The permesso di soggiorno is the residence permit a non-EU national requests from the questore within 8 working days of entering Italy. It is issued for the activities the entry visa states, so the visa decides the permit. Since 22 May 2026 the questura has 90 days to issue it, if the requirements are met.
These terms come from Art. 5 of the Consolidated Immigration Act (TUI, D.Lgs. 286/1998). A founder who still needs the visa starts with our golden visa Italy page for the investor route; this guide begins the day the founder lands.
What is the permesso di soggiorno, and why does the visa decide it?
The permesso di soggiorno is the card that lets a non-EU national stay in Italy on a residence basis after entering on a national entry visa (visto d'ingresso). The questura, the provincial police headquarters headed by the questore, issues it. Under Art. 5(2) TUI the permit is issued for the activities the entry visa states, so the visa decides the permit.
The card is made with anti-counterfeit technology and follows the uniform EU format of Regulation (EC) 1030/2002 (Art. 5(8) TUI). Elective residence is a different, non-working route, set out in the elective residence visa guide; this page gives no income figure for it.
The permit is a separate matter from tax residence and from registration with the municipality's Anagrafe, which are named at the end of this page and not explained here. The permit answers neither of those questions.
What has to be settled before the flight?
The permit follows the visa, so the visa stage comes first and sits outside this page. Two facts can be checked before flying. The self-employment entry quota is 650 entries a year for 2026, 2027 and 2028 (Ministry of Labour, Circolare 8047 of 16 October 2025). A foreigner taking the office of chairman, board member, managing director or auditor of an S.p.A., S.r.l. or S.a.p.a. trading for at least 3 years can use a company-office route to the self-employment visa, without the financial-resources attestation (Foreign Ministry, D.I. 850/2011, section 7.I.2).
The investor route and the Italia Startup Visa have visa-stage committees of their own; our investor-route page covers them. At home a founder can gather the company paperwork the file will need and the photographs for the appointment. The clock itself cannot start at home: the 8 working days run from entry, so the request is made on Italian soil.
The documents a founder produces at the permit stage are few: the passport with the visa, the completed kit forms or the questura file, the EUR 16 revenue stamp, the receipts for the card fee and the contribution, and photographs for the appointment. None of the sources read requires an apostille or a sworn translation for the permit request itself; foreign documents enter at the visa stage and at the company deed.
Which permit follows which founder visa?
Each founder visa leads to a permit of its own kind. Table 1 maps them, with validity and renewal as the statute and the Italia Startup Visa portal give them. The self-employment case is covered in the visa for self-employed founders, the start-up route in our guide to the Italia Startup Visa and the remote-work route in digital nomad visa in Italy.
The investor permit rules sit in Art. 26-bis TUI and the digital nomad permit in Art. 27(1-sexies) TUI. The start-up route has its own rules in the Italia Startup Visa guidelines of 20 March 2018; this page prints no figure from that text.
A cell that reads "depends on the permit type" is deliberate. The Polizia di Stato publishes the list of permits that go by postal kit as a separate document, and this page does not guess which side of it a founder's permit falls on. The table states what the statute and the portal give, and nothing the reader would have to take on trust.
The permit by founder visa: validity, renewal and where the request is made.
| Entry visa | Permit | Validity | Renewal | Where the request is made |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employment visa | Self-employment permit | Up to 2 years | Each renewal up to 3 years | Depends on the permit type |
| Investor visa | Investor permit | 2 years | Renewals of 3 years | Within 8 days, at the questura of the place of stay |
| Italia Startup Visa | Self-employment permit, 1 year | 1 year | Terms of Art. 5(4) TUI | At the questura |
| Digital nomad visa | Permit for digital nomads and remote workers | Up to 1 year | The TUI's renewal rule | Depends on the permit type |
| Permits not issued for work | Permit for the purpose the visa states | The entry visa's duration | Not longer than the initial permit, unless the TUI sets other terms | Depends on the permit type |
Sources: Art. 5(3), 5(3-quater) and 5(4) TUI; Art. 26-bis(5) and (6) TUI; Art. 27(1-sexies) TUI; decree of 21 July 2017, Art. 6(6); Italia Startup Visa portal; Polizia di Stato.
How soon after landing must a founder apply?
Art. 5(2) TUI sets the term: the request goes to the questore of the province where the foreigner is, within 8 working days of entering the territory. The clock runs from entry.
The decree of 21 July 2017 on investors puts the request at 8 days from entry, at the questura of the place of stay (Art. 6(6)). The statute counts working days and the decree counts days, so the safe reading for an investor is 8 calendar days. Missing the window is the first thing that goes wrong in this procedure; no source read states a sanction, so this page names none.
