Guidance

Biometric residency card ‘carta di soggiorno’ for UK nationals living in Italy before 1 January 2021 – updated April 2026

Updated 29 April 2026

Guidance on Carta di Soggiorno procedures for Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries in Italy.

This guidance covers:

• first time applications
• conversions
• renewals
• updates
• duplicates

This guidance has been agreed with the Italian Ministry of the Interior.

UK citizens residing in Italy who have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement are strongly advised to apply for a Carta di Soggiorno, the Italian Withdrawal Agreement biometric residency card. Although it is not obligatory, this document serves as official proof of your residency rights under the Agreement and obtaining one is now necessary to qualify for exemption from the EU’s Entry/Exit System.

How to apply for a Carta di Soggiorno (CdS ‘Article 50 TEU and Article 18(4) EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement’) if you are a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement, a family member or a dependent of a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement.

To apply for your Carta di Soggiorno, you must book an appointment with your local Questura (Police/Immigration Office), which is responsible for issuing this type of residency card.

Family members

• family members of a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement can also apply for and obtain a Carta di Soggiorno at their Questura. Once they have obtained this document, they must register their residence with their Comune
• family members are both those currently living in Italy and those who will move to Italy in the future
• the following categories are all considered family members: spouses, registered partners, children under the age of 21, dependent children over the age of 21, and dependent grandchildren, parents, and grandparents
• family members must demonstrate that the family relationship was in existence before and no later than 31 December 2020 (with the exception of future children, including any adopted children). In the case of dependent family members, this dependency must exist at the time they apply for residence

How to book an appointment with a Questura

Beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement should not use the Post Office kit.

The procedure to book an appointment may vary:

• some Questure use the PrenotaFacile portal
• others need to be visited in person or contacted over the phone
• dedicated PEC addresses set up specifically for British nationals by Questure during and immediately after the end of the transition period (31.12.2020) are no longer active. Nonetheless, each Questura has a general PEC address that you can use for communication purposes
• if a Questura does not respond to your correspondence, you may want to request an appointment by going in person

How to and when to obtain a Carta di Soggiorno, including first cards, conversions from 5 to 10-year card (also referred to as permanent), renewals, updates and duplicates if your card is lost or stolen

• make an appointment as above
• first card – If you have never had a Carta di Soggiorno and you have acquired the right to permanent residency (you have resided legally and continuously in Italy for five years), you can request a 10-year card (also referred to as permanent) at any time by submitting the documents listed below
• 10 year card – If you have a valid 5-year Carta di Soggiorno and you have acquired the right to permanent residency (you have resided legally and continuously in Italy for five years), then you can apply to exchange your current card for a 10-year one. If you are experiencing difficulties exchanging a 5-year Carta di Soggiorno for a 10-year one at your Questura, and especially if your 5-year card has not yet expired, you should draw attention to the internal circular note of 6 June 2024 issued by the Italian Ministry of Interior to local immigration offices throughout Italy. This instructs local Questure to facilitate this exchange process for all beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement that have been legally resident in Italy for more than 5 years
• renewal - According to legislation, an application for renewal of a Carta di Soggiorno can be submitted 60 days prior to the expiry date on your current card
• update – You should apply for an updated card if your civil status has changed and to add new-born children
• duplicate - You should apply for a duplicate card if your Carta di Soggiorno is lost or stolen and provide a police report when applying

Documents required to obtain a Carta di Soggiorno

(Please also refer to the Italian Ministry of Interior’s Vademecum in English and Italian for full instructions):

• your passport
• a bollettino (payment slip) available at your local post office proving that you have paid €30.46, which corresponds to the cost of producing the document. The payment should be made to account no. 67422402, and made out to account holder “MEF DIP.TO DEL TESORO VERS: DOVUTO RILASCIO CARTA DI SOGGIORNO”, reason for the payment: “IMPORTO PER IL RILASCIO DELLA CARTA DI SOGGIORNO - ACCORDO DI RECESSO UE/ UK” (Amount for issuing the EU/UK Withdrawal Agreement residence card)
• a €16 marca da bollo (revenue stamp)
• 4 passport-sized photographs
• your certificato storico di residenza
• your attestazione di soggiorno permanente - only for those who submit an application for renewal before their five-year card has expired or who have never had a card. If you encounter difficulties in obtaining this attestazione from your Comune, please draw their attention to the circular note issued on 17 June 2024 by the Ministry of the Interior aimed at facilitating the issuing of this document for beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement
• your codice fiscale or your carta d’identita elettronica (CIE)
• your previous card or police report, if your card was lost or stolen
• you will be required to provide biometric data (fingerprints) during your appointment
• if you are a dependent of a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary (e.g. a child), then that relationship must be documented, and the documentation must be translated and apostilled

When you are booking your appointment, please ask your Questura if there is any further evidence you should provide.

Once you have obtained your Carta di Soggiorno, if you are not already registered as a resident with your Comune, then you must do so.

Exceptional circumstances

• Questure always require the physical presence of a Carta di Soggiorno applicant for identification purposes and to acquire biometric data. In cases where it is objectively impossible to acquire fingerprints (for example, in the case of amputations), the Questura will still issue the permit on special grounds
• if you have never had a Carta di Soggiorno and you have not yet registered your residence with your Comune, but you have been living in Italy since before 1 January 2021, when applying for a Carta di Soggiorno you will need to provide your local Questura with evidence that you were living in Italy before that date (for example, a work or study document). You will then be required to register your residence with your Comune

EES exemption when you are waiting to receive your carta di soggiorno

During your appointment at the Questura, make sure you are given an official “receipt of application” form as depicted in fig. 8, page 87 of Annex 23 of the Schengen Border Guards handbook.

As listed in Annex 22 of the Schengen Border Code, this is the only official document that will exempt you from EES registration whilst you are wating for your Carta di Soggiorno. However, please note that you may still experience difficulties at the border if you transit through other Schengen countries before re-entering Italy.

If you are mistakenly or otherwise registered in the EES, you can request to have your record removed from the system at your Questura or Commissariato in the first instance (provided you have correct exempting documentation). You can also consult the Italian State Police website on EES, where a form for accessing personal data and another one to amend or cancel your EES profile is available (https://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/40768dcf5a0caa9c216882915).

The above applies if you are mistakenly registered when you only have the official “receipt of application form” (see above) and subsequently obtain a card.