This is my first residence permit (permesso di soggiorno). I urgently need to leave Italy — I applied for a provvisorio (провизорио) for a serious reason. They say Turkey won’t let me in with a provvisorio, and so they’re refusing to issue it. But I read that people are allowed to travel with an expired permesso (пермессо) and a receipt showing a renewal application was submitted. I found and read the circular — there are no clear requirements there. What should I do in this situation?
It’s perfectly acceptable to apply for the permesso (permesso di soggiorno) and leave — there’s no obligation to live in Italy while you wait. It’s a different matter that the provvisorio (temporary permit) and the ricevuta (receipt) are different documents, and the entry rules for Turkey are their (Turkish) requirements, not Italian ones. I don’t have exact data on Turkey specifically, so I recommend double-checking directly. As long as the D visa is valid, and if it’s multiple-entry, you can enter and exit with it.
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I’ve heard that at the Questura (police headquarters/immigration office) you can request a special document to travel to EU countries while you’re waiting for your permesso di soggiorno (permesso) — you need to justify the reason for travel. The ricevuta (application receipt) isn’t recognized outside Italy, so that option theoretically exists. As for Turkey, that’s a separate matter — they have their own entry rules, not Italy’s, so it’s better to check with them directly.
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On the poliziadistato.it website there’s a specific section about this — it explicitly states that foreigners who have applied for the first issuance of a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) can leave Italy with the ricevuta (receipt). In other words, the Italian side does not prohibit departure; that’s the official position. But Turkey itself decides whom to allow entry; they have their own requirements that don’t depend at all on Italian documents issued while you’re waiting — these are two completely different issues.
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By law, leaving is not prohibited, yes. But all lawyers categorically advise against leaving Italy before obtaining the initial permesso (permesso di soggiorno) — specifically the initial one; that’s a separate matter. You may have the right to leave and at the same time complicate your situation. Better not to take the risk and wait.
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There’s a practical way to check Turkey’s actual requirements — via klm.traveldoc.aero you can query the current Timatic; registration-desk staff are supposed to look there. The notes specifically mention passengers awaiting an extension of their residence permit — this will help you understand exactly what Turkey recognizes and what it doesn’t. If you do decide to get a special document from the police immigration office, you need a statement addressed to the head of the office, written in free form in Italian, plus a copy of your passport and the receipt. They issue these only in exceptional cases, but they should consider it for a serious reason.
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I remember reading about a case — when leaving via Lithuania the border guards explained it like this: “You’re a tourist now; the ricevuta (receipt) is valid only in Italy and doesn’t mean you’ll be granted a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno).” And that’s exactly what lawyers warn about — formally Italy doesn’t forbid exit, but an officer in another country sees the absence of a visa and of a physical residence permit (permesso) and draws their own conclusions. The Turkish story is probably the same sort of thing — they judge by what they see, not by Italian rules.
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