As of Saturday, January 11th, non-EU nationals applying for Italian long-term visas will be required to have their fingerprints taken at the nearest Italian consulate in their home countries in order to complete the application process.
READ ALSO: Italy to introduce new fingerprint rule for long-term visa applications
The new requirement, which was passed into law in early October, is part of wider government efforts to enhance security within Italy’s immigration system following reports of criminal infiltration in recent years.
What’s changing?
As of January 11th, non-EU nationals applying for Italian long-term visas will be required to have their fingerprints taken at the nearest Italian consulate in their home countries in order to complete their applications.
Italian long-term visas (also known as type-D visas, or visti di tipo D) are issued to people looking to stay in Italy for any period of time exceeding 90 days. They are issued for a variety of reasons, including employment, self-employment, study, family reunification, retirement and investment.
READ ALSO: Quick guide: What work visas can you apply for to move to Italy?
The new requirement will mean that applicants have to book an appointment with the nearest Italian consulate and then travel to the consulate in person to have their fingerprints taken.
The same requirement has been in place for short-stay visas (or type C-visas) since 2015.
Short-stay visas grant the right to stay in Italy for a maximum of 90 days.
Will anyone be exempt from the requirement?
According to information published by Italian consulates in recent weeks, children under the age of 12 and individuals “for whom fingerprint collection is physically impossible” will be exempt from the new requirement.
Italian consular authorities have also said that biometric data will be stored for 59 months (nearly five years), meaning that applicants won’t need to provide fingerprints again for any subsequent visa application filed within that time frame.
What are practical implications of the new rules?
In practical terms, the new requirement will add yet another layer of bureaucracy to a process that’s already notoriously complex and hard to navigate for applicants.
Besides the added burden of having to book an appointment with the consulate and attending it in person, the fingerprint rule may result in significant travel expenses for any applicant living far away from the nearest Italian consular office.
Furthermore, the requirement may lengthen overall visa application times.
Reports of lengthy visa appointment waiting times at Italian consulates are far from rare, especially in countries with high numbers of applications, including the US.
But immigration experts have expressed concerns that the new fingerprint rule and the higher number of appointments resulting from it may further strain the resources of some consulates, leading to even longer application times.
Speaking on how mandatory fingerprinting may affect applications for long-term study visas, Melissa Torres, CEO of non-profit Forum on Education Abroad, said that expenses faced to travel to and from consulates and “the likelihood of massive wait times for visa appointments” may have a negative impact on foreign students’ decision to study in Italy.
Will the fingerprint appointment result in higher application costs?
There’s currently no indication that the policy change will result in higher consular fees for long-term visa applications.
But it may result in a number of indirect expenses for applicants (for instance, travel expenses or income loss due to taking time off work to attend the appointment).
Why is Italy introducing this requirement?
This is part of a number of measures intended to enhance the security of Italy’s immigration system and reduce its vulnerability to criminal infiltration after reports of exploitation by mafia groups in recent years.
In June 2024, PM Giorgia Meloni announced plans to reform Italy’s entry visa scheme in a bid to stop a long-standing “mechanism of fraud and circumvention of regular entry systems” by criminal networks.
A first batch of measures aimed at ramping up security was approved in early October, with further law changes expected in 2025.
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