I’ve submitted my application for a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) and I’m waiting. Am I right that while it’s being processed you can’t leave Italy, not even to travel elsewhere in Europe? How is that enforced at all when there are no internal Schengen border checks?
I had a ricevuta (application receipt) for almost seven months — I had my fingerprints taken in October and received my residence permit (permesso) on May 12. I left the country during that time with no problems. The ban on leaving the country is for those who have no legal status at all, who are living on an expired visa. With a valid D visa and a ricevuta you can leave — no one on the Italian side will stop you, since Schengen really has no internal borders. Just don’t forget about the allowed days of absence from Italy per year; that’s important later for renewal (of the residence permit).
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Thanks so much — I hadn’t thought about the days of absence at all. How are those days counted, and where can I check them later when renewing?
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I did the same while I was waiting — at customs I always said I was entering as a tourist so there wouldn’t be any extra questions. I also always had printouts of my return tickets and reservations with me. No one stamped my passport, no one asked anything.
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for a regular renewal there’s no day-counter — the questura (the Italian police/immigration office) looks at evidence of actual residence: employment, residency registration, bank statements. this applies to the lungo periodo (long-term) permit, where you can’t be absent for more than 6 months in total over five years — but that’s a different story. in Liguria, at every renewal they asked me for a work certificate and a bank statement; nobody bothered to go through the passport stamps.
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