The answer to the question regarding whether a visa is needed in Italy is obvious. Of course, yes, because this country belongs to the Schengen zone. However, as practice shows, a visa to visit her is easy to obtain - it is rarely refused to potential guests of Italy. You only need to collect a certain package of documents and go to the consulate (or the embassy). However, since the topic is relevant, it is worth paying more attention to its consideration.
Features of the procedure
So, whether a visa is needed in Italy is clear. And what about the pitfalls that are hidden behind the procedure for its design?
The first point is mandatory fingerprinting. Starting September 14, 2015, every person who intends to go abroad should pass it. This procedure involves fingerprinting. You can go through it at any diplomatic mission of Italy or another state that is part of the Schengen agreement.
In addition, residents of the Russian Federation will need to be photographed in a special booth in order to create a digital picture.
One thing is good - both of these procedures need to be done only once every 5 years.
Key Documents
Talking about whether a visa is needed in Italy, special attention should be paid to studying the list of papers that every person who wants to go to this beautiful country will need to collect. Here is a list of documents needed first:
- Foreign passport (original and copy), valid for at least three months after returning from the trip, with a “spare” blank page for the stamp. More stringent requirements are imposed on residents of St. Petersburg. In their "zagrani" should be three blank pages.
- Previously issued travel documents, if any.
- Civil passport (original and copies of completed pages).
- Photo for pasting into the questionnaire.
- Certificate of employment attesting to employment. Drawn up on the letterhead of the enterprise. It should indicate his address and number, as well as the position, salary and date of employment of a resident of the Russian Federation. It is important to indicate that a person is going on a trip during his vacation. Therefore, the date of its beginning and end is marked.
This list needs to be remembered by every person who has thought about whether a visa is needed in Italy and who decided to apply for it. Because all documents will have to be collected and double-checked with special care.
Application Form
This is another important document, without which a visa cannot be obtained. Yes, this is only a questionnaire, but it must be completed in accordance with the requirements of the country of entry.
The form can be downloaded from the network or obtained directly from the consulate. It is recommended to fill out this document in advance, focusing on the sample, which is also publicly available. It, like the form, can be found on the official resource of the consular post.
Care must be taken, since an incorrectly completed form often becomes a significant reason for refusing to issue a visa. No blots and corrections should be in it.
How to fill in the form?
Every person who needs a visa to Italy needs to deal with this issue. Do you need any knowledge to fill out the questionnaire? Yes, knowledge of English or Italian is required. The questionnaire must be completed on one of them.
The first items are the full name, date and place of birth, gender. Everything needs to be rewritten from a passport. If a person was born before 1991, then in the 7th paragraph (citizenship at birth), you must specify the USSR. All others leave the field blank.
The 11th paragraph is intended to indicate the identification number. The citizens of the Russian Federation do not have it, so there is no need to write anything there.
The 20th item is the address and telephone number of the employer. Everything is clear here. But, if a person is an IP, then there he writes his home address.
The 28th paragraph is reserved for indicating information on permission to enter the country of final destination. He is not filled out by citizens of the Russian Federation.
In principle, these are all the nuances that Russians need to take into account when drawing up the questionnaire. In any case, it will not hurt to have a finished sample before your eyes.
Confirmation of the purpose of the visit
In addition to all of the above, an additional package of documents will be required. It includes something that can confirm the financial viability of a tourist and his reliability. Here's what you need to show:
- Return tickets. If a person travels by car, then a green card (insurance) and a personalized travel itinerary will be required.
- A certificate confirming the availability of housing during the trip. Hotel reservation or apartment / house rental agreement.
- Bank card statement. There should be enough money on your account to cover your travel needs. The calculation is: 35 euros per day per person. That is, if a tourist leaves for Italy for 10 days, the account must have at least 350 euros.
- Insurance with a cover of 30,000 euros.
That's all. This list needs to be remembered to people interested in whether a visa to Italy is needed for the Russians. Since these documents they will have to collect to submit them to the consulate.
