Accoglienza – INTERNATIONAL WELCOME DESK
Entry and residence in Italy for research activity (visiting researchers and other researchers from abroad)
Here you’ll find information on entry and residence in Italy for foreign scholars employed as visiting researchers – be they visiting fellows, fixed-term researchers, or with an externally-funded research fellowships or research training grant. The following procedures apply in all cases where the research is the main activity.
The International Welcome Desk office is here to help international students and scholars who are part of the community the Scuola Superiore Meridionale , assisting them (among other things) to
Receive an Italian Tax Code (Codice Fiscale);
Request or renew a Residence Permit (Permesso di Soggiorno);
Find an accommodation;
Open a bank account;
Having family members rejoin them in Italy.
The International Welcome Desk office will also help you navigate the bureaucracy connected with the entry and visa procedures and, more generally, with your stay at the Scuola Superiore Meridionale . You can register with us at https://www.isu-services.it/it/universities/iwd-docenti-ssm-studi-avanzati
We encourage prospective and current students and visiting scholars to contact the INTERNATIONAL WELCOME DESK to schedule regular meetings, as well as in case of any emergency impacting your life at the Scuola Superiore Meridionale . We advise you to prepare for such meetings, e.g. by having questions ready to be asked to your advisor, and never to be shy about posing them, even if they might seem trivial or irrelevant.
Please note that Visa processing can take a long time, so you’ll be better off starting the procedure well in advance (at least 3 months).
Before arriving in Italy
EU citizens:
If you are a citizen of one of the European Union countries or of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and San Marino, you need to make sure that your identity document is valid for the entire duration of your stay in Italy and that you have an appropriate health insurance valid in Italy (EHIC card and/or private insurance).
Non-EU citizens are required to enter into an agreement (convenzione di accoglienza) with the Scuola Superiore Meridionale . The agreement has to be signed and returned to the Scuola, which will then forward to the researcher the required permit (so-called nulla osta) issued by the Prefettura (for stays of more than 90 days).
Once you receive the “nulla osta”, you are required to apply for a “research visa under art. 27 ter” and usually you will have to submit:
A visa application form, required for scholars with a research fellowship (assegno di ricerca),
a recent passport photo;
a passport or other valid travel document expiring at least three months following the requested visa;
copy of the “nulla osta”, for research activity (for stays of more than 90 days);
documentation certifying that the applicant is a researcher employed by a foreign university or research institute (for stays of less than 90 days);
copy of the “convenzione di accoglienza” signed by a representative of the Scuola Superiore Meridionale .
Please make sure to contact the Embassy to apply for your visa well in advance, to find out if any additional documentation is required.
After your arrival in Italy
EU citizens: can register in the registry office of the Municipality where you live. Please contact the IWD so that we can help with that.
Non-EU citizens are required, if they stay for less than 90 days, to fill and sign a Declaration of presence.
If they are entering Italy from a country outside the Schengen Area, the uniform Schengen stamp, affixed on the passport during border controls, replaces the declaration of presence.
If you are staying in a hotel, the declaration of presence is substituted by one you fill in and sign before the hotelier.
In any other case, you are required to provide a declaration of presence within 8 days after your entry into Italy to the Police Headquarter (Questura) of the Province where you live. Please contact the International Welcome Desk to receive help to carry out the procedure, as well as the relevant documents.
Non-EU citizens intending to stay in Italy for more than 90 days are required to apply for a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) within 8 working days of their arrival in Italy.. Applications are to be submitted tothe Immigration office (SUI) of the Prefecture of the city of Naples with the following documents in attachment:
€16.00 duty stamp;
original passport + photocopy of all pages (including blank ones);
copy of the notification of issue of the “nulla osta” for research;
copy of the Welcome Agreement (“convenzione di accoglienza”) signed by a representative of the Scuola Superiore Meridionale ;
copy of a reservation for a Hotel or B&B valid for no less than 15 days from the date of arrival
health insurance or registration with the National Health Service;
Italian Tax ID (codice fiscale) if the applicant already has one;
any additional document that may be required by the relevant Prefecture.
You can check here the contacts of the SUI at the Prefecture in Napoli or request assistance to the IWD.
Please make sure to submit your application for a residence permit complete with all the required documents attached. If your submitted application is complete, you will get your permit sooner. Should you need to provide additional documents after submitting your application, processing the latter could take a much longer time, even several additional months.
After verifying that all the required papers are in order, the SUI will provide you with the file to deposit at a Post Office through the “Sportello Amico”.
When submitting the application to the post office, you will be required to pay a fee for your electronic residence permit, at the cost of 80,46 € for (up to) 12 months, and to forward everything via an insured letter, at the cost of 30 €.
At the Post Office an appointment at the Police Headquarter (Questura) will be scheduled so that you can have photo taken and fingerprints filed for identification purposes. You need to show up to this appointment and the correct address on your permit application, as if any problem arises while issuing the residence permit, the Questura will send notices or calls to the indicated address.
Important: the surname of the researcher must be clearly visible on the door panel/letter box.
To renew a residence permit for research purposes, a new agreement will be needed.
Please note that the residence permit “ricercatore” (researcher) cannot be converted into “studente” (student). If you want to enrol in a degree program you are required to return to your country and apply for a visa for study purposes.
You can address any inquiry in writing at the following email addresses:
iwd@ssmeridionale.it (for general immigration info)
accommodation@ssmeridionale.iit (for accommodation service)
Or ring us at the following telephone numbers:
+39 388 0987138 (for general immigration info)
+39 324 5947719 (for accommodation service)
+39 081 0482669 (IWD office)
Should you prefer, you can reach us in person at our office in Piazza Santa Maria La Nova 12, in the historical center of Napoli. Here you can find the address: https://goo.gl/maps/nh34vV8nmCHyeBGx6
Our office hours are 10:00 to 14:00 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 10:00 to 16:30 on Tuesday and Thursday.