Before you start

A long-stay type-D visa, for non-EU nationals
For work routes, a nulla osta issued to the employer by the Sportello Unico at the Prefettura di Firenze
For study, pre-enrolment through the Universitaly portal and an acceptance from the institution
An address in Florence — a registered lease, deed or hospitality declaration
A codice fiscale

Step-by-step

1
Get the codice fiscale in the first week
Free and same-day at an Agenzia delle Entrate office with a passport, or assigned at the Sportello Unico for sponsored arrivals. In September the Florence offices are overwhelmed by student demand — going early is the difference between an hour and half a day.
In personWho: YouDay 1–3
2
File the yellow kit within eight working days of entry
Collect the kit giallo at a Poste Italiane counter with the Sportello Amico sign, complete it, add a €16 revenue stamp, and hand it back with the postal and permit fees. Keep the receipt — it is your legal standing until the card exists.
In personWho: YouWithin 8 working days of entry
3
Attend the Questura appointment
The receipt carries a date for fingerprints at the Questura di Firenze's immigration office. Bring originals of everything in the kit. Autumn appointments are slower than spring ones for the obvious reason.
In personWho: You
4
Register residence with the Comune di Firenze
The declaration can be filed online through the comune's services or at an anagrafe counter, and takes effect from the day you make it. The comune then has 45 days to verify. Students on a short course may not qualify for residence and should check before declaring.
OnlineWho: YouWithin days of moving in
5
Be reachable for the vigile's check
A municipal police officer calls at the address unannounced to confirm you live there, checking the buzzer and often speaking to a neighbour. Put your surname on the intercom and letterbox the day you move in — in shared student flats this is where registrations most often fail.
In personWho: Polizia Municipale di FirenzeWithin 45 days of declaring
6
Plan the renewal or the conversion early
Study permits renew annually and renewals depend on exam progress. Converting a study permit into a work permit after graduation is expressly provided for, has its own application, and draws on a quota reserved in the decreto flussi — it is not automatic.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the type-D visa
Nulla osta, or enrolment confirmation for study
Registered lease, deed or hospitality declaration
Codice fiscale
Four identical passport photographs
€16 revenue stamp and the postal and permit fee receipts

Things most newcomers don’t know

Study time counts at half rate toward permanent residence, which reorders a lot of plans.

Florence attracts people who come for a masters and stay. The five-year clock to EU long-term residence has historically treated time held on a study permit at half value, so three years of study is not three years of residence. Anyone planning to settle should think about converting to a work or self-employment permit as early as the rules allow rather than accumulating study years and discovering the arithmetic at the end.

Source: Ministry of the Interior

The student SSN contribution went from under €150 to €700 on 1 January 2024.

Non-EU students without other entitlement register with the health service voluntarily. The 2024 budget law replaced the old flat fees with statutory minimums of €700 for students, €1,200 for au pairs and €2,000 for most other adults. In a city with Florence's student population this is the single most frequently mis-budgeted number, because consulate pages and university welcome packs took years to update.

Source: Ministry of Health; 2024 budget law

Residence registration in a shared flat needs the landlord's cooperation, and in Florence that is not always given.

You can only register residence at an address where you are lawfully resident under a registered contract, and the vigile's visit has to find evidence you live there. Landlords letting rooms informally sometimes resist registration because it exposes the arrangement. Since residence gates the health card, the driving-licence clock and much else, make registration a condition of the tenancy in writing rather than an assumption.

Source: Comune di Firenze

The digital nomad visa is a better fit than the elective residence visa for most people drawn to Florence.

Florence attracts remote workers and semi-retired people in roughly equal measure, and they reach for the wrong permit. The elective residence visa forbids all work — including remote work for a foreign employer — and consulates enforce that strictly. The digital nomad visa, operational since April 2024, expressly permits remote work for foreign employers or clients with income around €28,000 and six months of prior remote experience. Choosing the elective route while intending to keep working is the most common refusal in this category.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs