On arrival in Italy: declaration of presence and residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) for exchange students

Rules for the stay in Italy of incoming exchange students of non-EU citizenship.

If you are a non-EU exchange student, check on this page if you need to make the declaration of presence or apply for a residence permit.

Important: if you stay in Italy for more than 90 days and you do not apply for the residence permit or make the declaration of presence, you are not entitled to sit exams at the University of Bologna and you cannot obtain a Transcript of Records.   

Having collected your residence permit or made the declaration of presence, you must send a photocopy of it to the Exchange Student Desk or the International Relations Office of your Campus. If you do not provide a photocopy of your residence permit, after 180 days your university career is blocked and you are not allowed to sit any exams.

Declaration of presence

In which cases do you have to make the declaration of presence?

If you are a non-European Union (non-EU) exchange student you must make a declaration of presence, and you do not need to apply for a residence permit, in the following circumstances:

  • you are a non-EU exchange student and intend to stay in Italy for less than 90 days
  • you are a non-EU exchange student and intend to stay in Italy for more than 90 days, but you fall into the following situation:
    - you are enrolled at a university in the European Union (Schengen Area) and
    - you have a residence permit for study purposes issued in a member country of the European Union (Schengen Area) which covers the entire mobility period and which is renewable in the country where it was issued and
    - you participate in a European mobility programme or carry out a mobility under an international agreement of the University of Bologna and
    - you are visa exempted and
    - you intend to stay in Italy for less than 360 days.

If your residence permit does not cover the entire period of mobility in Italy, you must instead apply for a residence permit in Italy.

How to make the declaration of presence

If you are entering Italy from a country not included in the Schengen Area and intend to stay in Italy for less than 90 days, the uniform Schengen stamp, placed on the passport during border controls, replaces the declaration of presence.
If you are staying in a hotel and intend to stay in Italy for less than 90 days, the declaration of presence is represented by the declaration made to the hotelier and undersigned by you.

You need to go to the central police station (Questura) and deliver the declaration of presence:

  • If you intend to stay in Italy for less than 90 days and you are entering Italy transiting through a country included in the Schengen Area, and you are not staying in a hotel;
  • If you intend to stay in Italy for more than 90 days.

In this cases, you must deliver the declaration of presence within 8 days following your entry into Italy to the central police station (Questura) in the Province where you live. Read more details in the paragraph “How to make the declaration of presence at the Questura”.

You must always carry a copy of the declaration of presence, as you may be asked to show it in case of police checks.

How to make the declaration of presence at the Questura

General information

On this page you will find general information on the procedure at the Bologna central police station (“Questura”); other central police stations may require different documents. Contact the International Relations Office of your Campus for details.

Before making the declaration of presence at the central police station, you must check-in at the International Relations Office of your Campus: Bologna, Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna, Rimini.

Steps to follow

Fill in the Declaration of presence form [.pdf 44 KB].

Within 8 working days of your arrival in Italy go to:

Bologna central police station (“Questura”), Immigration Office
Via Bovi Campeggi 13/3, 40131 Bologna
from Monday to Friday from 12.00 to 13.00, Counter 1

Bring with you:

  • a copy of your passport (front page with personal data)
  • a copy of your residence permit (front and back) issued in a European Union (Schengen Area) country
  • a copy of the invitation letter issued by the University of Bologna
  • the arrival statement from the University of Bologna issued by the International Relations Office at the Check-in
  • the back up letter issued by the International Relations Office at the Check-in
  • a copy of your registration with the Italian National Health Service (SSN) or health insurance policy
  • a copy of the documents proving you have the funds needed to cover living cost in Italy (for 2024 the benchmarks are: minimum € 534,41 per month or € 6.947,33 per year). You can submit for instance a bank account statement or, if you have been assigned a scholarship, an official letter detailing its amount, duration and issuing body
  • documents proving your accommodation in Italy.

At the Immigration Office you obtain a copy of the declaration of presence with the stamped expiry date.

Keep the declaration in a safe place. Also make a copy of the declaration and always carry it with you along with your passport. In case of police control you will need it to prove that your stay in Italy is regular.

