All DoD Family Members (Dependents) require an Official or No-Fee passport and a Mission visa prior to entry into Italy. The Mission visa requirement also applies to foreign-national spouses who will need this visa in their foreign passport. If the Dependents’ Sponsor has ALREADY PCS’d to Italy, the Dependents must apply at the Italian Consulate with jurisdiction over their area of current residence. If the servicemember and dependents are PCSing to Italy from an overseas assignment, their servicing personnel office will work with the local Italian consulate and USSSO to obtain their mission visas.
Members must apply for their passport prior to requesting a visa. At the peak of the summer PCS season, passports can take up to 6 weeks for issuance and visas can take up to 10 weeks for issuance. Any errors in submitting the packet extends this timeline. The most common error in visa applications is submitting an unsigned passport. It is important to sign any passport immediately upon receipt.
**Passport for Minors** A parent or legal guardian may sign the passport if the child is too young to sign his or her own name. To do so, a parent or legal guardian must print the child’s name and sign his or her own name in the space provided for the signature followed by (mother)(father)(legal guardian).
Passport and Visa Application Checklist
The Italian Mission Visa Application Guide for family members can be found here: Italian Mission visa guide
Within eight days of their arrival in Italy, all family members and DoD civilian employees are required to apply for a Sojourner Permit, the Permesso di Soggiorno. This document is issued by the Italian government. A Sojourner Permit is a confirmation of your legal resident status in Italy, much like an American Green Card. If you do not have a visa upon arrival in Italy, you cannot obtain a Sojourner Permit. It is different from a visa, which is merely an approval for entry to the country. Italian law requires all foreign personnel working or living within Italy, other than an active-duty service members under military orders, to apply for a Sojourner Permit within eight days of arrival in Italy.
USAG Italy Soggiorno Information
RLSO EURAFSWA Soggiorno Information