The 8 working days are the founder's term. The questura has a separate, longer term of its own to decide, covered further down: the two should not be confused, because the first runs from entry and the second from the application. A founder who lands and waits for the second term to start has missed the first.
Post office or questura: which route applies?
The Polizia di Stato splits the request into two routes by permit type. On the postal route form 1 is compulsory and form 2 is only for an applicant with income or applying for work; each family member gets one envelope, none for children under 14.
Both lists are Polizia di Stato documents, published as PDFs on its site. The card fee is paid per person, so a family sharing one kit still pays it once for each member.
The postal kit
Listed permit types are requested with a kit: a yellow-striped envelope with two forms and instructions, handed in at a Sportello Amico counter of Poste Italiane.
The questura
Every permit not on the postal list is requested only at the questura. The Italia Startup Visa portal places that route's permit at the questura.
Which list is my permit on?
The Polizia di Stato keeps both lists as separate documents. This page does not say which list a self-employment or investor permit is on; the questura confirms it.
How does the procedure run, step by step?
Eight steps for a founder who holds a national visa. Each states its basis; where no source fixes a term, the step says so.
Enter Italy
The 8-working-day clock starts on entry (law, Art. 5(2) TUI).
Choose the route
Listed permit types go by postal kit; every other type goes to the questura (Polizia di Stato).
File the request
On the kit route: form 1, form 2 if there is income or work, the EUR 16 revenue stamp, the card fee and contribution by postal slip, and the EUR 30 postal charge at the counter. Otherwise file in person at the questura.
Take the receipt
The Poste Italiane receipt replaces the old cedolino and carries the convocation date for photographs and fingerprints (practice; no term is fixed).
Stay and work on the receipt
Lawful stay and temporary work continue until the card or a refusal (law, Art. 5(9-bis) TUI).
Give photographs and fingerprints
Appear on the convocation date with the contribution receipt (law, Art. 5(2-bis) TUI).
Receive the card
The questura has 90 days from the application to decide, if the requirements are met (law, since 22 May 2026).
Renew in time
File at least 90 days before expiry, with new fingerprints (law, Art. 5(4) and (4-bis) TUI).
Statutory term and practice are tagged separately.
- Enter ItalyThe clock startsEntry (Art. 5(2) TUI)
- File the requestPostal kit or questuraWithin 8 working days (Art. 5(2) TUI)
- Receipt and convocationReplaces the old cedolinoPractice: no figure
- Stay and work on the receiptTemporary work until the card or a refusalArt. 5(9-bis) TUI
- Photographs and fingerprintsOn the convocation datePractice: wait not fixed
- Card issuedQuestura decides if requirements are metWithin 90 days of the application, since 22 May 2026
- Fingerprints againAt each renewal (Art. 5(4-bis) TUI)
- RenewWith new fingerprintsAt least 90 days before expiry (Art. 5(4) TUI)
What may a founder do while the card is pending?
With the receipt, even if the 90-day term is missed, the foreigner may stay lawfully in Italy and work temporarily while the permit is pending (Art. 5(9-bis) TUI). The rule covers every applicant. It does not describe a waiting time, because no source read fixes one.
With the receipt and the original entry visa (first issue), the applicant may return to the home country, according to the Polizia di Stato page on how, where and how much. Transit through other Schengen states on a receipt is not covered by the sources read, so a founder who plans to travel asks the questura before booking.
The Poste Italiane receipt is the document that proves the application is pending. It replaces the old cedolino,. The stay and the temporary work during the wait rest on it.
Prepare the company documents from abroad
Company-side documents for a permit file can be prepared and coordinated while you are still abroad. The questura issues the permit.
What happens at the fingerprints appointment?
Photographs and fingerprints (rilievi fotodattiloscopici) are taken at the first request (Art. 5(2-bis) TUI) and again at each renewal (Art. 5(4-bis) TUI). The date is on the post-office receipt or the convocation, and the contribution receipt is shown at the appointment.
The card fee is paid per person by postal payment, with one receipt per family member when one kit serves a family. No source read fixes how long the wait for the appointment is, so this page gives no figure for it.
What to bring is short: the passport with the visa, the receipt or convocation, the photographs, and the receipt for the contribution. The questura takes the fingerprints on the day; they are needed at the first request and again at each renewal, so the same appointment returns every time the permit is renewed.
What do the state charges add up to?
The state charges are four items. A Polizia di Stato page (modified 2019) lists the EUR 16.00 revenue stamp, the EUR 30.00 postal charge on the kit route and the EUR 30.46 card fee for a permit of more than 90 days. The contribution comes from the decree of 5 May 2017, in force 9 June 2017, as applied in a Questura di Catanzaro notice of 16 June 2017. It is paid by adults only, for new requests and for renewals.
