Frequently Asked Questions about residence permits. What to do if…

Problems issuing or renewing residence permits

If your application was not complete, this could cause serious delays in issuing your permit. You could try taking your documents with you at the time of recording your personal and biometric data, or you can send them to the competent central police station of Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini, Forlì or Cesena) by PEC (Certified Email). In order to send a PEC, you must open a account PEC.
If you missed your first appointment you will receive an invitation to a new appointment through the website www.portaleimmigrazione.it, in the post or by SMS. Make sure your name and surname are clearly visible on the entry phone/letter box at the address you have indicated on the application form. If after a few weeks you still have not received an invitation to a new appointment, contact:
If you miss both appointments, the central police station will archive your request for a residence permit. Contact immediately:
You must communicate your new address to the central police station of Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini, Forlì or Cesena by PEC (Certified Email) and update your contact details on Studenti Online.

Make sure that your name and surname are clearly visible on the entry phone/letter box at your new address.
If, at the appointment at the central police station, they hand you a document containing the text “art.10 bis Legge no. 241/90”, you will have to supplement the file with other documents: - you have to submit your supplementary documents or any comments by PEC (Certified Email), usually within 10 days, to the central police stations of Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini, Forlì or Cesena.
Send a copy of the front and back of your residence permit by email from your institutional @studio.unibo.it account:
- to the student administration office of your degree course for first cycle, second cycle and single cycle degree programmes
- to the Office of Professional Master’s Degrees for Professional Master’s Degrees
- to the PhD Programme Unit for PhDs
- to the Office of medical doctors under specialist training for specialisation schools in the medical area
- to the Office for specialisation schools in the non-medical area and state examinations for specialisation schools in the non-medical area.
If 4 months after your appointment at the central police station you still have not received your permit, contact your Campus office for support: Bologna, Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna, Rimini,

Theft or loss of residence permit

If you have lost your residence permit, or it was stolen, you must report it to the Police or the Carabinieri and request a duplicate at a qualified post office with a ‘Sportello Amico’. If the lost or stolen permit was about to expire (within more or less 2 months), you may request a renewal by presenting the necessary documentation. The lost or stolen report may also be submitted online to the Police or the Carabinieri.

Enrolment in a new degree programme

If after obtaining a degree you wish to continue to study and start another degree programme (for example, if after a first cycle degree you wish to study for a second cycle degree, or after a second cycle degree you wish to study for a PhD), within the period of validity of your current student residence permit, you can enrol for the new degree programme as a non-EU student with an equivalent status to an EU citizen.

If your residence permit expires before the end of your new enrolment and you have already registered for the entrance exams, you may be granted a renewal of your residence permit to allow you take the exams and matriculate. For information, contact:
- for degree programmes:
- for Professional Master’s Degrees, the Office of Professional Master’s Degrees
- for PhDs, the PhD Programme Unit
- for specialisation schools in the medical area, the Office of medical doctors under specialist training
- for specialisation schools in the non-medical area, the Office for specialisation schools in the non-medical area and state examinations
If your residence permit is not renewed, you will have to re-enter Italy with a new ‘Student’ visa.
If you are enrolled in individual learning activities, you have passed at least one examination and the following year you wish to enrol in a degree programme to which the individual learning activity is ‘related, resulting or functional’, you can try to apply for a renewal of your residence permit;
- contact the Student Administration Office of the degree programme you wish to enrol in to request the ‘related, resulting or functional’ certification that you will need to attach to the residence permit renewal application.
- apply for renewal of the residence permit.
For the purpose of being admitted to the degree programme, you should refer to the procedures applicable to “Italian citizens, EU citizens and non-EU citizens with EU equivalent status”.

Alternatively, you can return to your country, pre-enrol and obtain a new entry visa at the Italian Embassy.

