Guidance

Biometric residency card ‘carta di soggiorno elettronica’ for UK nationals living in Italy before 1 January 2021

Published 22 February 2021

The Italian government has introduced a new biometric residency card called a ‘carta di soggiorno elettronica’ for people who have residency rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.

The card is not mandatory for UK nationals living in Italy. However we advise that you obtain it because it will show evidence of your rights.

You can get the card from your local police headquarters’ immigration office (‘questura’). Read the Italian government’s guide (‘vademecum’) on how to obtain the card, available in Italian and English.

Your close and current family members can also get the new biometric residency card. This includes those currently living in Italy and those that move there in the future. This also includes your children in the future either born or adopted.

If you were registered with the town hall before 1 January 2021

Your local questura issues the new residency card. It is a biometric card, so you will need to provide biometric data, including fingerprints.

To obtain the new card, you need to be able to show the questura that you are a legal resident in Italy. You must provide one of these documents:

• an ‘Attestazione di Iscrizione Anagrafica’ (under Legislative Decree no. 30/2007 and Article 18.4 of the Withdrawal Agreement), available from your local town hall
• an EU residency document such as an attestato di soggiorno or an attestazione di soggiorno permanente UE (issued under Legislative Decree No. 30/2007) if you already hold this (this is no longer available from your town hall)
• a certificato di residenza (issued under D.P.R. 30-5-1989 n.223) if you already hold this
• a completed self-declaration (autocertificazione) form confirming you are a resident in Italy. The questura will check the information you have provided with your local town hall, so you can only use a self-declaration if you are already registered with your town hall

If you were living in Italy before 1 January 2021 and have never registered your residency with your town hall

If you have never registered your residency but you were lawfully living in Italy before 1 January 2021, you need to apply for the new biometric residency card at your local questura.

When you apply you need to bring evidence that you fulfil one of these requirements:

• employed in Italy (evidenced by showing a work contract)
• self-employed in Italy (and registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate)
• financially self-sufficient with some form of healthcare cover
• a student with financial self-sufficiency and some form of healthcare cover before 1 January 2021

Ask your local questura what evidence you should provide before you apply.

Once you have obtained the new biometric card from the questura, you must then register your residency with your local town hall. Contact the town hall for more information.

Booking an appointment with your questura for the new biometric card

You should ask your questura how to make an appointment to apply for your biometric card. Some questure use the PrenotaFacile portal.

We are aware that the dedicated PEC addresses that were put in place at the end of the transition period are no longer in use by most questure. We are also aware that many British nationals are having difficulties making an appointment with their questura and we are engaging with the local authorities to seek a solution.

Cost of the card and how to pay

The new biometric card costs 30.46 euros. You do not need to pay for and provide a tax stamp (‘marca da bollo’) when obtaining your first card.  You will need to pay for a tax stamp on all future renewals of your card.

You should pay with a payment slip (‘bollettino’) using the account and payment details included in the Italian government’s guide (‘vademecum’) on how to obtain the card (available in Italian and English).

You can get a blank bollettino (payment slip) from your local post office. You do not need to use a pre-completed bollettino from the third-country national postal kit from the Italian post office.

You will then need to provide the receipt of payment at the questura.

The new biometric card and using it in Italy

If you are already registered in Italy, there is no legal requirement to obtain the new card. It is not mandatory, and if you have residency rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, your rights do not depend on holding it. Local providers cannot require you to have it.

However, although it is still not mandatory to obtain a Carta di Soggiorno, we strongly advise you to get one. It will be the only method of clearly evidencing your rights at the border when the European Entry Exit System is implemented, and recognisable by all Schengen countries

Getting the new card if you are a permanent resident in Italy

If you are a permanent resident, you will receive the new biometric residency card with a 10 year validity (renewable) when you request it from your local questura. The best way to  prove your permanent residence status  is to show your  attestazione di soggiorno permanente UE to the questura. This document is available from your Town Hall.

 If you are experiencing difficulties obtaining an attestazione di soggiorno permanente from your Comune, you should draw their attention to the circular issued on the 17th June 2024 by the Ministry of Interior . This aims to facilitate the process of issuing the attestazione di soggiorno permanente for people with rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. 

Renewing your biometric card

If your 5 year card is about to expire, you need to make an appointment with your questura to renew your card. See above more details on how to book an appointment with your questura.

Exchanging your 5 year temporary card for a 10 year permanent card

If you obtained a 5 year temporary card and have since become a permanent resident, you can apply at your questura to exchange your card for a 10 year permanent card. See above more details on how to book an appointment with your questura.

If you are under 18 years old, you can only hold a 5-year renewable carta di soggiorno. When you are 18 years old and you have obtained permanent residency, you can ask for a 10-year renewable carta di soggiorno

If you are experiencing difficulties exchanging a 5-year carta di soggiorno for a 10-year carta di soggiorno at your local immigration office (questura), and especially if your 5-year card has not yet expired, you should draw attention to the internal circular of 6 June 2024 issued by the Italian Ministry of Interior to local immigration offices throughout Italy. This instructs local immigration offices to facilitate this exchange process for all beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement that have been legally resident in Italy for more than 5 years.

Students who are living in Italy temporarily

If you were living in Italy and enrolled on a course before 1 January 2021 (and you are economically self-sufficient with some form of healthcare cover) you can obtain the new biometric residency card. This also applies to those who are already registered with their local town hall, including in the temporary registry.

Read the Italian government’s guide (‘vademecum’) on how to obtain the card (available in Italian and English).

Family members

Close and current family members joining you in the future who have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement should apply for the card from their local questura when they arrive in Italy. They must then also register their residency at the town hall.

A close family member includes spouses, registered partners, unmarried partners, children under the age of 21 dependent children over the age of 21, and dependent grandchildren, parents and grandparents. They need to have been your family member on or before 31 December 2020 (except future children, including adopted children).