21 December 2006

7 months later...permesso di soggiorno

We arrived in Italy on May 18 of this year and as required by the Italian government notified the local poliza and questura, (immigration office) in Anzio of our presence. Part of this process was applying for our Permesso di Soggiorno per Stranieri (PdiS) or “foreigners’ permit of stay”. Anzio is located in the Provincia di Roma so our paperwork was forwarded to Roma for processing and we were told it would be two or three months before the PdiS was ready. We inquired several times if our PdiS was ready before we relocated in September to Acsoli Piceno but each time we were told that Roma is the biggest province in Italy and this process takes time. We called on several occasions from Ascoli Piceno with the same response.

Our friend Giorgio was in Anzio two weeks ago and stopped by the questura and saw our names on the list for PdiS that are ready. I called the questura to verify this and confirm whether or not we needed an appointment to collect our PdiS but I was told our names were not on the list. Confused by this conflicting information we had a local friend call the office again for us the next day and she was told that they remembered I had called and that they gave me the wrong information, our PdiS were indeed ready and no we did not need an appointment to collect them.

So yesterday we made the four hour trip each way from Ascoli Piceno to Anzio to gather our PdiS, a process that took no more than five minutes, after waiting seven months. But there is a bright side to this long wait. Normally when applying for the PdiS the first time it is valid for one year and then you must reapply. When we looked at the document we were confused as the date of issue was November 2006 but showed that it is valid until November 2008! Can this be correct? We stepped back to the counter and the immigration officer confirmed that yes the PdiS was valid for two years. We arrived in May and our PdiS are valid until November of 2008, an unusual two and a half year period…but no complaints on our part. Buon Natale!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Buone Natale; now you have your best Christmas present!

Auguri e Buono Anni Nuovo.

Anonymous said...

I am an avid reader of your blog. It is great news that you can continue your adventures in Italy.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I was excited when I got an extra month - but a whole extra year - hey, that's worth celebrating! Congratulations, and happy new year. :-)
A closet reader,
Tina

Anonymous said...

Hi. Google search brought me here.

7 months? I've been waiting since last Oct. I was also told it would be 50 days before the pds is ready. Yesterday I went to the questura. Waiting all morning. The answer I got was come back after 30 days. I'm waiting for one year valid pds.

Congratulations for your pds. Hope you have nice staying in Italy.

Bryan said...

Hyunjung - If you are in Roma I would try again in 30 days but don't hold your breath that it will be ready. Hopefully yours too will be for more than 1 yr.