Ukraine emergencies

Transfers from foreign universities are technically not possible and, in order to study at the University of Bologna, you must follow the admission and enrolment procedures set out in the admission notice or call for applications of each degree programme. In the event of enrolling, you can then apply for a shortening of the degree programme, according to the procedures and deadlines laid down for each academic year. The Degree Programme Board will assess your request and may validate the credits you have already acquired.

For some national restricted-access degree programmes (e.g. Medicine), calls for applications are issued each year for transfers in years following the first. If you are enrolled at a foreign university, you must take part in the call for applications and, if you are successful, you will be able to enrol with shortening of the degree programme.
Italian law (Italian Prime Ministerial Decree of 28 March 2022) requires possession of specific prerequisites for the issue of a temporary protection permit (for information purposes, you can find the categories of eligible persons on the Turin police website). Prerequisites include: you must have been a resident of Ukraine before 24 February 2022, and you must have arrived in Italy after 24 February 2022. Read the regulation carefully so as to assess all the prerequisites and the benefits you could obtain through temporary protection. If you want to continue your studies in Italy regardless of the emergency situation, it is advisable to continue renewing your student residence permit.
If you have obtained a temporary protection permit (pursuant to Prime Ministerial Decree of 28 March 2022), you can enrol at university like an EU citizen (non-EU student with EU equivalent status). You must therefore follow the degree programme admission procedures that apply to non-EU citizens with EU equivalent status. Please note: the residence permit for temporary protection is temporary and at the moment Italian law does not provide for the possibility of converting it into a student permit. For a national restricted-access degree programme (e.g. Medicine), EU equivalent status still has to be confirmed by the competent ministerial offices.

Travelling and returning home

If you are waiting for your permit or a permit renewal, you can travel in the countries of the Schengen area for up to three months, for as long as your entry visa is valid (check that your visa allows multiple entry). After that, to travel you will need to have your Italian residence permit. Before travelling make sure no temporary suspensions of the Schengen agreement are in place.
Italian rules are very strict: if you interrupt the sequence of your consecutive student residence permits, you will only be allowed to re-enter the country in very few cases. If at the end of your study period abroad you have to return to Italy to complete your studies, we recommend you renew your Italian residence permit before you leave. For information regarding your specific case, contact:
To enter the country, you will be visiting for your mobility study programme, contact the Embassy of the country in question. In some cases, the office that manages the specific study mobility programme provides information and support.
If you are waiting for your residence permit renewal, you can return to your country, without stopping in a country of the Schengen area, showing your passport and the receipt that proves you duly applied for a residence permit renewal. Contact the airline in writing beforehand, to make sure you can fly with only your passport, the expired residence permit and the residence permit application receipt. Always check the applicable Italian maximum stay limits to qualify for a residence permit. If you have to return to Italy, and several months have passed since your renewal request at the post office, contact the Italian Embassy for information.

Working with a residence permit

If once you have obtained your first or second cycle degree you wish to stay in Italy and look for a job, you can apply to convert your ‘student’ residence permit into a ‘job search’ permit for a period of 12 months (Art. 39-bis.1, Italian Leg. Decree 286/1998).

Please note: the ‘job search’ permit cannot be re-converted into a ‘Student’ residence permit. If you decide to enrol in a new degree programme you will have to re-enter the country with a new ‘student’ residence permit.

Among the documents required to apply for a Ricerca Lavoro permit is the Dichiarazione di immediata disponibilità al lavoro (DID) (Declaration of immediate availability for work), validated by the local Centro per l’impiego (employment center). In order to register with the Centro per l’impiego and obtain the DID you must:
- Apply for residency (“Residenza”) in the Municipality where you live
- Open an SPID account or obtain an Electronic Identity Card (CIE)
- Register on the “Lavoro x te” website and request the “Dichiarazione di immediata disponibilità al lavoro (DID)”
Other necessary documents are: graduation certificate, health coverage valid for 12 months, a copy of the documents proving you have the funds needed to cover your living expenses in Italy and documents detailing your accommodation in Italy. For more information on the ‘job search’ permit, contact the International Desk.