Permit of Stay (Permesso di Soggiorno) for U.S.

Americans staying in Italy for more than three (3) months are considered residents. This includes Americans who will work or transact business and persons who want to simply live in Italy.
Americans must have an entrance visa which should be obtained at an Italian consulate before coming to Italy, in order to remain in Italy more than three months and gain resident status. Upon arrival in Italy, the American must obtain a permesso di soggiorno (permit of stay). As of December 11, 2006, an application "kit" for the permesso di soggiorno may be requested from one of 14,000 national post offices (Poste Italiane). The kit must then be returned to one of 5,332 designated Post Office acceptance locations. It is important that applicants keep a copy of the receipt issued by the Post Office. Within 20 days of receiving the permit to stay in Italy, Americans must go to the local Vital Statistics Bureau, Anagrafe of theComune, to apply for residency. It generally takes one to two months to receive the certificate of residence (Certificato di Residenza). In addition, as of March 10, 2012, under Italian law (Presidential Decree no. 179 of September 14, 2011) all American citizens who request an Italian permit of stay for more than 12 months are required to sign an “integration agreement” (accordo di integrazione) at the local prefecture (sportello unico per l’immigrazione) or at the provincial police headquarters (questura).