Italy is a one of member state of the Schengen area and it is part of the European Union. Italy is one of the best places to visit in Europe. Nearly 65 million of people visit Italy every year, making it the fifth most visited country in the world. Italy has many of the same beautiful sights without being as expensive. But before you travel, it is important to get an Italy Schengen visa .
However, if you intend to visit Italy soon, you may need an Italy Schengen Visa. Fortunately, you have at the right place where you will discover everything you need to know about the Italy Schengen Visa, including visa types, visa requirements, visa fees and how to apply for visa all those things.
If you are a citizen of a country that need to get an Italy Schengen visa, then this article is for you.
In short, the easiest way to get your Italy visa approved is to follow the below steps in order:
- Choose an appropriate visa type and the right consulate
- Book an Appointment at the consulate (or VFS office)
- Collate all the documents you need for your visa.
- For tourist & business visa, create a day wise travel plan (travel itinerary).
- Create a cover letter with the travel itinerary, purpose of travel, documents you will submit for your visa.
- Get Flight itinerary or ticket and proof that you have a place to stay (proof of accommodation)
- Get Schengen-approved travel insurance.
- Fill Italy Schengen visa Application form.
- Reach the consulate at the time of your appointment.
- Submit your documents and wait for your visa approval.
At any point if you need help, then you can use our Italy visa consultation service to help you.
Since we give advice on Schengen visas every day, we are always up-to-date on the visa process. This gives us the unique benefit of knowing the latest visa process, which will make it much faster and less likely to have mistakes that cause the visa to be rejected.
Are you sure you need a Schengen visa from the Italy Consulate?
Yes, If you have planned to visit Italy, Spain all of them are Schengen countries, so you will get confused that where you will have to apply for your Italy Schengen visa? The answer would be:
- In which country are you going to spend your most of your time in?
- If you are planning spend equal number of days, then which country are you entering first?
If the answer to any of the above is Italy, then you need to get an Italy Schengen visa.
What are the Italy Schengen visa types?
The type of visa you need depends on your purpose of travel & duration. These can be categorized as :
- Italy Transit Visa : If you are having a layover in one of the airports of Italy, then you may need to get a Italy transit visa.
- Italy Tourist Visa : Want to backpack across the Alps of Italy? Then you can get a Italy tourist visa for a maximum period of 90 days.
- Italy Visitor visa : who have a relative or friend or any family member living in Italy, to visit them, you need Italy Visitor visa
- Italy Business visa : If you are attending any trade fair, business meeting, clients meetings or engaging in any business related activity you need apply for a Italy business visa.
- Italy Diplomat visa : for any official visits of national delegations or government officials for which you need diplomat visa for Italy.
- Italy Medical visa : If you want to get some surgery or medical treatment in Italy, for that you need Italy Medical visa.
- Italy Student Visa : Enrolling in a university in Italy. Then you can apply for a student visa or study visa.
- Italy visa for Sports, Film Crew : If you are attending any sports / cultural event or shooting a movie? then you need to get a culture visa.
- Italy Spouse Visa : If you want to join your spouse who either is a citizen or has a work permit in Italy
So look at the list and determine the type of Italy Schengen visa you must get . The next section we will book a Schengen visa appointment, so keep yours and your co-applicants passports ready.
What are the other types of Italy Schengen Visa?
You can find Type A, Type B and Type C visa which are different Types of Uniform Schengen Visa.
- Type A Schengen visa: If you are from non-Schengen countries, you can get a type A Schengen visa to travel from one non-Schengen country to another through an international airport in a Schengen country.
- Type B Schengen visa: At the moment, this type B Schengen visa is not being issued. The type C Uniform Schengen Visa (USV) has taken its place. A type B USV used to be accepted for short trips of up to five days, with the requirement that the trip be in transit.
- Type C Schengen visa: To get a Type C visa, any Schengen state’s embassy, consulate, or registered visa agency can assist you. You can use this visa for tourism or business purpose. In Type C Schengen visa, there are 3 types based on entries
- Single-entry visa: If you have a single-entry visa, then you can enter the Schengen Area only once, during the time period which is stated on the visa sticker in your passport.
