Residence Permit
Once in Italy, students remaining for more than 90 days must apply for a residence permit. The application for a residence permit must be presented within 8 days of their arrival.
Students have to go to the Scientific police office in Via Roccaromana 18/20 – Catania from 9:00 till 12:00 am or from 15:00 to 16:30 pm from Monday to Friday for their finger prints and get the kit which is an envelope containing the forms and instructions on how to fill them in, available at any “sportello AMICO” of any authorized post office.
In order to facilitate the kit comprehension, the University of Catania has provided for 5 versions of the forms in: English, French, Spanish, German and Arabic languages. Please download your version here before filling in the Italian version (which is the only accepted by Italian offices).
After filling in and signing the forms, students must go to any post office and deliver the following documents:
- a duty stamp worth 14.62 EUR;
- original passport and a photocopy of the pages containing personal details and the entry and exit visa stamps from the country;
- a photocopy of the health and accident insurance policy. The policy must cover the whole period of stay, and if it was purchased abroad it must be stamped by the Italian consulate;
- For exchange students: declaration from the University of Catania issued by the International Relations office at the time of registration;
- For students enrolled in degree programmes or single course units applying for the first issue of their residence permit: certificate of registration at the University of Catania issued by the competent Student Administration office (if the student has already completed enrolment) or a photocopy of the certification confirming the degree programme to be followed, stamped by the Italian Consular/Diplomatic Representation on issue of the entry visa.
- For students enrolled in degree programmes applying for a renewal of their residence permit: the certificate of registration at the University of Catania issued by the competent Student Administration office confirming the passing of at least one exam for the first renewal and at least two exams for subsequent renewals, without prejudice to any cases of force majeure.
- Moreover, when presenting the application to the post office, students must:
- fill in a payment slip (bollettino postale) for the electronic residence permit. Cost of the residence permit for study purposes with a duration of more than 3 months: 107,50 Euros
- fill in a registered letter form for sending the kit. Cost: 30,00 Euros
When delivering the kit to the post office, students will be given an appointment at the Immigration Office at the Questura of Catania in Corso delle Province 218, for photographic registration. REMEMBER that they MUST respect the given appointment. ONLY in case of serious reasons for not attending the due appointment students can send a communication to the Immigration office.
Finally, students must:
- provide a correct domicile address to the post office: the Questura will send any notices or calls in the event of problems in issuing the residence permit to the indicated address. It is important that the student's name is correctly indicated on the letterbox/door entry phone.
- Keep the receipt given by the post office: in case of police checks, it proves that the student has applied for the residence permit.
- Give a copy of the receipt to the Student Administration office in your Faculty (for students enrolled in degree programmes or single course units) or to the International Mobility office - IMO (exchange students).
- In order to track the status of your application for the issue/renewal, after the appointment at the Questura you can enter the code allocated to the file during the appointment or the insured number (the password written on the receipt given by the post office) on www.poliziadistato.it.
After collecting the residence permit, students must provide a copy as soon as possible, exhibiting the original document, to the Student Administration office of their Faculty (for students enrolled in degree programmes and single course units) or the IMO, where they registered on arrival (for exchange students).
Fiscal Code
The Fiscal code is a code made up of letters and numbers on the basis of your first name, family name, date and place of birth and it is used by the Public Administration to identify the citizens living in Italy.
All those living in Italy need to have their own.
The Fiscal code is necessary in order to be enrolled at the University of Catania, to apply for the residence permit, to open a bank account, to enter into a tenancy agreement, to receive the payment of a scholarship, to earn a salary and carry out other procedures or activities.
In order to obtain the Italian Fiscal Code students will have to go to the local VAT Office, bringing along their passport.
The VAT Office in Catania is in Via Monsignor Domenico Orlando 1 - 95126 Catania and it is open from Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 13:00 and Tuesday and Thursday also from 14:30 to 16:30.
If the Fiscal Code is lost or stolen, a duplicate can be requested at the local VAT Office.