Travelling with your family

Useful information on coming to Italy with your family

Support for entry into Italy

For support in the incoming procedures contact the International Desk if the destination is Bologna, otherwise contact the International Relations office on the relative Campus: Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna, Rimini.

The visa issue procedures take a long time and you should start the procedure well in advance.

If you come from an EU Country

Before arriving in Italy
If you stay in Italy for less than 3 months, all you need is a valid ID document, no other formalities are required.

If your relatives stay in Italy for more than 3 months, for the purposes of registering with the municipality you must submit the documents certifying your family status to the Italian Embassy and obtain a legalised translation of them.

After you arrive in Italy
Your relatives must register with the registry office in the municipality of residence.

How to register with the Municipality of Bologna.

If you come from a Country outside the EU

You may come to Italy with the following family members:

  • husband or wife
  • children aged under 18, who may also be only of your husband or wife
    or born outside of marriage, who are not married, on condition that the other parent, if alive, has given his/her consent;
  • dependent children aged over 18 who cannot support themselves due to health reasons related to a permanent disability;
  • dependent parents who do not have adequate family support in the country of origin or provenance.

There are several procedures for bringing your relatives to Italy: Accompanying family members; Family reunification; Family cohesion.

Accompanying family members (Familiari al seguito)

This procedure is used by foreign citizens who are still abroad.
Important: you must start this procedure well in advance of your estimated arrival in Italy.

Before arriving in Italy
If you have a long-term EU residence permit or an entry visa lasting at least one year (for the purposes of employment, non-temporary self-employment or studies), you can apply to the Immigration Office (SUI) for authorisation (nulla osta) to be accompanied by your family. This authorisation is required in order to then apply for a visa for your relatives. Contact the International Desk or International Relations office on your Campus to apply.

Requirements for applying for the authorisation (nulla osta):

  • income: applicants must demonstrate an income of no less than the annual amount of the social allowance (for 2023 the benchmarks are: minimum € 503.27 per month or € 6,542.51 per year), increased by half of the resulting amount for each accompanying family member. In the case of reunion of two or more children aged under 14 in any case the required minimum income must be no less than double the annual amount of the social allowance;
  • suitability of accommodation: applicants must demonstrate they have suitable accommodation in Italy complying with health and safety requirements and declared suitable by the municipality.

Read how to obtain an accommodation suitability certificate from the Municipality of Bologna.

Important! You must also provide a power of attorney to a person in Italy to submit your application for authorisation (nulla osta) for accompanying family members, undersigned in the manner indicated by the Italian Embassy as soon as you have obtained the visa. The authorisation (nulla osta) is sent by the SUI to the competent Embassy.

Your family members can apply for a visa only once the Embassy has received the authorisation.

Having checked the required documentation, the Embassy will issue the visas for family reasons.

Important! Your relatives must travel to Italy with you.

After you arrive in Italy
Once you arrive in Italy, within 8 working days your relatives must go to the SUI in order to apply for a residence permit, taking all the documentation required for nulla osta and visa issue. Consult the opening hours of the SUI at the Prefecture in Bologna.

Having checked that all your documentation is correct, the SUI will provide you with the file to deposit at a Post Office with a “Sportello Amico”. Your family members must carefully follow all the instructions they receive and go to the appointments given for photographic identification. They must also keep the receipt they are given at the Post Office, which must be shown with the passport in the event of a police check.

Family reunification (Ricongiungimento familiare)

This procedure is used by foreign citizens who are already in Italy and who have already obtained a residence permit (the application for the permit is not sufficient).

If you have a long-term EU residence permit or a residence permit lasting at least one year for the purposes of employment, non-temporary self-employment or studies, you can apply to the Immigration Office (SUI) for authorisation (nulla osta) for family reunification. This authorisation is required in order to then apply for a visa for your relatives. Contact the International Desk or International Relations office on your Campus for more information.

Requirements for applying for the authorisation (nulla osta):

  • income: applicants must demonstrate an income of no less than the annual amount of the social allowance (for example, for 2018 it was 5.889 EUR/year, or 453 EUR/month), increased by half of the resulting amount for each accompanying family member. In the case of reunification of two or more children aged under 14 in any case the required minimum income must be no less than double the annual amount of the social allowance;
  • suitability of accommodation: applicants must demonstrate they have suitable accommodation in Italy complying with health and safety requirements and declared suitable by the municipality.

Read how to obtain an accommodation suitability certificate from the Municipality of Bologna.

The SUI will give you an appointment to submit all the required documentation. The authorisation is issued once all checks have been made and within 180 days following the submission of all the documentation.

The authorisation is sent by the SUI to the competent Embassy.

Your family members can apply for a visa only once the Embassy has received the authorisation.

Having checked the required documentation, the Embassy will issue the visas for family reasons.

After your relatives arrive in Italy
Within 8 working days your relatives arrive in Italy they must go to the SUI in order to apply for a residence permit, taking all the documentation required for nulla osta and visa issue. Consult the opening hours of the SUI at the Prefecture in Bologna.

Having checked that all your documentation is correct, the SUI will provide you with the file to deposit at a Post Office with a “Sportello Amico”. Your family members must carefully follow all the instructions they receive and go to the appointments given for photographic identification. They must also keep the receipt they are given at the Post Office, which must be shown with the passport in the event of a police check.

Family cohesion (Coesione familiare)

This procedure can be used by foreign nationals who are already regularly staying in Italy.

Foreign relatives regularly staying in Italy who meet the requirements for reunification with another foreign national residing regularly in Italy may apply for a residence permit for family reasons.

The documents required for Family cohesion are the same as the ones submitted for nulla osta and visa issue in case of family reunification.

In order to obtain information on how to apply for family cohesion, you can contact the Immigration Office of the Questura.

Contact the International Desk or International Relations office on your Campus for more information.

Rules for researchers

Researchers with a visa or residence permit for scientific research can apply for a visa for accompanying family members or family reunification whatever the duration of their own visa/residence permit.

They do not have to submit an accommodation suitability declaration for their family members.

They can apply for a visa for family members once they have obtained their own authorisation (nulla osta) for scientific research, without having to wait for their own visa.