- Double-entry visa: With a double-entry Schengen visa, you can go back to Schengen area agin after stepping outside of it.
- Multiple-entry visa: If you have multiple-entry visa, you can enter and leave the Schengen Area as many times as you want. Depending on how often you are visiting the Schengen area, you can apply for and get one of the following types of multiple-entry visas:
- I year multiple-entry visa
- 3 year multiple-entry visa
- 5 year multiple-entry visa
How to Book an appointment for Italy Schengen Visa?
It is very important that you schedule your appointment ASAP for your Italy Schengen visa as without this process your whole trip plan can be ruined.
Without having an appointment, All your flight, hotel and travel itinerary is going to be useless when you are planning a trip and then you hear no appointment slots are currently available VFSGlobal.
The consulate releases appointments for the next 3 months at a time, you can schedule your Italy visa appointment at that time. Also, you need to get a separate visa appointment for each and every co-applicant, so better keep their all required details ready.
If there are no Schengen visa appointments available, then get in touch with us and we will help you with alternative methods.
Where should I book my appointment for Italy Schengen visa ?
You can book an appointment for your Italy Schengen visa online. also you can book an visa appointment with the help of Visa Application Center such as VFSGlobal or BLSS Spain. Or you can use other 3rd party services to get appointments for you. based on your nationality and your location, which saves your time. If you are trying book an appointment online by your own then the link differs based on your location, we cannot share a common link and you need to check yourself.
You can get an appointment with the Schengen consulate or Embassy too for your Italy Schengen Visa. And take consultation from us, we help you to get visa appointment for you easily
Is this possibility to book an single visa appointment for my whole family ?
No, It is not possible. Each and every single person in the family has to book separate appointment to get Italy visa. But, if you are applying through any designated Visa Application Center (VAC) such as VFS / BLS and any other, there you can create single account, through which you can book multiple visa appointments (op to 5, depend on the VAC) for your family members to obtain Italy Schengen visa.
The important thing is, you are booking multiple appointment through single account which does not mean that all your family members will get same date for visa interview. The date will vary for each person.
The best choice is that give your booking an appointment head ache to us, we will help you to book your appointment for Italy visa for which we charge some fees. Take consultation from us and get your Italy Schengen visa easily.
What are the details should I enter to book an appointment for Italy Schengen Visa?
You need to enter your name, passport number, expiration date passport issue date, etc.
We will help you book an appointment to obtain your Italy Schengen visa. You can either type all the information in or send us a photo of your passport, and we will take care of that for you.
From one to another country, the consulate need different information. So we will be in touch with you for additional information if needed.
Once an appointment is scheduled for Italy visa, you will get an ARN (appointment reference number ) take a printout of ARN to submit it as part of your visa documentation.
To know more about Schengen visa appointments, visit here.
Documents needed for Italy Schengen visa
The next step is to prepare the documents required for your Italy visa and there depend on several factors such as type of visa, age of the applicant & work status.
In summary the minimum documents you need for Schengen visa are:
- Schengen visa application form
- Covid Vaccination Certificate
- Two Photographs as per Schengen visa specifications
- Valid Passport
- Travel Itinerary
- Round Trip Flight Itinerary
- Schengen Approved Travel Insurance
- Proof of accommodation
- Proof of Sustenance
- Proof of civil status
Additionally, the documents needed depends on an applicants work status so these documents may need to be provided as well.
Are you employed ?
- Employment contract
- Copy of latest bank statements of at least 6 months. These has to be signed by the bank.
- Leave approval letter from your employer / company.
- Income tax Returns (ITR ) forms.
Are you self-employed ?
- A copy of your business registration like Tax or Company TIN or PAN
- Copy of latest bank statements of atleast 6 months. These needs to be signed by the bank
- Latest Income tax Proofs (ITR)
Are you a Student ?
- Proof of Enrollment
- No objection certificate from School or college or University
Are you retired ?
- A copy of your pension order for last 6 months
- Bank statements signed by the bank.
Is the visa applicant a minor ?
