Old residence permit + re-entry permit — can I fly direct to Morocco or Tunisia and return?

Visas to Italy
1

I wanted to ask those who’ve already faced a similar situation. Is it possible, with an old residence permit and the ricevuta (receipt for the renewal), to take a direct flight to Morocco or Tunisia and then return to Italy? Any practical advice on this or citations from the law?

2

You can leave, but legally you can’t come back without the permesso di soggiorno (residence permit). You’ll need to apply for a re-entry visa (reingresso), which has its own nuances. In practice, people with the first ricevuta sometimes left and even re-entered, but it’s always a risk. Especially via third countries like Morocco or Tunisia — they might simply refuse to let you board because of the ricevuta; it also depends on the airline.

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3

Got it, thanks. Is the re-entry visa issued at the questura (police headquarters), or do I need to go somewhere else?

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4

The re-entry permit (reingresso) is issued at the Questura before you leave. You request it separately for the trip — there’s a clause that the reasons must be substantial; simple tourism isn’t always accepted. If you’ve already left without a re-entry permit and need to return, you’d have to go to the Italian consulate in Morocco or Tunisia, but there you’d apply for a regular visa, not a reingresso.

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5

You won’t be able to re-enter with a ricevuta — you need a separate entry visa. And for the reingresso the questura must confirm that you hold a residence permit (ВНЖ), i.e. your fingerprints must already have been taken. Without that they won’t issue the reingresso.

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6

At the Questura they said flat-out — don’t go anywhere until the permesso (пермессо) has been obtained. There’s even a separate circular saying the ricevuta (ричевуту) is easy to forge, and that’s one of the reasons it’s treated with such skepticism in practice — both by border guards and by the people who handle flight processing.

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7

richevuta (ричевута) seems to be valid only for Italy itself — other EU countries don’t accept it. If you fly direct from an Italian airport to Morocco that’s one thing, but if you connect through another Schengen country they may not let you continue. It’s most serious at boarding: the airline decides whether to let you on, and refusal can happen already at the departure airport.

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8

I didn’t even consider trips like that before getting my permesso — airlines just won’t let you board.

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