Italian visa resources
Italy's immigration authorities
The national bodies that handle Italy's long-stay immigration — the Foreign Ministry abroad, and the Interior Ministry's offices inside Italy.
Important
Italy's national immigration process is run by two ministries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale) issues visas through its embassies and consulates and runs the “Visa for Italy” information portal. Inside Italy, the Ministry of the Interior (Ministero dell'Interno) handles authorisations and residence permits.
Two Interior Ministry structures do most of the in-country work: the Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione and the Polizia di Stato's immigration offices (Ufficio Immigrazione) at each Questura.
Who does what
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (embassies/consulates): issues the national (type D) entry visa; runs vistoperitalia.esteri.it
- Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione (at each Prefettura, Ministry of the Interior): issues the nulla osta for work and family reunification and handles permit conversions
- Polizia di Stato – Ufficio Immigrazione (at each Questura): receives residence-permit applications, takes fingerprints, and issues the permesso di soggiorno
Official websites
- Foreign Ministry: esteri.it and the portal vistoperitalia.esteri.it
- Interior Ministry: interno.gov.it
- Police / permits: poliziadistato.it and the immigration portal portaleimmigrazione.it
Next steps
Official sources
For the most accurate and up-to-date information, always refer to the official government sources.
Verified against official sources · last reviewed 2026-08-21. Information only — not legal advice.