* Birth certificate of the minor travelling to Italy.
* Italy Visa application form signed by your both parents.
* Family court order. In cases where only one parent has full custody of the child.
* Certified copies of ID/passport of your both parents
* Consent from the Guardianship Authority. If the minor will be travelling with only one parent, or alone with another person
If your main income is from a different source ?
- Any other proof of regular income such as rental certificate.
You will also need to submit additional documents based on the type of visa that you are applying for.
Additional Documents for Italy Tourist Visa
- A Travel itinerary explaining your day wise travel plan.
- Proof of accommodation such as hotel, hostel or an invitation letter.
- Flight itinerary for visa or a fully refundable flight ticket.
Additional Documents for Italy Business Visa
- An invitation letter from the company that is inviting you to Europe.
- A leave approval letter from your current employer stating purpose of your trip, as well as provides the name and company address of the company in Italy
- Business Bank Statement of the last 6 months.
- Memorandum of Association (MOA) copy of the original certificate.
- Trade licensing Approval (if any)
- Proof of Trip Sustenance : A clear letter from the employer stating who is responsible of the expenses of the trip. If the payment is done to the employee and the employee will be reimbursed later. It needs to be mentioned in the letter.
Additional documents for Italy Medical Visa
- Payment of 30% of the Total Cost of Treatment Declared by Italian Hospital
- Confirmation of patient’s acceptance and treatment period stay from Hospital (from and including the start and end dates).
- Letter from the local hospital in Italy.
- Financial statement proof which is salary statement & other bank deposits to proves that it will cover the 70% left of the total treatment cost.
- An accurate and legally binding statement from the local sponsor in Italy by indicating that he will pay for all medical treatment expenses in Italy.
- Copy of the Medical Insurance.
- Original document of medical prescription from the doctor in Italy
Additional documents for Italy Student Visa
- Evidence of enrollment in the institution
- Certificate of no objection from your current college
- Police clearances proof or document from your home country.
- Proof of accommodation in Italy like student housing or apartment rental.
- Prior education cirtificates
- Proof of language skills like English or Italian
Additional Documents for Italy Visitor Visa
The visitor visa format will be as follows:
- An invitation letter is now required in the visa requirements section.
- If visiting and staying with friends or family in Italy (without financial sponsorship): Invitation letter from the invitee, which must clearly identify the host and the invitee (name, address, birth date, official identification number, occupations and permanent residence); the purpose of the visit, length of stay and accommodation status (where the invitee stays and who pays for it). Copy of the host’s passport proof of residence.
- If visiting and staying with friends or family in Italy (with financial sponsorship):If your visit is supported and paid for by a sponsor residing in Italy, an electronic affidavit which can be obtained by the host from the nearest aliens police in Italy is required.
- In some cases you might be asked to provide an “Electronic Guarantee Letter“. This service is free of charge and provided by the local aliens police. The authority dealing with your EVE will forward the information to the Italian Embassy within 48 hours. You will receive an ID-number which the visa applicant should provide at the interview.
Additional Documents for Italy Transit Visa
- Flight ticket to the ultimate destination.
- A valid visa to the target country is necessary (if required)
Additional Documents for Italy Sports, Culture Visa
Documents for sports and cultural visa:
- Event Information. As:
- Invitation letter from the relevant body in Italy with details upon the nature of events or activities that are to be held in Italy.
- Entry tickets to the event.
- Enrolment conditions.
- Detailed program of the event in Italy.
- Other documents that present the Names of the applicants (crew members) and other relevant information about the event.
- Proof of Professional sportsman r competition in Italy
- Proof of previous performances. Participation in previous festivals and ceremonies (cultural, religious), sports competitions, winners certificates, proof of world/international ranking (sports).
Documents for Film Crew:
- list of film crew member.
- Proof that the candidate is registered as a staff member for a film company.
- Letter from the Schengen country’s film office confirming the visit’s details.
- A letter from the production company outlining the plot and locations for their next film.