About the timing
A few words should be said about the time frame. If you plan a trip to Italy, then you should apply for a visa at least three months before. The fact is that the embassy (as well as the consulate) decides to approve the application of a potential tourist quite quickly. On average, it takes 10-15 days. As a maximum, the process can drag on for a month. But this is rare. Therefore, it is not necessary to submit documents too soon. They will put a visa stamp in the passport, but you still have to wait for the trip. And its validity will expire.
By the way, making an urgent visa is also possible. True, the consular fee in this case will not be 35, but 70 euros. But then the decision will be made in three days at most. And if the price of a person’s question does not bother, then you can even contact the visa center. Specialists of such organizations take all the cares with paperwork, but this service is also worth it.
Business visa
About its design is also worth a few words. A business visa is issued to people who have found work in Italy, or to businessmen pursuing other goals (for example, entering into partnerships with local companies). Here is what you need to design it, in addition to everything previously listed:
- Questionnaire (of another sample).
- A business letter on the official letterhead of the inviting company indicating the passport details of the visa recipient, purpose and duration of the trip, as well as guarantees for the provision of expenses related to the maintenance of the guest.
- A copy of the Italian passport representing the host country.
- Account statement. For a 3-month stay, the balance must be at least 1,500 euros. The amount increases to 3,500 euros if the trip is planned for 180 days. For an annual stay on the account of a person must be 6,000 euros.
- Extract from the Italian Chamber of Commerce. After receiving it, it is valid for only three months.
It is also worth noting another important nuance. A person who has received a business visa will have new opportunities in the future. It's not even about working in Italy. Then, at the end of the validity period of this document, he can issue an unlimited multivisa. For her, as you know, there are no restrictions regarding the number of entries and exits. For a person with such a document, the question of whether a visa is needed to travel to Italy simply loses relevance.
Visa-free case
Surprisingly, the Russians can legally enter the territory of Italy, avoiding all of the above red tape. There is one tricky way. And he consists in a trip to Italy from Montenegro.
Do I need a visa to the second country listed? Of course not! Russians can stay in Montenegro for up to 30 days without a visa. But what does Italy have to do with it?
So, on the territory of Montenegro there is a port city called Bar. From there the ferry goes across the Adriatic Sea straight to the Italian coast. He approaches in the port city of Bari. Sail only 225 kilometers. Ferries depart in the evening. The journey takes 9 hours, so the ship arrives in Bari in the morning. This is a short trip, and a visa is not needed for him.
Transit
For some people, Italy is becoming a stopover. On its territory, respectively, they are a minimum of time. The question arises: "If transit through Italy is planned, do I need a visa?"
No, if there is a so-called transit zone at the airport where the tourist’s flight arrives . This is part of it, which is under passport control. The good thing is that in Italy there are airports with a transit zone. They are located in Milan and Rome.
If the tourist’s flight does not depart to these airports, he will have to apply for a transit visa, which is issued for 5 days. What is needed from the documents? Application for a short-term stamp, as well as all of the above. And also a visa to a third country, where a person goes in transit through Italy.
Information for residents of Belarus
Do citizens of a neighboring state need a Schengen visa to Italy? Yes, it is necessary. But Belarusians have a slightly different procedure for its design.
First you need to make an appointment with officials at the embassy. Today, recording is carried out exclusively in online mode.
After a person performs this procedure, you can collect documents. The list is similar to the previously mentioned. But there are differences.
The bank account must have an amount determined at the rate of 60 euros per day. If a person travels to Italy for 10 days, then at least 600 euros must be paid to the card.
In addition to the originals of previous travel documents, you need to make copies of them. It is also necessary to make a copy of the pages of the current passport with visa stamps.
The last difference is the cost. The consular fee is 60 euros. While for residents of Russia it is 35 euros.
So, the answer to the question of whether a visa to Italy is needed for Belarusians will be positive. Moreover, the requirements for residents of a neighboring state are more stringent.