Arrival · 2026/27

First 60 Days in Italy as a Student (2026/27): The Arrival Checklist

The first things to do after you land, in the order the deadlines fall, with where to go, what to bring and what each step costs.

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İrem Yılmaz

· Reviewed by

Reeya Sharma

Law checked on 28 September 2026. Next yearly change to watch: the SSN student contribution, which the budget law sets each December, and the residence permit fees.

Previous step: your Italy student visa. Next step: your tax code (codice fiscale).

Within 8 working days of entering Italy, apply for your student residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) at a post office with a Sportello Amico desk, using the free yellow-striped postal kit (Legislative Decree 286/1998, art. 5).
Budget €116.46 for a permit of up to one year: a €16 revenue stamp, €30 paid at the post office and €70.46 on one postal slip.
Your tax code (codice fiscale) is assigned by the Questura during the permit application; you can get it sooner at any Agenzia delle Entrate office.
Your health cover must run for the whole permit: a private policy valid in Italy, or voluntary SSN registration at €700 per calendar year.
A lease longer than 30 days must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate within 30 days. Never pay a deposit before you hold a written contract.
ApplyAZ, an Italy-based consultancy that works only with public universities, helps eligible students plan these weeks before they fly, and can support the permit, tax code and health card after arrival.

See where you stand first. Check your eligibility in about two minutes, and if you are eligible, our Italy experts take it from there.

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What should you do first after landing in Italy as a student?

Start the residence permit, because it is the only arrival step with a legal deadline counted in days, and the tax code usually comes with it. Health cover, a bank account, a registered lease and your university enrolment desk all follow from those two documents. The table puts every task in the order the deadlines fall.

When	Task	Where	Cost	Official page
Working days 1 to 8	Apply for the student residence permit with the postal kit	A post office with a Sportello Amico desk	€116.46 for a permit of up to one year	Poste Italiane
Same visit	Keep the receipt and the Questura appointment letter with your passport	Handed over at the post office	Included	Poste Italiane
Week 1 or 2, if needed early	Get your codice fiscale before the Questura appointment, for a SIM, bank or lease	Any Agenzia delle Entrate office, form AA4/8 and passport	Free	Agenzia delle Entrate
Weeks 1 to 4	Make sure health cover runs for the permit: private policy or voluntary SSN	Your local health authority (ASL) for the SSN	€700 per calendar year for the SSN	Regione Piemonte
Weeks 1 to 4	Complete enrolment with your original documents	Your university's international desk	Set by the university	Our university guides
Before you pay any deposit	Sign a written lease and have it registered	The Agenzia delle Entrate, within 30 days	Registration tax and stamps, as the contract sets	Law 431/1998
Month 1 or 2	Attend the Questura appointment for fingerprints and photographs	The Questura named in your letter	Included in the permit fees	Polizia di Stato
Month 2 onward	Track the permit and collect the card when it is ready	Portale Immigrazione, then the Polizia di Stato website	Included	Portale Immigrazione

What is the deadline for the residence permit, and what does it cost?

The Immigration Consolidated Act (Legislative Decree 286/1998, art. 5) gives a non-EU student who enters on a study visa eight working days from arrival to apply for the residence permit. Poste Italiane lists study permits (code 24, motivi di studio, art. 39) among those filed at post offices with a Sportello Amico desk, using the yellow-striped kit that post offices hand out free. The fees below are set nationally, so they are the same in every city.

Item	Amount (2026)	Where you pay	Source
Revenue stamp (marca da bollo)	€16	A tobacconist or authorised seller; stuck on the form	Poste Italiane
Post office acceptance fee	€30	At the Sportello Amico desk, when you hand in the kit	Poste Italiane
Electronic permit card	€30.46	Postal slip to account 67422402	Polizia di Stato
Permit contribution, more than 3 months and up to 1 year	€40	On the same postal slip as the card	Questura di Pavia
Permit contribution, more than 1 year and up to 2 years	€50	On the same postal slip as the card	Questura di Pavia
Total for a permit of up to one year	€116.46	€16 + €30 + €70.46	Sum of the rows above

The University of Padua says the study permit is issued for the period of your health cover and for no more than one year, so most first permits fall in the €40 band. Patronati and some town halls fill in the kit without charge, according to the Polizia di Stato.

What should you bring from India?

The post office, your university and the Questura all ask to see originals of the documents you used for the visa. Carry them in your hand luggage, with photocopies.

Your passport with the study visa, and A4 photocopies of the data page and every page with visas or entry stamps, as Poste Italiane asks.
Your admission letter or Universitaly pre-enrolment summary, and the enrolment documents your university listed.
Your degree or school certificate and transcripts in the original, with the DOV or CIMEA statement if your university required one.
Proof of money for your stay: the bank statements or scholarship letter used for the visa.
Your health insurance policy, if you bought one before flying, showing that it is valid in Italy.
Passport photographs on a white background: the University of Turin lists 4 for the Questura appointment.
Prescriptions in English for any medicine you carry, and a card that works in Italy for the first weeks.

Keep scans of everything in one folder on your phone. For eligible students, we check this pack before departure.

How do you get a codice fiscale after arriving?

The codice fiscale is Italy's personal tax code, and banks, landlords, phone operators and the health service all ask for it. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says a student staying more than 90 days receives it from the Questura when applying for the residence permit. If you need it sooner, any Agenzia delle Entrate office issues it on form AA4/8 with your valid passport and visa, and the Italian consular office for where you live can issue it before you fly. Our codice fiscale guide sets out all three routes.

Do students need to register with the SSN in their first weeks?

