VISA – GENERAL INFORMATION (Last Modified October 2003)

European Union citizens do not need visas for any Schengen country.

Fifteen countries make up the Schengen area: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

Citizens of the following countries DO NOT require visas when visiting Schengen area countries for tourism, official or business stays of 90 days or less. {Nevertheless, within eight days from their arrival in Italy, all visitors must report to the local police authority (Questura) to obtain a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno)}:

ANDORRA, ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, BRUNEI, BULGARIA, CANADA, CHILE, COSTA RICA, CROATIA, CYPRUS, CZECH REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, ESTONIA, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, HUNGARY, ISRAEL, JAPAN, LATVIA, LIECHTENSTEIN, LITHUANIA, MALAYSIA, MALTA, MEXICO, MONACO, NEW ZEALAND, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, PARAGUAY, POLAND, RUMANIA, SAN MARINO, SINGAPORE, SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA, SOUTH KOREA, SWITZERLAND, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, URUGUAY, VATICAN CITY, VENEZUELA.

U.S. Citizens do not require visas when visiting Italy with Diplomatic or Official Passports for official stays of 90 days or less.

The Consular Office of the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C. is open to the public on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10.00 to 12.30 and provides visa services only to permanent residents of Washington D.C., Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland, and Arlington and Fairfax counties in Virginia. (For residents of other jurisdictions)

Citizens of those countries, which are not listed above, need a visa to enter the Schengen area. Therefore if they:

intend to visit only Italy
or if their destination is Italy but they plan to visit one or more of the Schengen countries as well
or if they have no main destination but they plan to visit two or more Schengen countries and their first port of entry is Italy
then, they must appear in person at the Consular Office and fill out and sign the visa application in front of the Consular Officer. Any application submitted by a third party will not be accepted.

The Consular Office may request any and all additional documents at its discretion, besides those required for each type of visa listed below.

For information on visas not listed below, please contact the Consular Office by fax (202) 518-2142 or e-mail visti.washington@itwash.org

The average processing time for visas is two to fifteen days. Rush processing is not possible.

Fee is applicable upon presentation of application regardless of issuance of visa.

Applications are accepted ONLY if all the required supporting documents are provided.

VISA TYPES:

AIRPORT TRANSIT

BUSINESS

CONFERENCE

ELECTIVE RESIDENCE

FAMILY

FAMILY OF US MILITARY

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY

SPORT

STUDENT VISA - SABBATICAL - RESEARCH

TOURIST

TRANSIT

WORK

Formulario Visti
Visa Application Form

 

Type of Visa: Schengen or National
Necessary Time for Issuing: Up to 90 days

Applicants:

Persons who intend to enroll in university courses, courses of study or courses of professional/vocational training at authorized/qualified institutions; or persons invited to conduct cultural and research activities.

Documentation Required by the Visa Office:

a) a valid passport (with a photocopy of the most important pages);
b) a filled-in visa request form with a passport-size photograph;
c) a certificate of registration to a university course, to courses of study or courses of professional/vocational training at authorized institutions or to cultural and research activities. The frequency of attendance or activity must be at least 40 hours/month: These hours must be mandatory and should be specified in the certificate. The certificate must be issued on the letterhead of school with a legible signature of its issuer. The receipt of school fee payment must be attached to the certificate of pre-registration to university. In case of professional/vocational training, a formal declaration of responsibility (formale dichiarazione di responsalibilita' must be issued by the legal representative of the institution and must be sent to the competent Provincial Bureau of Labor - Labor Inspection Department (Direzione Provinciale del Lavoro - Servizio Ispezione del Lavoro). In addition, a carbon copy of the declaration must be sent to the Italian diplomatic mission. The declaration must guarantee that the student will not engage in any activities that could lead to a paid-employment in the course of training;
d) a document, which demonstrates that the educational institution is authorized by the Italian Government or by the Institute of Education (Istituto di Istruzione) (only for private schools). In case there is no official record of registration, it is possible to submit a certificate of registration to the Chamber of Commerce or to the School Board Charter (Statuto della Scuola);
e) evidence of financial means (scholarship and/or proof of the applicant's personal or his/her family's balance in bank account);
f) insurance (policy) of an Italian company or of a foreign company valid in Italy, which adequately covers health/medical expenses, medical treatment, hospitalization without the upper limit of insurance benefits, for the entire duration of the visa; or voluntary subscription to the National Sanitary System (Sistema Sanitario Nazionale);
g) a round trip ticket, only for the type C visas (non-national);

N.B. The original documents as well as photocopies must be submitted for all of the documents requested above, except for b). The visa application must also be submitted to the competent Italian Authority (Questura), based on the place of residence, by the applicant in person.

download[VISA REQUEST FORM]