If you stay at the University of Bologna for more than 180 days, you must send a copy of the declaration of presence to the International Relations Office of your Campus via email. If you forget it, after 180 days from the Check-in, your career is locked and you are not allowed to sit exams.

If necessary, show the operator at the “Questura” the following text.

The declaration is also possible for stays longer than 90 days, following the entry into force of Legislative Decree no. 71/2018 which amended article 39 paragraph 4 bis of the Law on Immigration (T.U. Immigrazione, Legislative Decree 286/1998) as follows:
"4-bis. Lo straniero titolare di un'autorizzazione in corso di validità, rilasciata da uno Stato membro dell'Unione europea in quanto iscritto ad un corso di istruzione tecnica superiore o di formazione superiore o ad un istituto di insegnamento superiore, che beneficia di un programma dell'Unione o multilaterale comprendente misure sulla mobilità o di un accordo tra due o più istituti di istruzione superiore, può fare ingresso e soggiornare in Italia, per un periodo massimo di trecentosessanta giornisenza necessità di visto e di permesso di soggiorno per proseguire gli studi già iniziati nell'altro Stato membro o per integrarli con un programma di studi ad essi connesso. Si applicano le disposizioni di cui all'articolo 5, comma 7. Nel caso in cui l'autorizzazione in corso di validità provenga da uno Stato membro che non applica integralmente l'acquis di Schengen, lo straniero al momento della dichiarazione di cui all'articolo 5, comma 7, esibisce copia dell'autorizzazione del primo Stato membro e della documentazione relativa al programma dell'Unione o multilaterale o all'accordo tra due o più istituti di istruzione."

Residence permit

In which cases do you have to apply for a residence permit?

If you are a non-EU exchange students and you intend to stay in Italy for more than 90 days, you must apply for a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) within 8 working days following your arrival in Italy (except for the cases of exemption mentioned above, for which only the Declaration of Presence is required: see paragraph above).

General information

It is fundamental to submit the application for a residence permit complete with all the required documents.

If your study permit application is complete at submission, you will get your permit sooner. If you have to complete the missing documents after submission, the time required for issuing the permit could be several months longer.

Before filling in the application for the residence permit you must Check-in at the International Relations Office of your Campus: Bologna, Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna, Rimini.

Before applying for your first residence permit:

This page provides some general information on the procedure; individual Questure (central police stations) may require additional procedures and documents.

1. Filling in the application

At the Check-in, the International Relations office provides the documents that must be attached to the residence permit application and, if you need help, the office staff can provide assistance and information on the documents required to submit the application correctly.

Bologna Campus: the University of Bologna collaborates with immigration support services. The personnel of such services can provide you with an application kit (including the envelope and the required form and payment slip) and will assist you free of charge in filling out the application for the issue or renewal of the residence permit.

You can also apply for the residence permit on your own: you can obtain an application kit from any qualified post office (Sportello Amico); the kit consists of an envelope containing the form, instructions on how to fill it in and the payment slip. You have to fill in the form and the payment slip by yourself. Go ahead on your own only if you know the procedure well and you are sure that you have all the correct documentation: in the event of missing or incomplete documents, the time required for issuing the permit could be several months longer.

Important: when filling in the forms, you must provide your contact details where you will receive any notifications from the central police station (Questura): you must specify the city, the street, the name on the bell and letterbox of your accommodation in Italy, and your Italian mobile number. In the event of problems, the staff of the central police station (Questura) may call you on the mobile number you indicated.

Also remember to always update your phone number on Studenti Online.

