Italy visa application: step by step instructions

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Italy is one of the most popular countries for tourism in the whole world. People from all over the globe come here to see the Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, visit the Vatican and much more. In addition to good conditions for tourism, people from other countries conduct their business in Italy, and here you can also get a good European education. Russian citizens are no exception, they often visit this country for a variety of reasons. It does not matter for what purpose a person wants to come here, he must obtain a visa to Italy without fail.

Types of visas

Depending on what a person plans to do in Italy, a certain type of entry document is issued. So, for example, a person arriving on a Schengen visa does not have the right to make a profit on the territory of a foreign state, in which case a national visa of category D should be issued. Obtaining this type of entry document is much more difficult and expensive than issuing a regular Schengen. Therefore, before applying for a visa to Italy, you need to clearly understand what type of entry document to apply for.

Transit

It is only needed if you have a transfer at an Italian airport. It happens that sometimes you have to wait for the next plane for several days, so a Russian needs to open this type of visa. Visa-free transit is also possible. But only if you need a flight less than 24 hours, but with this option it is forbidden to leave the airport transit zone.

Schengen

The most common type of visa for every traveler. Having issued it, you get the opportunity to move freely throughout the territory of almost all of Europe, with the exception of countries that are not part of the Schengen zone. However, there are not so many of them.

The design of such a document is relatively simple and cheap compared to the rest. It is also worth noting the low percentage of failures. Often they can refuse to issue this visa only if a person has previously had violations of the visa regime or there are certain problems with documents.

National

This document is issued only to those people who need to stay in the territory of another country for a long time. The national visa is valid from 90 days to one year. When applying, you must have an invitation from the employer or have documents that indicate admission to the university.

By issuing a visa to Italy of this type, a person has the right to make a profit, he pays taxes to the treasury of this country, can receive a scholarship and much more. The procedure for obtaining a visa is much more complicated and more expensive than usualSchengen.

Required documents for a visa to Italy

When you decide on the type of visa you need, you should start preparing all the papers. To obtain a visa, you must have with you:

Booked hotel or any other documents confirming the place of residence in Italy. It will also be enough to have an invitation from an individual who is legally located in this country.
Round tickets. You may submit originals or copies.
Insurance for the entire period of stay in the country. Note! It must cover the cost of at least 30 thousand euros.
A foreign passport. It must have at least one blank page (the ability to put a visa stamp). The validity period of this document should also be taken into account. The passport must still be valid three months from the planned departure.
Visa application form. Her sample can be seen in the following photo.

Four 3cm x 4cm photos are the standard conditions for a photo when applying for a Schengen visa to Italy.
A certificate from the place of official employment, it must contain the actual address of the place of work, the telephone number of the enterprise and the actual salary. This condition is mandatory only in case of obtaining a Schengen visa, for a national one such document is not needed.
Also, to obtain a Schengen, you need documents that confirm the normal financial condition of the applicant. Can be presenteda bank statement on the availability of an account, a credit card with cash, traveler's checks and much more. With such documents, the Italian Consulate reinsures itself against potential illegal immigrants.
When applying for a national visa, the applicant must have an official invitation from the employer, which will indicate the actual address of the company's location, who the applicant will work for and what salary he will receive. In the case of studying at a university, a person needs to have a document with him that confirms admission to an educational institution.
Students also need to present papers that indicate the availability of funds to pay for education and living in this country.

This is a complete list of documents that may be required when applying for a visa. But still, the consulate reserves the right to demand other papers that are not listed. It can be almost anything, so you need to be prepared for such a situation. Often, visa officers may have questions for applicants, in which case they call the person for a personal interview.

Where and how to apply

If you want to save money, then you need to apply for a visa at official Italian representations. They are located only in three cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. In addition, there are visa centers in other major cities of the country, they accept documents and send them to the nearest consulate, but in this case theycharge extra for their services. More details about the price can be found below.

Visa Application Centers are located in: Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Lipetsk, Novosibirsk, Samara and Nizhny Novgorod.

Pay attention! To apply, you must first register for an appointment. If the application will be carried out at the consulates, then you can make an appointment on the official website of the embassy, in case of contacting the visa centers, through the official website of this structure.