On the kit route a 2-year permit adds up to EUR 126.46 (16 + 30 + 30.46 + 50). Whether the EUR 30 postal charge also applies at the questura is open, so no total is given for that route. Art. 5(2-ter) TUI still prints a range of EUR 80 to 200; the amounts below are the operative ones.
Two of the sources are old: the Polizia di Stato page was modified in 2019 and the Catanzaro notice dates from 2017. The amounts are shown with their year for that reason, and a founder checks them on the Polizia di Stato page before paying. The page uses "contribution" for the EUR 40, 50 or 100 item and "card fee" for the EUR 30.46, and never calls the contribution a fee.
The state charges for the permit itself, with the source and year of each.
| Item | Amount | When it is paid | Source and year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue stamp (marca da bollo) | EUR 16.00 | Applied on the completed form | Polizia di Stato page, modified 2019 |
| Postal dispatch | EUR 30.00 | Kit route, at the post office | Polizia di Stato page, modified 2019 |
| Electronic card | EUR 30.46 | Per person, permit over 90 days | Polizia di Stato page; Questura di Catanzaro notice, 2017 |
| Contribution, over 3 months and up to 1 year | EUR 40.00 | Adults, new requests and renewals | Decree of 5 May 2017, in force 9 June 2017 |
| Contribution, over 1 year and up to 2 years | EUR 50.00 | Adults, new requests and renewals | Decree of 5 May 2017, in force 9 June 2017 |
| Contribution, EU long-term permits, managers and specialised workers | EUR 100.00 | Adults, new requests and renewals | Decree of 5 May 2017, in force 9 June 2017 |
Kit route with a 2-year permit: 16 + 30 + 30.46 + 50 = EUR 126.46. Polizia di Stato page (2019); decree of 5 May 2017.
How long does the questura have, and what changed in 2026?
Since 22 May 2026 the questura has 90 days from the application to issue, renew or convert the permit, if the requirements are met (Art. 5(9) TUI). The renewal lead time and the waiting-period rule moved with it.
The change comes from D.Lgs. 83/2026, which applies from 22 May 2026; the text of Art. 5 now in force starts on 4 June 2026. This page cites the decree by number and date only. Older programme guidance gives a shorter renewal lead time and is superseded by the statute as in force, so it is not repeated. The 90 days is a statutory ceiling, not a measured waiting time.
For a founder abroad the practical reading is narrow. The statute starts the 90 days at the application, not at entry, so the days before filing do not count against the questura. The same figure now governs the renewal lead time, which means a founder reads one number twice: 90 days for the state to decide, and 90 days of notice before the permit lapses.
When and how is the permit renewed?
The renewal is requested from the questore of the province where the holder lives, at least 90 days before expiry (Art. 5(4) TUI). New photographs and fingerprints are taken. A renewal is for a duration not longer than the initial permit, unless the TUI or its regulation sets other terms.
Self-employment renewals run up to 3 years each. The investor permit renews for periods of three years, and the holder is exempt from the integration agreement and from continuity-of-stay obligations for a total of five years from first issue (Art. 26-bis TUI). This page states no absence rule for other founders and no conditions for the EU long-term permit.
The renewal brings the file back to the questura with fresh fingerprints. For the investor route, the Committee's nulla osta goes to the questura of the province of residence with the renewal.
What goes wrong, and what comes after the card?
The failures the statute and the official pages point to:
- Missing the 8-working-day window after entry.
- A visa whose purpose does not match the planned activity.
- Filing the renewal late, now that the lead time is 90 days.
- Going abroad and back without checking what the receipt covers.
- Arriving at the appointment without the contribution receipt.
- After the card: confirm the codice fiscale and register residenza with the Anagrafe; no official term was found.
Tax residence and the flat tax are separate questions: the Italian taxes for foreigners page covers them, and this page states no tax rule.
From our practice
Valentina Orsini's team prepares the founder's permit file: it gathers the company documents the file and each renewal will need, sets the papers in order and tells the founder who acts at each stage. The founder files the request; the questura issues the permit.
Sources
The primary sources cited above:
- Normattiva, Art. 5 TUI: request, fingerprints, 90-day terms, durations, renewal.
- Normattiva, Art. 26-bis TUI: investor permit, renewals, five-year exemptions.
- Normattiva, Art. 27(1-sexies) TUI: digital nomad permit.
- Italia Startup Visa guidelines, 20 March 2018: the start-up route's own rules.
- Foreign Ministry, D.I. 850/2011, section 7.I.2: company-office route.
- Ministry of Labour, Circolare 8047 of 16 October 2025: self-employment quota.
The state charges rest on a Polizia di Stato page and a Questura di Catanzaro notice of 2017, and the investor request term on the decree of 21 July 2017; they are named in the text, not linked.
Related service
Golden Visa Italy and the Investor Visa Route is the next step: the visa file and the company behind it.