Additional Documents for Italy Spouse Visa
When applying to get an Italian visa as the spouse of an Italian citizen, you must provide the following additional documents:
- Original and copy of the Nulla Osta: which issued by the competent S.U.I. in Italy
- Original passport copy all pages of the invitee: who has applied for “Nulla Osta” in Italy
- Original attested copy of the “Permit of stay” (Permesso di soggiorno) of the invitee
- Long-Stay Italy Visa Application Form which should be signed
- Marriage certificate
- Family record book
- Proof of Italian citizenship (ID card or consular card or certification of Italian nationality)
- Proof of family relationship: Birth certificates for kids and marriage certificate for your spouse.
Do you need a flight ticket to apply for Italy Visa ? Can you use a flight itinerary ?
When you are applying for Italy Schengen visa, it is not safe to have a fully paid flight ticket, you can have a temporary booking or use a flight itinerary for visa purposes. Once your visa is approved, you can book your flight ticket.
The way we will help you to create flight itinerary for our customers is using FlightGen App and you can use the app. To know more about using flight itinerary for visa.
What does a travel itinerary mean when applying for Italy visa ?
A travel itinerary is your a detailed travel plan, such as it explains your day wise destinations plan, activities plan and all, it also contains round trip flight tickets and proof accommodation which you need to submit at consulate to obtain your Italy Schengen visa. This information must be included in your cover letter or visa letter which will then be used by the consulate to decide on your visa approval.
In case you decided not to submit your travel itinerary at embassy or consulate or VAC, then your visa will get rejected. That’s why the travel itinerary is mandatory document for Italy Schengen visa
Importance of this Travel itinerary is:
Having travel itinerary which proves that you are tourist, you are travelling to Italy for only visit most visited tourist places, which means you have any intend to stay for longer duration in Italy
And travel itinerary, helps the officials at embassy to verify your flight dates is matching the dates which have mentioned on your other documents.
We help you create travel itinerary based on your trip, we will give all the information in detail which help you get your Italy Schengen visa easily.
Is a cover letter needed when applying for Italy visa ?
Yes. A cover letter is one of the important document when you are applying for Schengen visa. As per the VFS website you should carry your cover letter during your Italy Schengen visa appointment.
In a cover letter, which is also called as visa letter and will be submitting to an Italian office, which explains why you are visiting Italy. It also include things like how long you are going to stay, your bank records, and any other important documents. The cover letter’s goal is to convince the visa officials to give you a visa for Italy.
To know more about creating cover letter or visa letter for Italy Schengen visa.
Why travel insurance is mandatory for Italy Schengen visa application ?
Yes. A travel health insurance is mandatory for any Schengen visa application including Italy Schengen visa and the insurance must cover the whole travel duration.
To enter Italy, you must have valid Travel health insurance, you don’t need insurance in case you are traveling Italy without visa, but we strongly advice you that to have travel insurance even you are visiting Italy without visa in some emergency cases.
And you should have travel insurance if you are applying for long term visa. The travel insurance is mandatory because Travel insurance covers the following:
- Medical Emergency
- Any loss and damage of your belongings
- And it also covers your prepaid expenses like flight or hotel bookings, in case your trip got cancelled due to some extreme cases.
- It covers expenses like, if you made any causes to somebody’d property or belongings while you are in Italy
As of 2022, this insurance must cover COVID and also provide medical coverage of at least $50,000 & repatriation of about 1 million . Also the insurance must be 0 deductible. You can buy your insurance below.
You can get your travel insurance for less than $1 per day from visitorscoverage.com .
Who requires an Italy Schengen visa ?
Obtaining Italy Schengen visa is completely based on the nationality. Generally visitors are classified into non visa exempt and visa exempt visitors. There are 63 countries which comes under visa-exempt countries for which you don’t need Italy Schengen visa to enter Italy because of an EU law. This facility depends of the type of Italy visa based on the countries, they can stay up to 90 days every 180 days.
Visa -exempt countries which includes like EU/EEA member states, Swiss Citizens don’t need Italy visa. As well the US citizens also don’t need visa to enter Italy , which is only for short stays. If you want stay longer for work or study purposes then you need to apply for Italy Schengen visa.
and Green card holder of US can’t enjoy this visa free facility, They should apply for Italy visa whether it might be for short stay or long stay.
