Italy

In the recent past, Italy has been seen to be the destination of many people seeking asylum, no matter the trouble they go through to get there. If you have been following the news, you probably know about the hundreds of people crossing the Mediterranean in an effort to get to Italy. I know that that is not the means you want to use to immigrate to Italy and so we will get to the crux of the matter.

You may want to move to Italy for various reasons including for business and investment in their stable economy, better security than most nations, or to retire there among other reasons. We deem it important that you do it the right way not to find yourself on the wrong side should the whip crack on illegal immigrants. You will need to prepare well in advance and face the stiffening immigration policies owing to the constant inflow of people to the country from across the globe.

Do you need a visa to enter Italy?

Well, the need for..

Italy

In the recent past, Italy has been seen to be the destination of many people seeking asylum, no matter the trouble they go through to get there. If you have been following the news, you probably know about the hundreds of people crossing the Mediterranean in an effort to get to Italy. I know that that is not the means you want to use to immigrate to Italy and so we will get to the crux of the matter.

You may want to move to Italy for various reasons including for business and investment in their stable economy, better security than most nations, or to retire there among other reasons. We deem it important that you do it the right way not to find yourself on the wrong side should the whip crack on illegal immigrants. You will need to prepare well in advance and face the stiffening immigration policies owing to the constant inflow of people to the country from across the globe.

Do you need a visa to enter Italy?

Well, the need for a visa when entering Italy will depend on your country of origin, or rather citizenship. As a member of the European Union, Italy complies with the immigration policy of allowing free entry of citizens from the EU member states. Such individuals will only need an identification card to show that they belong to an EU member state. The same exemption applies to the nationals from the Schengen region, where they are not required to have a visa to enter Italy.

If your citizenship does not fall in the countries with the visa waiver agreement, you will be required to apply and qualify for a visa before moving to Italy. The purpose of your stay will depend on the type of visa you will require. Examples of such purposes include employment, study, tourism, and business travel just to name a few. There are citizens from other countries with special agreements with Italy that can stay in the country for less than 90 days without a visa provided they do not engage in any economic activity.

For the non-EU citizens, there are three categories of visas that they can apply for to reside in Italy for different periods.

Uniform Schengen Visa (USV) :

This visa is designated for nationals who do not belong to either any EU country or a country in the Schengen Agreement. It allows the holder to freely move within the Schengen region without needing to produce a visa every time. The immigration office takes about half a month to decide whether the applicant qualifies for this via. However, this may take up to two months in case more documents are required.

The uniform Schengen Visa is a short term visa that does not allow any extension of the period indicated on the visa. Some exemptions that may allow such extensions to occur include unavoidable circumstances like when bad weather affects your departure flight or humanitarian reasons. Such extensions are evaluated and decided by the Police Headquarters. You do not want to be found in the country with an expired USV.

Long-stay visa/‘national’ visa (NV)

The national visa is meant for people wishing to stay in Italy for more than three months. The success of your application will depend on your reasons for staying and the availability of the required documents. The applicant should have a valid passport during the application as well as have to proof that they can support their stay in Italy comfortably which includes accommodation arrangements and the cost of living.

The processing period for this visas is up to 90 days if all the required documents are available. Make no mistake; the national visa is used to allow an immigrant to enter the Italian territory only and nothing more. After that, you will be required to apply for a residence permit where the purpose of your stay will come into question. Until you complete the application for a residence visa, you will be considered an illegal resident.

Some of the purposes that applicants with this visa can perform include studying in Italy, where the applicant will be required to show that they have secured a place in an Italian Institution recognized by the relevant authorities; employment in Italy with relevant supporting documents; starting a business or investing in Italy, and family reunification among other purposes. It is crucial that you have a defined purpose to prepare the required documents.

Limited Territorial Validity Visa (LTV) :

The last category of visas that can earn you passage into Italy is the LTV visa. As the name suggests, you can only enter one territory, in terms of the Schengen region and this case it is Italy. In other words, this visa cannot be used to enter any other Schengen country. Such purposes that this visa serves include humanitarian purposes, and as a normality, an immigrant does not apply directly.