*Update on April 29, 2021: The Italian government approved an extension of the validity of permessi di soggiorno due to the COVID-19 emergency situation.
All permessi di soggiorno expired between January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2021 will be considered valid until July 31, 2021.
Update on January 14, 2021: The Italian Parliament approved a further extension of the duration of permessi di soggiorno due to the COVID-19 emergency situation. The law is effective as of January 16, 2021.
All permessi di soggiorno expired between January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2021 will be considered valid until April 30, 2021.
You won’t need to do any procedure to extend your permit: it will be automatically extended.
UPDATE on December 9, 2020: The Italian Parliament approved a new law to extend the duration of permessi di soggiorno due to the COVID-19 emergency situation. The law is effective as of December 4, 2020.
All permessi di soggiorno expired between August 31, 2020 and December 31, 2020 will be considered valid until January 31, 2021. This means you can renew your permesso after January 31, 2020.
According to our legal experts this means that all permits expired from January 31, 2020 until August 31, 2020 will also be considered valid until January 31, 2021.
You won’t need to do any procedure to extend your permit: it will be automatically extended.
UPDATE on May 20, 2020: Starting from May 18, most of the questure are gradually reopening. For example, if your permesso is ready you can now go to the questura to get it. For more information, please check directly on the website of your questura. You can just search Questura + [name of your city] on Google.
Due to the Coronavirus emergency, the Italian government together with the relevant authorities decided to suspend most of the activities of Questure, Territorial Commissions and Courts.
We know many of you are worried because of the emergency situation. We also know that having an expired permit or not knowing whether the asylum interview will be rescheduled or not can cause even more pressure and anxiety. Here some tips to deal with the stress.
We want you to stay safe, physically and mentally. This is why we decided to shed light on some of these issues. We took ASGI work as a starting point and asked CILD lawyers to answer some of your questions.
You can use this article to learn more about what to do if:
- You need to renew your permit
- You have an appointment at the Questura to file your asylum request
- You have a Commission interview for your asylum claim
- You have a pending case in court
- You have other expired documents
Drop us a private message if you have any questions.
Questure
On March 2, the government suspended the administrative procedures in the Questure. Administrative procedures include: nulla osta for family reunification or seasonal work, citizenship applications, as well as renewing, converting and issuing new permessi di soggiorno.
On March 9, the Interior Ministry decided to close down the Questure’s immigration offices. Questure should still process expulsion orders and asylum claims.
This should be valid until April 15, unless further notice. Note: The government did not approve any extension but lawyers believe that Questure will be closed until May 15.
...but what does this mean for you?
If you want to renew or convert your permesso
Here below you can learn more on what to do if your permit expired or is about to expire. What you need to do depends on the expiry date on your permesso.
If your permit expired from January 31 onward
The government decided that the permessi expired from January 31 onwards will be considered valid until August 31.
This means you can renew your permesso after August 31. However, if you had an appointment scheduled over these months, Questura will most likely send you an SMS with the new appointment date.
This is also valid for people who are not currently in Italy. If you are considering booking a flight to return to Italy, please contact the Italian consulate or embassy in the country you are currently in to find out more, or drop us a private message if you have any questions.
Learn more: TEMPORARY TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
If your seasonal work permit, or 'permesso per lavoro stagionale' in Italian, expired between February 23 and May 31 it will be considered valid until December 31, 2020.
If your permit expired before January 31
If your permit expired before January 31, by now you should have already applied for renewing or converting your permesso. As you know, you have up to 60 days after the expiry date to renew or convert your permesso.
If you made an appointment to renew your permesso – As long as you have made an appointment with the questura or you have a renewal receipt, you're fine! Both prove that you are legally allowed to stay in the country. Both will also be valid until August 31.
However, remember that administrative procedures to renew, convert or issue new permessi are suspended for now, most likely until May 15. So if you had an appointment scheduled during the lockdown period, Questura will most likely send you an SMS with the new appointment date.
If you do not receive any SMS, you can call or email the questura to check directly with them. If they do not reply, you can ask your lawyer to email them on your behalf.
Click here for a list of most of the Questure across Italy, and have access to their contact details.
If you did not make an appointment to renew your permesso – If your permit expired before January 31 but you did not apply for renewal, CILD lawyers suggest you send a certified email (PEC) to show that you’re willing to renew or convert your permesso. Your lawyer or a legal expert can help you.
If you want to apply for asylum
The Questure should allow you to apply for international protection, if you want to. You can go to the Questura or make an appointment by sending a certified email (PEC email address). In some cases we’ve heard of Questure allowing people to apply for asylum via email.
Contact a legal expert if you had an appointment but you were not able or allowed to file your asylum application.
In this case you can also call the Numero Verde Rifugiati: 800905570 from all the operators, or +393511376335 from Lycamobile number. You can call Monday to Friday, from 9:30 to 17:30.
Territorial Commissions
Territorial Commission offices are closed until April 13. This means that interviews are suspended for now. Note: so far the government did not approve any extension.
So you will need to wait a little longer if you have an interview scheduled with the Commission, if you are still waiting for a Commission date, or for your results.
If you want to make sure your asylum interview was rescheduled, here’s a full list of Commissions’ email addresses.
When the Coronavirus emergency is over, the Commission will contact you to give you a new date for the interview. Make sure the Commission and relevant authorities have your latest address and contact details. If you live on your own, remember to put your name on the door bell.
Learn more: COMMISSION INTERVIEW
Courts
The Italian government also suspended most of the Courts' activities. Civil and criminal proceedings (including asylum appealing procedures) are postponed after May 11.
However, keep in mind that courts may decide to reschedule your appeal hearing after June 30. Check with your lawyer for more details on your personal case.
Appealing a negative response
If you’ve received a negative response on your asylum claim after March 9, the 30-day deadline to present your appeal is suspended. You can present your appeal after May 11.
This is also valid if you received a negative response on your citizenship application, or on your family reunification request.
Remember that your lawyer is the best person to contact in this case.
Other documents
The government also decided for the extension of some relevant documents. For example, if your Carta d'Identità, Driving License, Passport or Travel Document expired after March 17, it will be considered valid until August 31, 2020. This is true in Italy only though. This means you cannot use any of these documents to travel outside the country.
Also, if your Tessera Sanitaria expired after March 2, it will be considered valid until June 30.
If you have any doubts, you can send us a private message.
