Italian residence permit: which documents to translate for the Questura

In short

• For many permits (work with a visa, study, renewals), the Questura (the police immigration office) does not ask for translations: your passport, Italian documents and receipts are enough.
• Translations are needed when you have to prove something that happened abroad: a marriage, the birth of your children, dependent parents, sometimes your income or a qualification.
• Questure ask for those certificates "translated and legalised by the Italian diplomatic or consular representation" or bearing an apostille. Before ordering a translation, check with your Questura which form it accepts.

The residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) is the document that people arriving from a non-EU country use most often, and also the one they renew most often. The document lists, however, vary depending on the reason for the permit and, in part, on the Questura. This guide sets things straight: for each type of permit, we tell you whether translated foreign documents are needed, which ones, and in what form.

How to apply: postal kit or Questura

For most permits (employment and self-employment, family reasons, study, religious reasons and around twenty other reasons), the application is submitted with the postal kit at post offices with a Sportello Amico counter. For other reasons, and for applications made through a representative, you go directly to the Questura (Poste Italiane, residence permit guide).

The fixed costs are the same everywhere: a 16 € revenue stamp (marca da bollo), 30 € to the post office and 30.46 € for producing the electronic permit, plus a fee that depends on the duration. The Questura of Treviso, for example, states 40 € for permits of up to one year and 50 € for permits of one to two years (guidelines on family cohesion).

The kit contains photocopies of the documents. The originals, including the originals of the translations, are shown on the day you are called to the Questura for fingerprinting. Keep them safe.

Work permit: usually nothing to translate

If you enter with a visa for employment under the decreto flussi (Italy's annual quota decree), you sign the residence contract at the Sportello unico (one-stop immigration desk) within eight working days and start the permit application. The key documents are your passport with the visa, the nulla osta (work authorisation), the contract and sometimes the notice of employment: all Italian, or already examined by the consulate. Translations, if needed, are done beforehand, for the visa. The full process is in our guide to the decreto flussi and work nulla osta.

For renewal you submit payslips, your contract and tax return: Italian documents. One exception is people working in Italy for a foreign employer, or with income abroad as well: in that case a translation of the contract or payslips may be requested to understand the income.

Permit for family reasons: translations are almost certain

This is where the Questura asks for the most foreign documents, because it has to verify the family relationship. There are three main situations.

Family cohesion

Family cohesion (Art. 30 of the Consolidated Immigration Act) allows someone already in Italy with a valid permit to apply for a family permit for a spouse, minor children or parents who entered legally. The Questura of Treviso asks for "a copy of the certificates proving the marriage, civil union or family relationship, translated and legalised by the Italian diplomatic or consular representation in the country of origin or bearing an Apostille, if issued by a State party to the Hague Convention". If the marriage took place in Italy or the child was born in Italy, the certificate is issued by the Comune (the Italian municipality) and there is nothing to translate.

Typical foreign documents:

• marriage or civil union certificate;
• the children's birth certificates, showing both parents;
• for dependent parents, documents from the authorities of the country of origin certifying dependency and the absence of other children, also "translated and legalised" or apostilled; sometimes a foreign family status certificate;
• for parents over 65, where applicable, medical certificates showing that the other children cannot support them.

Family member of an Italian citizen

The spouse, children up to age 21 and dependent parents of an Italian citizen apply for a specific permit (Art. 23 of Legislative Decree 30/2007). A public information sheet from the Polizia di Stato for first issue lists, among other things, the marriage certificate "issued by the Comune" or, if the record was drawn up abroad, "translated and legalised by the Italian diplomatic or consular representation in the country of origin, or bearing an Apostille", and the same for the birth extracts of children and parents ("family members of an Italian citizen" sheet).

A tip: if you are married to an Italian citizen, a marriage celebrated abroad must in any case be registered with the Italian Comune. Once registered, the certificate is issued by the Comune and you no longer need to translate the foreign record for the Questura.

Family member of a foreign citizen already in Italy (after family reunification)

If you arrive with a family reunification visa, you have already submitted the translated and legalised records to the consulate. The Questura will ask for copies again, so keep the translation you used for the visa: it is often enough.

Study permit

For a first study permit you are usually asked for your passport with visa, enrolment at the university or on the course, health insurance, and proof of financial means and accommodation. You will already have used foreign documents such as your diploma for the visa and for enrolment. Translations may be needed if you prove your financial means with foreign bank statements or a scholarship from a foreign body: we cover this in our guide to bank statements and payslips, and you will find the page for the bank statement.

