{"id":309,"date":"2012-11-30T05:56:41","date_gmt":"2012-11-30T04:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=309"},"modified":"2021-11-12T21:54:12","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T20:54:12","slug":"permesso-di-soggiorno-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/permesso-di-soggiorno-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Permesso di Soggiorno Part III \u2013 Entering the Arena"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let’s continue our discussion of obtaining your Permesso di Soggiorno<\/em>. \u00a0You’ll be relieved to know that we’re almost finished, and indeed these are the last steps in our quest.<\/p>\n

OK, by now\u00a0you’ve\u00a0obtained your application kit (Permesso di Soggiorno – Part 1<\/a>) and filled it out properly in black<\/strong> ink (Permesso di Soggiorno – Part 2<\/a>) and have the Marca da Bollo<\/em> for \u20ac14,62 affixed to the top of the application.\u00a0 Now it\u2019s time to do battle.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t feel adequately prepared, please review those two previous blog entries first before entering the Arena (a.k.a. The Italian Post Office).<\/p>\n

A couple of years ago I read a book by the Milanese writer Beppe Severgnini called, \u201cCiao, America!\u201d \u00a0In the book, he recounts his year-long sabbatical in the U.S., highlighting the things he found strange and peculiar about American culture.\u00a0\u00a0In one of my favorite passages, he laments that American bureaucracy is too<\/em> easy\u2014for an Italian, there\u2019s just no challenge in it.\u00a0 The simile that he used was perfect: an Italian confronting American bureaucracy is like a champion matador facing down a milk cow. \u00a0There\u2019s simply no contest, ergo no fun.<\/p>\n

This comparison can be enlightening to the newly expatriated American in Rome when you ponder the scenario from the other way around.\u00a0 Just so.\u00a0 My first foray into an Italian post office left me feeling like a Wisconsin dairy farmer that had accidentally wandered into La Corrida de Madrid<\/em> on a Sunday afternoon.\u00a0 It\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0pretty, my friends, and I was grateful to have emerged with my limbs intact.<\/p>\n

\"\"
La Corrida<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So you must steel yourself against this enemy.\u00a0 Stare into his bottomless eyes without even a hint of fear as you present your documents at the Sportello Amico<\/em>.\u00a0 Act as though\u00a0you’ve\u00a0done it a hundred times before and that you are, in fact, quite bored with the whole process.\u00a0 Unless you are a seasoned actor, you may want to practice this at home a few times before you go, either with a friend or at least in front of a mirror. And for God\u2019s sake, do not<\/em> wear red that day\u2014it only further riles their anger.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s exactly what you\u2019ll need to bring with you:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The completed Modulo 1 form.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Copies of every page of your passport (Yes, even the blank ones\u2014yet another false assumption that I made during my process. Why should logic prevail, after all?)<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Photocopy of Financial Statements<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Verification of health coverage<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Four passport size photos<\/p>\n

6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Plenty of cash (technically you\u2019ll only need \u20ac 27,50 for the application plus \u20ac 30,00 for the postage, but it never hurts to carry a little extra for any unforeseen acts of extortion that you might be subjected to).<\/p>\n

7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t forget to bring along your original passport, too.\u00a0 They\u2019ll want to look at it to make sure that it matches the copies in your packet.<\/p>\n

IMPORTANT: <\/strong>Do NOT <\/strong>submit any original documents in the post office kit (except for the Modolo 1, of course, which you should make a copy of for you records.)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So at this point hopefully\u00a0you’ve\u00a0been absolved of your sins by the Pope, you’ve had the malocchio\u00a0<\/em>removed<\/a> by your roommate\u2019s Sicilian grandmother, and all the requisite bribes have been paid out to the appropriate minions.\u00a0 If so, you will leave the post office with two documents in hand:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A yellow receipt (ricevuta<\/em>) that is absolutely necessary in getting your final permit. What\u2019s more, on this receipt you\u2019ll find the user ID and password needed to check the status of your application online at: http:\/\/www.portaleimmigrazione.it\/<\/a><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A letter with the appointment date and time at the Police Station (Questura<\/em>), for the last step in the procedure where you will hand over one of your kidneys (Or is it fingerprints?\u00a0 I can\u2019t remember).\u00a0 You can verify that appointment at: http:\/\/questure.poliziadistato.it\/stranieri\/?mime=1&lang=EN<\/a><\/p>\n

*NOTE<\/span>*<\/strong> Until you have the final physical identification card, the receipt (ricevuta<\/em>) has the same legal value.\u00a0 Don\u2019t lose it.\u00a0 And please don\u2019t make explain what will happen if you do.\u00a0 In fact, at that point, just give up and go back to your own country.<\/p>\n

One more piece of advice: check the above websites from time to time to make sure that you\u2019re at least in the system.\u00a0 If for some reason there is a problem with your application, they will NOT contact you.\u00a0 It is up to you to be proactive.\u00a0 If you discover a problem, bring the above two documents along with your passport to the Questura<\/em> where you gave your fingerprints.\u00a0 The chances of encountering a helpful person are remote, but it\u2019s your only hope to save you from starting all over again from square one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Un toro morto!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So that\u2019s it, the last of a three-part series to guide you through the process.\u00a0 Along the way,\u00a0I’ve\u00a0poked a little fun at the Italian bureaucracy, but the truth is that (in theory) this is a pretty fair process\u2014especially compared to the U.S. system which literally\u00a0<\/em>extorts money and subjects would-be immigrants to unnecessary medical procedures.\u00a0 The problem with the Italian system is that none of the employees that you\u2019ll encounter are even vaguely familiar with the steps that\u00a0I’ve\u00a0just laid out for you here. \u00a0More frustrating still, if you ask the same exact question to ten different employees, you\u2019ll certainly get ten different answers.\u00a0 It fosters self-doubt and anxiety in the newly arrived expat who\u00a0isn’t\u00a0accustomed to such a seemingly mutable set of rules.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t fret my friends.\u00a0 Follow the steps that\u00a0I’ve\u00a0described with confidence, and once\u00a0you’ve\u00a0given them all your documents, you can take your revenge by going to the nearest trattoria<\/em> and ordering a big plate of Coda alla vaccinara<\/em>\u2014the tail of the bull. \u00a0Who’s the matador now? \u00a0Ole!<\/em><\/p>\n

P.S. The average waiting period from the time that you submit your packet until you receive the actual permesso is 4-7 months.\u00a0 Don\u2019t fight it, that\u2019s just how it is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s continue our discussion of obtaining your Permesso di Soggiorno. \u00a0You’ll be relieved to know that we’re almost finished, and indeed these are the last steps in our quest. OK, by now\u00a0you’ve\u00a0obtained your application kit (Permesso di Soggiorno – Part 1) and filled it out properly in black ink (Permesso di Soggiorno – Part 2) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,6,4],"tags":[49,380,56,35,52,28,23,50,60,14],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}