How to register for an appointment

When you go to the official website, at the top of the page you can see the "Record online" button, by clicking on it, a new page will appear. Here you need to select the city where the documents will be submitted, indicate the phone number, email address and click the "Next" button. After that, you should fill out a short questionnaire, where you need to specify personal data. This completes the recording procedure.

Attention! When the registration procedure is carried out at the visa center, a confirmation letter will be sent to the specified email address, it must be printed out and brought with you along with the rest of the documents.

Visa fees

According to generally accepted rules, any type of visa is issued completely free of charge, the fee is charged only for the acceptance and processing of the application. When submitting documents through the consulate, only a consular fee is charged; to obtain a Schengen visa, citizens of the Russian Federation must pay 35 euros at the current exchange rate in rubles. This is the price for the normal review procedurepapers.

Sometimes there are cases when a visa is needed as soon as possible, in which case the consular fee is increased exactly twice. However, a person can receive an answer on the petition within three days. In this case, it is necessary to add a written statement to the main list of papers, which will indicate good reasons for urgency.

When applying for a national visa category D, a consular fee of 116 euros is charged. This is a single price for obtaining such a "pass".

There are some categories of citizens who are exempt from paying the consular fee. In the case of applying through the visa centers, it is necessary to pay a service fee, while there are no preferential categories of citizens, with the exception of children under 6 years old. The price of the service fee is from 1500 to 2500 rubles, it all depends on the region where the documents will be submitted. This money is paid to the Visa Application Center for the services provided.

Pay attention! The consular and service fee is a fee for considering an application; in case of refusal to obtain a visa, the funds will not be returned.

Terms for consideration of documents

As already reported, obtaining a Schengen visa is quite simple, as a rule, the time for consideration of papers when submitted through the consulate does not take more than 10 working days. However, this structure reserves the right to make a decision up to 30 days. Delays may be due to heavy workload or the need to provide additional documents. Expedited review of documents - 3 days.

Because the national visaget much more difficult, then the decision can come within 120 days. Therefore, documents must be submitted in advance. In this case, you can often get a refusal to issue a visa.

Possible reasons for rejection

In most cases, consular officers do not disclose the reasons for making such a decision. But, according to observations, people who have previously violated the visa regime are most often banned from entering the country. That is, they crossed the border later than the scheduled date, even if the person left the country a few hours after the end of the visa.

Often, people who could not provide significant papers, which confirm their financial condition, are often refused. According to generally accepted rules, if a person does not have enough money, he can be a potential emigrant.

When applying for a national visa, a letter of invitation from the employer is required. If the company was opened less than one year ago or there are certain violations behind it, then the probability of getting a refusal increases several times.

Summary of how the application process looks like

Summing up all of the above, we can highlight the following basic steps, how the procedure for obtaining a visa to Italy for Russians will look like:

Determine the type of visa.
Collect all necessary documents.
Pay the consular and, if necessary, service fee.
Complete the registration process to apply.
Apply for a visa throughconsulate or visa center of Italy.
Wait for your passport with permission to enter.

These are the main points to highlight when applying.

Biometrics

From the autumn of 2015, new rules for obtaining a visa began to operate. Each person is required to submit their fingerprints. You can do this directly when submitting documents. This data is stored in the database for 5 years, that is, if you have previously applied for a visa and passed the fingerprinting procedure, then you do not need to repeat it.

Only children under the age of 12 may not have their fingerprints taken. All other citizens are required to provide their biometric data.

The difference between a consulate and a visa center

If you apply for a visa to Italy on your own, then it is much more convenient to do it at the visa center. When registering, the exact time when you need to come is indicated, so there is no need to spend the floor just standing in line. Also here, for an additional fee, you can order the completion of a visa application form.

Visa centers have a special photo machine that takes photos for a visa, according to all established standards. Optionally, you can order courier delivery of the passport to the specified address. In general, it is much more convenient and comfortable here, however, you will have to pay a service fee for comfort, so everyone decides for himself where and how it is better for him to draw up documents.

Now you knowhow to get a visa to Italy on your own, without resorting to various agencies that charge a lot of money for the provision of their services.