EU long-term residence permit

After five years of legal residence you can apply for the EU long-term residence permit (Art. 9 of the Consolidated Act). For you, the requirements are mainly Italian: income, accommodation, knowledge of Italian. Translations come back into play if you apply for the permit for family members as well: in that case you again need the records proving the relationship (marriage, children's births), unless they are already registered with an Italian Comune.

Documents from an EU country: simpler rules

If the certificate was issued by another EU State (for example a French birth certificate or a Romanian marriage certificate), EU Regulation 2016/1191 applies: no apostille for birth, marriage, residence, absence of a criminal record and the other facts listed, and a multilingual standard form which, if the office considers it sufficient, removes the need for a translation. The Regulation also provides that a certified translation made by a person qualified under the law of a Member State is accepted in all Member States.

What form the translation must take

The general rule is Article 33 of Presidential Decree (DPR) 445/2000: foreign documents "drawn up in a foreign language must be accompanied by a translation into Italian certified as conforming to the foreign text by the competent diplomatic or consular representation, or by an official translator". The Questure's information sheets, however, are worded differently, and some mention only consular legalisation.

That is why we recommend proceeding as follows:

• First, obtain the up-to-date certificate and have the apostille or legalisation affixed in the country that issued it (our guide to apostille and sworn translation explains the order).
• Then check with your Questura, or with the patronato (advice centre) or lawyer assisting you, whether it accepts a translation by a sworn translator or wants a translation legalised by the consulate.
• Finally, order the translation, including the apostille.

Giuradoc's standard translation is a sworn translation in PDF: a translator sworn before the competent courts of appeal translates the scan you send us, signs it, stamps it and certifies that it is faithful to the document received. You receive the PDF within 24-48 working hours, at 30 € per page, whatever the document. It is not a consular legalisation of the translation: if your Questura expressly asks for that, our standard translation is not enough, and we will tell you so before taking your order. If you need a translation certified as conforming to the original, or an apostille, ask for a quote. The differences between the formats are on the which translation to choose page and in our guide sworn translation in PDF: when it is enough.

Because the Questura wants to see the originals at your appointment, many customers add the paper copy by post (15 €).

The most common mistakes

• Certificates that are too old. Several information sheets require a marriage certificate issued no more than six months earlier. Order the translation after obtaining the new certificate.
• Apostille after the translation. The apostille must be translated: if it is affixed afterwards, the translation is incomplete.
• Birth certificate without the parents' names. For children you need the record showing both parents: ask your municipality of origin for the full copy.
• Names transliterated differently from the passport (Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese): tell the translator the spelling in the passport. If you need it, there is also the passport translation.
• Translating Italian documents. The certificate of residence and family status certificate issued by the Italian Comune are already in Italian: they do not need translating for the Questura.

After the permit: the procedures that follow

The residence permit brings other procedures where translations come back: converting your foreign driving licence within a year of taking up residence and, years later, the application for Italian citizenship, which again requires the birth certificate and criminal record certificate from your country of origin. If you prepare these documents in advance, remember that some (the criminal record certificate in particular) have limited validity.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to translate anything to renew my residence permit?

Usually not, if the renewal documents are Italian (contract, payslips, tax return, residence). Translations are only needed if you add family members or submit documents issued abroad.

Does the Questura accept a sworn translation in PDF?

Many procedures are done with copies in the postal kit and originals at the appointment. If your Questura asks for a translation legalised by the consulate, a sworn translation does not replace it. Check first, and send us the request you received: we will tell you whether our translation matches it.

My marriage certificate is already registered in Italy: do I need a translation?

No. Once registered, the certificate is issued by the Italian Comune, in Italian.

Which languages do you translate?

From and into Italian: English, Spanish, French, German, Romanian and Arabic, as well as between these six languages. For other languages, write to us for a quote. All documents are listed in our services and the most requested ones on the most requested page.

How much does it cost in total to translate the documents for family cohesion?

A couple with one child often needs two documents: the marriage certificate and the child's birth certificate. If each is one page long, that comes to 60 €, plus any options. For several documents in the same order we apply dedicated rates: ask us for a quote. More answers in our frequently asked questions.

Sources: Poste Italiane, guide to issuing and renewing the residence permit; Questura of Treviso, documents for family cohesion; Polizia di Stato, permit for family members of an Italian citizen; Polizia di Stato, relatives up to the second degree of an Italian citizen; Legislative Decree 286/1998, Consolidated Immigration Act; DPR 445/2000, Art. 33; Regulation (EU) 2016/1191.