylum-seekers to register at the local Registry office is now officially restored by law.
According to this decree, iscrizione anagrafica gives asylum-seekers the right to get a 3-year carta di identità (instead of 10 years), that cannot be used to travel outside Italy.
Basically, this means that if you hold a 6-month permesso di soggiorno, you can now register for iscrizione anagrafica at the local registry office of the city where you have been living regularly for at least 3 months.
You can register with both a receipt that proves that you filed an asylum application, or with the 6-month Permesso per Richiesta Asilo.
If your comune doesn't allow you to register for the iscrizione anagrafica, we suggest you contact the ASGI anti-discrimination service: +393515542008 – antidiscriminazione@asgi.it.
If you have been granted legal status in Italy
Once you file your asylum claim and you hold the receipt of your international protection application, or once you have another kind of legal status in Italy, you can get a carta d'identità.
You can use your carta d'identità to show your place of residence. That's important because the municipality written on your card is responsible for any social benefits you apply for, including housing.
To have the carta d'identità, you must be a resident in the town or city where you request it. The comune will send a person to your place of residence to verify that you live there.
You can learn more about how the Comune will verify where you live here.
How long the card is valid
The duration of your carta di identità depends on the type of permesso you hold. The document itself is valid for:
- 3 years, if you hold a 6-month Permesso per Richiesta Asilo
- 10 years, if you hold any other type of permesso, but it does not mean you can legally stay in Italy for 10 years.
Remember that the amount of time you are allowed to stay in Italy depends on the type of permesso di soggiorno you have and not on the duration of your carta di identità. For example, if you have a 2-year casi speciali permit and a 10-year carta di identità it does not mean that you can legally stay in Italy for 10 years. You only have the right to stay legally in Italy for the duration of your permit, so 2 years in this case.
Learn more:
Can I travel with my carta d'identità?
Your ID card only proves your identity and cannot be used as a valid document to travel outside Italy. The back of your card says “non valida per l’espatrio”. It means “not valid for travel outside Italy.”
Besides, asylum-seekers are not allowed to travel outside the country while their asylum claim is still pending.
Learn more:
YOUR RIGHT TO TRAVEL
Where to get more information
Check out the Italian Ministry of the Interior’s carta d'identità website.
You can also get more information on the website of the Comune where you live.
If you have any other questions, feel free to message us on Facebook and we'll try to answer them.
