Re-entry (Reingresso) Visa

In accordance with the current provisions of the Italian Ministry of the Interior, all foreign nationals holding a receipt for a request for renewal of their residence permit may re-enter Italy without the need for a re-entry visa, provided that: 

– they only use an external border crossing point in Italy to re-enter, without passing through any other Schengen country (i.e. a direct flight from Canada to Italy);
– they present at Border Authorities in Italy  (a) the renewal receipt duly stamped by the Italian police at the time they first left Italy, (b) their travel document and (c) a copy of their expired residence permit.

Under the same conditions, foreign nationals who have re-entered their country of origin with a stamped receipt for a first residency permit for family, employment and self-employment reasons may also re-enter without a visa.

If you do not meet one ore more of the above-mentioned requirements, you must apply for a re-entry visa.

Students who have returned to their country of origin with a receipt for a first permit application must apply for a re-entry visa.

1. Applicants holding a valid Italian card or residence permit which is unavailable due to theft or loss;

2. Applicants holding either:
a) An Italian card or residence permit expired not more than 60 days ago – or not more than six months in case of proven serious health reasons related to the applicant or their first degree relatives or spouse (upon presentation of medical certification deemed suitable by the Diplomatic or Consular Mission). The applicant must have applied already for the renewal of such card or residence permit within the correct deadline but he/she may not have the original receipt with them (a copy of it may be required).
b) Italian Residence permit expired not more than 60 days ago and for which renewal has not been requested within the terms;
c) Italian Residence permit  expired more than 60 days ago – without any time limits – and whose renewal has been requested within the terms, if the applicant had to leave Italy  to fulfill military obligations (subject to a declaration of the period during which military obligations have been fulfilled issued by the relevant local Authorities);
d) Any Italian Residence permit expired more than 60 days ago.

3. Applicants who are awaiting the first issuance of their Italian residence permit, or whose residence document has been withdrawn by Police headquarters (Questura) on the basis of a provision subsequently revoked (also by order of the Judicial Authority).

Note: Citizens of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, as well as Palestinian Territories and Travel Documents holders (with the three letters code XXA or XXB appearing in the ICAO) must provide full names of mother and father as indicated in the birth certificate or Consular declaration.

1. National visa application form carefully and correctly completed and signed. Please ensure that you leave no blank spaces. If an item does not apply to you, enter N/A (not applicable).

2. Passport-size photo full front and white background, not older than 6 months; must be free of all headgear, no hats, scarves, headbands or other decorative objects.

3. Your passport, which must be valid for at least 3 months after the visa expiry date, as well as photocopies of the first 2 pages and of visas previously issued, if any. Furthermore, there must be at least two blank pages in the passport.

4. A copy of your flight reservation OR itinerary with all airports of transit/landing.

5. Visa fees can be paid by money order/bank draft made out to the Consulate General of Italy in Toronto (Canadian dollars only). Because of the fluctuation of the exchange rate, the type of visa and duration of stay, fees are subject to change. Please consult regularly our updated list of Consular Fees.

6. Prepaid Xpresspost envelope (or any other Courier Service pre-addressed envelope) with your address already indicated as addressee (TO) and the address of the Consulate as sender (FROM), with a photocopy of the envelope itself,  to return your passport.

7. Permesso di soggiorno (Italian residence permit). Please note:
– in case of a lost or stolen “permesso di soggiorno”, a copy of the report made to local police Authorities is required;
– in case of an expired “permesso di soggiorno”, original or copy of the expired document is required.

Applications for National Visas are received by mail.

You do not need to book an appointment to submit your application.

IMPORTANT NOTE: As of January 11, 2025, fingerprints must be acquired even for National Visa Applicants.

(1) Please send all necessary documents, including a money order or bank draft for due consular fees payable to the Consulate General of Italy in Toronto and a prepaid and pre-addressed XpressPost (or any other courier service) envelope, which will be used to return your passport, by registered mail (with a tracking number) to the Visa Office at the address below.

Consulate General of Italy
VISA OFFICE
136 Beverley St.
Toronto M5T 1Y5

(2) If you do not already have an account, please, set up an account on Prenot@mi (press the button “register your account”. You only need to register as user. DO NOT book any appointment. The Consulate will contact you to schedule an in-person appointment for fingerprints, in due time. In order to allow the Consulate to assign you an appointment, you must be registered as a Prenot@mi user.

(3) Once the Consulate will have received your postal application, if you will have registered on Prenot@mi, the Visa Office will contact you to make an appointment. On the day of the appointment, applicants must attend the Consulate in person. Being summoned for fingerprinting DOES NOT imply that your visa application will be granted.

The only exemptions to the requirement of fingerprints are: children under the age of 12; physical inability, even temporary; Heads of State and Government and members of foreign governments with their delegations on official missions; sovereigns and members of royal families on official missions. Even if exempt from the requirement of fingerprints, children under the age of 12 must attend the appointment for identification purposes.

Please be aware that the Consulate does not take responsibility for applications, passports or money order / bank draft lost by the postal service or by courier services.

(4) After the application has been submitted, this Visa Office must receive authorization of the relevant Questura (Police station) which originally issued the “permesso di soggiorno”. The visa is issued only after the relevant Questura releases the required authorization.

Visa processing time starts when the authorization is received and all documents are provided. Therefore, it is not possible to speed up the processing time.

(5) Once the authorization has been received, the applicant must provide one way travel ticket reservation. Applicants will be informed by this Visa Office.

After completing the procedure, we will send your passport back to the address you will have indicated on the prepaid Xpresspost/Courier envelope.

Please be aware that the Consulate takes no responsibility for applications, passports or money order / bank draft lost by the postal service or by courier services.

Kindly note that INCOMPLETE or INCORRECT applications will NOT be processed and they will be returned to your address.