And for non exempt countries or citizen of other nationality needs Italy Schengen visa to visit Italy.
How to apply for Italy Schengen visa ?
Follow the below steps to apply for Italian Schengen Visa:
- First decide which type of visa you needed
- Find out where you need to apply for Italy Schengen Visa
- Fill out the Italy visa Application form
- Gather all necessary documents for Italy Schengen Visa
- Schedule an appointment for Italy visa at nearby consulate or embassy or any designated Visa application center in your location
- Attend the interview on scheduled date and time
- Wait for Italy visa processing.
Once you have scheduled your visa appointment and you should have all the required documents ready, please double check your documents before submitting. make sure that you have have provided all the flight itinerary and proof of accommodations to the destinations should mentioned in the cover letter.
Also check if the dates mentioned in the Italy visa application form matches with the done in your cover letter.
A cover letter is a very important document during the your Italy Schengen visa process which is the first document that the visa officials will read and it is the only place where you can personally speak to the visa officer .
You can create cover letter for your visa application for just $5 using BlinkDocs App
Next, take two set of copies of all the documents that you have created and arrange it in the order mentioned in the checklist.
On the day of the Italy visa interview, carry with you two blue pens, a soft copy of all the documents , cash (as some visa consulates only accept cash) and be dressed formally.
You will be asked to submit your fingerprints and if any issues are found on your documentation, you will be given a few minutes to fix them and get back so do not be nervous.
If you have taken our consultation service you can ping your assigned visa expert and they will handle your queries for you.
Where should I apply for Italy Schengen visa ?
Applying for Italy Schengen visa would depend on your country and jurisdiction, in some countries the Italian embassy or consulates handles the visa applications whereas in others designated VAC (Visa Application Center) such as VFS Global , BLS or TLS Contact may be given the authority to collect the visa application on the Italian consulates behalf.
So pay special attention of this fact and make sure you know who handles the visa in your city. Even if there is an embassy of Italy in your location they may not handle your visa application.
When Should I apply for Italy Schengen Visa?
It is recommended that you submit your Italy Schengen visa application no more than six months and no less than two to three weeks before your intended travel date to Italy.
How long does my Italy Schengen visa Application take for approval?
Italy Schengen visa processing time varies based on your nationality. generally Italian visa can take up to 15 working days for approval, in some certain case the processing time may exceed. So you have to apply for an Italian visa up to 2 months before your trip.
What should I do if my Italy Schengen visa gets denied?
In case if your Italy Schengen visa gets rejected, then you have all the right to appeal for the visa within 60 days of your Italian visa rejection. First you have process this appeal by taking appeal letter in which its clearly mention that why your visa got rejected and details steps of the visa appeal process.
Here you need to pay the appeal fees which is not refundable, whether it might be positive response or negative response.
The administrative regional court (Turin: Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale) of Lazio will hear your appeal.
What is the Italy Schengen visa fee?
The fee for Italy Schengen visa(1 to 90 days) is $87 for adults and $43.60 for kids over age of 6. Children below 6 can apply for Schengen visa for free. The Italy Schengen visa fees (1 to 90 days) for For nationals of the following countries: Armenia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Georgia, Moldova, Macedonia, Ukraine, Serbia is $38.10 and Italy visa Fees for National (Italian) visa $126.30 and for National (Italian) Study visa is $54.50.
| Type of Italy Schengen Visa | Visa Fees |
| Short stay visa (1- 90 days) for Adults | $87 |
| Short stay visa (1- 90 days) for Kids between 6 – 12 age | $43.60 |
| Short stay visa (1- 90 days) for Kids below age 6 | Free |
| Short stay visa (1- 90 days) For nationals of the following countries: Armenia, Albania, Georgia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Moldova, Macedonia, Ukraine, Serbia | $38.10 |
| National (Italian) visa for long stay (91 – 365 days) | $126.30 |
| National (Italian) Study visa – long stay (91 – 365 days) | $54.50 |