You need health cover for the whole permit, but it does not have to be the SSN. Under the Immigration Consolidated Act (art. 34), a student either holds a private policy valid in Italy or registers voluntarily with the national health service (SSN). Since 1 January 2024 the student contribution is €700 a year (Law 213/2023, art. 1, paragraphs 240 and 241), for a student with no income beyond scholarships or public grants. Registration covers one calendar year, cannot be split and ends on 31 December whatever the day you pay, so a student who registers in October pays €700 for cover that ends in December, then pays again in January. Our guide to health insurance and the SSN compares both routes.

When should you sort out housing and the lease?

Before you pay anything. Many students book a first-week room and look for a longer let after they arrive. Whichever you choose, a lease longer than 30 days must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate within 30 days of signing, or of its start date if earlier (Presidential Decree 131/1986, art. 17). A student contract (contratto per studenti universitari) runs from 6 to 36 months under Law 431/1998, art. 5. Your Italian address also goes on the permit form, and the Questura may write to it. Our student housing guide covers DSU residences, private rooms and contracts.

When do you need an Italian bank account and a SIM?

In your first weeks, usually right after the codice fiscale, because banks and phone operators ask for it with your passport. If you won a DSU scholarship, the regional body pays it by bank transfer to an account in your name, so open the account before the first payment date on our DSU deadlines page. If you plan to work part-time, the study permit allows up to 20 hours a week and 1,040 hours a year (Presidential Decree 394/1999, art. 14).

What happens at the Questura appointment?

The letter the post office gives you carries the date, time and place of your appointment at the Questura's immigration office, where your fingerprints and photographs are taken. The University of Turin lists what to bring: the postal receipt, 4 passport photographs, your original passport and the originals of every document you photocopied for the kit. What each Questura asks for can differ; the University of Parma, for example, publishes the Parma list, last updated on 30 May 2025. Before the appointment, the username and password on your receipt let you follow the file on Portale Immigrazione; after it, the Polizia di Stato website shows when the card is ready. The University of Padua says the card is issued no earlier than one month after the first appointment.

Which scams target new students in Italy?

Housing deposits by transfer before a contract. A listing asks for a booking fee or deposit before you have seen the room or signed anything. Pay only against a written lease, and ask for proof of registration.
Paid permit appointment services. The postal kit is free, patronati and some town halls fill it in for free, and the Questura sets your appointment through the post office. No one can sell you an earlier slot.
People selling a codice fiscale. It comes from the Questura or the Agenzia delle Entrate, and the Agenzia does not charge for it.
Messages saying your permit is blocked unless you pay. Check the status yourself on Portale Immigrazione or the Polizia di Stato website.

Reality check

What we handle: for eligible students, we plan the first weeks before departure and stay in touch while they settle, as set out below.

What we do not control: the Questura decides the permit and sets the appointment; the Agenzia delle Entrate issues the tax code; the local health authority registers you with the SSN. ApplyAZ is not a law firm, and the Questura or an immigration lawyer decides each individual case.

What costs students the most:

Missing the eight working day deadline because the housing search took the first week.
Health cover that ends before the permit period, or an SSN payment made in October that expires on 31 December.
Paying a housing deposit before there is a written, registered lease.

How ApplyAZ helps

Before you fly: a shortlist of first-week housing, a pre-departure orientation for your university city, and an arrival checklist (airport to housing, local SIM, banking basics). On arrival: a point of contact for your first days. Optional after arrival: longer-term housing leads, support filing the residence permit, help registering for the tax code, and setting up the health card and student insurance.

Check your eligibility first. If you are eligible, you book a one to one consultation with one of our Italy experts, and from there we take care of everything.

Check your eligibility

Frequently asked questions

How many days do I have to apply for a residence permit after arriving in Italy?

Eight working days from entry, under Legislative Decree 286/1998, art. 5. Study permits are filed at a post office with a Sportello Amico desk using the yellow-striped kit, and the post office gives you a receipt and a letter with your Questura appointment.

How much does the student residence permit cost?

€116.46 for a permit of up to one year: a €16 revenue stamp, €30 paid at the post office and €70.46 on one postal slip, which is €30.46 for the card plus a €40 contribution. A permit of more than one year and up to two carries a €50 contribution instead.

Do I need a codice fiscale before I apply for the permit?

No. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says students staying more than 90 days receive the codice fiscale from the Questura during the permit application. If a bank, landlord or phone operator needs it sooner, any Agenzia delle Entrate office issues it on form AA4/8 with your passport.

Is SSN registration compulsory for students?

No. Students need health cover for the permit, either a private policy valid in Italy or voluntary SSN registration. The SSN contribution for students is €700 a year and covers only the calendar year in which you pay it.

How long does it take to get the permit card?

The University of Padua says the card is issued no earlier than one month after the first Questura appointment, if the application is accepted. You can follow the file on Portale Immigrazione, then on the Polizia di Stato website.

Can students work part-time in Italy?

Yes, up to 20 hours a week and 1,040 hours a year on a study permit, under Presidential Decree 394/1999, art. 14. The National Labour Inspectorate's note 1074 of 24 May 2022 reads the weekly limit as binding in every week.

Does ApplyAZ help after I arrive?

Yes, for eligible students. Before you fly we share a first-week housing shortlist, a pre-departure orientation and an arrival checklist, and on arrival you have a point of contact for your first days. Support with the residence permit, the tax code, the health card and student insurance is optional after arrival.

Your next step: check your eligibility first. It takes about two minutes. If you are eligible, you book a one to one consultation with one of our Italy experts, and from there we take care of everything.

Previous step: your Italy student visa. Next step: your tax code (codice fiscale).

Sources

Related guides

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Now they're studying at Italian public universities, where a degree can be tuition-free for eligible students, with DSU scholarships of up to about €8,250 a year for students living away from home, depending on the region.

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