2. Preparing the documents

The documents you should attach to the application or bring to the immigration support service are the following:

  • a copy of your passport (blank pages not included): you need to include copies of the pages containing your personal details, the entry visa, entry stamp into Italy and any other pages with visas and entry and exit stamps;
  • a copy of the letter of invitation issued by the University of Bologna and presented to obtain the visa from the Italian Embassy abroad, possibly stamped by the Embassy;
  • the arrival statement from the University of Bologna issued by the International Relations office at the Check-in;
  • a copy of your registration with the Italian National Health Service (SSN) or health insurance policy;
  • a copy of the documents proving you have the funds needed to cover living cost in Italy (for 2024 the benchmarks are: minimum € 534,41 per month or € 6.947,33 per year). You can submit the same documents you provided for the visa application or a bank account statement or, if you have been assigned a scholarship, an official letter detailing its amount, duration and issuing body;
  • documents proving your accommodation in Italy;
  • Italian tax code (codice fiscale), if you hold one.

Any supplementary documents must be sent to the central police station (Questura) by PEC (you need to open a PEC “Posta Elettronica Certificata” - certified email); contact the International Desk for more information.

Important! For the Bologna central police station (Questura): you can also send messages via normal email to the PEC dipps114.00p0@pecps.poliziadistato.it, but you will not receive a confirmation receipt.

3. Submitting your application

Go to a tobacconists (tabaccheria) and purchase a €16 duty stamp (marca da bollo). Next, go to any Post Office offering the “Sportello Amico” service (the main Post Office in Bologna is in Piazza Minghetti).

Bring the following with you to the Post Office:

  • the application form and payment slip (bollettino) duly filled in
  • a duty stamp (marca da bollo) to the value of €16.00
  • your passport.

At the Post Office you have to:

  • settle the payment slip for the fee and production cost of the residence permit (€30.46 + €40.00)
  • hand in the application kit and the duty stamp
  • fill in a registered letter form (posta assicurata) with your data and pay the service charge of € 30.

The Post Office staff will verify your identity (via your passport) and you will sign the completed form in front of them. Important: do not sign the form beforehand.

The Post Office staff will give you:

  • an appointment at the immigration office (Ufficio Immigrazione) of the central police station (Questura) for your photographic registration; it is very important that you keep this appointment
  • a receipt of your residence permit application: keep the application receipt and make a copy of it, that you should always carry with you. In case of police checks, it proves that you have duly applied for the residence permit.

If you have paid the registration fee for the National Health Service, do not forget to contact the AUSL offices to activate your registration and choose a general practitioner.

4. Appointment at the Questura

It is important that you go to the central police station (Questura) on time for the appointment assigned to you at the Post Office for photographic registration.

Take the following with you to the central police station (Questura):

  • your passport
  • four identical passport-size photographs. They must be recent and they must have a white background
  • the original application receipt you received from the Post Office
  • the document issued by the Post Office confirming your appointment at the Questura.

In the residence permit application you should have photocopies of your documents, but the officers at the Questura may need to check the original documents, so don’t forget to take them.

Important! If you receive a document with a Subject (Oggetto) containing the text “art.10 bis Legge nr. 241/90” during your appointment at the central police station (Questura), you need to submit other documents. If you need support, please contact the International Relations Office of your Campus: Bologna, Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna, Rimini.

The residence permit is issued for the same reasons and for the duration indicated in the visa. If health insurance policy has a duration shorter than that of the visa, the duration of the residence permit will be that of the insurance policy.

5. Collecting your residence permit

5. Collecting your residence permit

To track the status of your application following your appointment at the Questura, you can enter the code allocated to the file during the appointment or the registered mail tracking number (the password written on the receipt given by the post office) on the State Police website.

Important! (only for the Questura in Bologna): the Immigration Office in Bologna will not notify you via SMS when your permit is ready. However, around 3 to 4 months after the photographic registration, you will be able to check on a dedicated website whether your residence permit is ready and book an appointment to collect it. Remember to print out your collection booking and take it with you to the Immigration Office.

In Bologna, for information in the event of delays in issuing the permit, you can go to the URP (Public Relations Office) of the central police station, Piazza G. Galilei 2/A. 

Having collected your residence permit, you must send via email a copy to the International Relations Office of your Campus. If you forget it, after 180 days from the Check-in, you are not allowed to sit exams. 

Make a copy of the residence permit for yourself and keep it in a safe place.

6. Support

If you need support, please contact the International Relations Office of your Campus: Bologna, Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna, Rimini.