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Contents
- Can you leave Italy with a ricevuta
- Law: Interior Ministry circular of 16 June 2007
- Rules for departure and return in 2026
- Which documents to take with you
- Airlines and border control
- Transit through Schengen - the main risk
- If the permesso is expired
- Community real-life experiences 2026
- Conclusions
Can you leave Italy with a ricevuta in 2026
We applied for a permesso di soggiorno, received the ricevuta, the card is not ready yet — can we leave Italy and return?
Short answer: yes, you can. But with important limitations.
Ricevuta (receipt) = confirmation of application for the permesso di soggiorno
When you submit the KIT at the post office, you are given a ricevuta — a receipt with the submission date. This is your main document while waiting for the plastic permesso (from 1 to 16 months depending on the city). Together with a D visa or an old permesso it grants the right to stay in Italy and to leave and re-enter.
"You can’t plan anything while waiting for that visa. You gather documents, apply at the consulate or visa center and wait. Three months, six months or more. No one will tell you when the visa will be ready."
Law: Interior Ministry circular of 16 June 2007
Is there a specific law that allows traveling with a ricevuta?
Circolare del Ministero dell'Interno del 16 giugno 2007
The Italian Interior Ministry circular of 16 June 2007 explicitly states: foreign nationals, regularly residing in Italy, may temporarily exit and re-enter the country holding only the Poste Italiane receipt (ricevuta). For the first residence permit, together with a valid D visa — it is possible to leave and return via external Italian border checkpoints.
Key point: departure and return must be through an Italian border checkpoint. Not through another Schengen country.
"Strangely: there’s nothing about an expiry date for the ricevuta — the date on the ricevuta is not critical. In practice border officers check: the original expired permesso (if any), the original ricevuta, a valid passport, and a direct route with no transit through Schengen."
The ricevuta has no expiration
The ricevuta has no expiry date. The date on it is the submission date, not an expiration. It is valid until you receive the permesso (or a refusal).
Rules for departure and return in 2026
What specific rules must be followed when flying with a ricevuta?
-
✓Direct flight from/to Italy
No transfers in other Schengen countries. Rome - Istanbul - Moscow: OK (Turkey is not Schengen). Rome - Frankfurt - Moscow: RISKY (Germany = Schengen).
-
✓Via an Italian border checkpoint
Depart from an Italian airport, return to an Italian airport.
-
✓Originals of all documents
Passport, D visa (or old permesso), ricevuta — all originals, not copies.
Two scenarios
D visa + ricevuta
The D visa must be valid
Direct flight from Italy
Return only to Italy
Expired permesso + ricevuta
The permesso may be expired
Direct flight from Italy
Return only to Italy
Which documents to take with you
-
✓Valid passport
Original, not a copy
-
✓Original ricevuta
Receipt from the post office (Poste Italiane)
-
✓D visa (if first residence permit)
Must be valid at the time of the flight
-
✓Old permesso (if renewing)
May be expired — that’s fine
Additional recommended items
Printout of the Interior Ministry circular dated 16.06.2007 (in case the airline asks), a copy of the rental contract (proof of residence in Italy), return ticket.
Airlines and border control
Will they let you board with a ricevuta — and what to say at check-in?
The main risk is not border control (they usually know the rules), but the airline at the check-in desk.
| Route | Community experience |
|---|---|
| Italy - Turkey (Istanbul) | Usually without problems |
| Italy - Armenia (Yerevan) | Airlines can be strict, they check |
| Italy - Azerbaijan (Baku) | There are questions sometimes, but they let you board |
| Italy - UAE | Usually no problems (direct flights) |
| Italy - Germany/France | SCHENGEN - risky with transit |
What to tell the airline
If at the desk they ask: "Do you have a visa/residence permit for return?" — show the ricevuta + D visa (or permesso). If they insist — show the printout of the Interior Ministry circular. Italian border control usually knows the rules better than airline staff.
Transit through Schengen - the main risk
Do not fly via other Schengen countries with a ricevuta
The ricevuta grants the right to exit and enter only through an Italian border checkpoint. If you fly Rome - Frankfurt - Moscow, German border control may not recognize the ricevuta and might not let you re-enter when returning. Only direct flights from/to Italy to countries outside Schengen are safe.
- Safe: Rome - Istanbul, Milan - Dubai, Rome - Yerevan (direct)
- Risky: Rome - Vienna - Moscow (transit through Schengen)
- Dangerous: Crossing the border by land Italy - France/Switzerland/Austria
If the permesso is expired
When renewing your residence permit your old permesso will be expired. This is a normal situation — you applied for renewal and are waiting for the new one.
Expired permesso + ricevuta = legal stay
An expired permesso together with the ricevuta for the renewal application confirms your legal stay in Italy. Border control knows this. But note: some banks (Revolut, Monte dei Paschi) block accounts when the permesso is expired.
Community real-life experiences 2026
"I flew with a ricevuta from Rome to Istanbul and back. At the Italian border control they checked my passport, ricevuta, D visa — and let me through without questions. In Istanbul they didn’t ask anything at all. On the return flight the airline at the desk asked if I had a residence permit — I showed the ricevuta, they nodded."
"With a ricevuta and a D visa I once left Italy as a nomad — to Serbia. Now I need to fly to Moscow for work. I’m worried: I’ve been in Italy more than 90 days in 180. But the D visa is not subject to the 90/180 limitation — that’s for Schengen. The D visa grants the right to long-term stay."
"I had a case where the permesso sat in the questura for 9 months. On the website a red cross, no SMS arrived. I didn’t even know it was ready — I found out by chance at the ASL when I was changing my tessera. I flew all that time with the ricevuta without problems."
Conclusions
The Interior Ministry circular of 16.06.2007 explicitly allows it. The ricevuta has no expiration.
No transit through Schengen. Rome - Istanbul: ok. Rome - Frankfurt - Moscow: no.
Passport, ricevuta, D visa (or old permesso). Printout of the circular — for the airline, which may not know the rules.
Italian border officers know the rules. Airline staff at the check-in desk do not always. Be ready to explain.
Related articles
Codice Fiscale 2026 - what to arrange before the flight
Lavoro Autonomo 2026 - full process of obtaining a residence permit
Digital Nomad visa - submitting the KIT and receiving the ricevuta
Permesso: how to get it the first time
Processing times at the questura by city
Driving in Italy
Residence permits: all types