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 Torino
- An address in Turin — a registered lease, deed or hospitality declaration
- A codice fiscale
- For EU citizens: proof of employment, study or sufficient means plus health cover
Step-by-step
- 1
Get the codice fiscale on arrival
Free and same-day at an Agenzia delle Entrate office with a passport, or assigned at the Sportello Unico for sponsored arrivals. It is the prerequisite for the lease, the bank, the SIM and the health service.
In personWho: YouDay 1–2 - 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, attach 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 Torino's immigration office. Bring the originals of everything in the kit. Turin's timelines are among the better ones for a large Italian city.
In personWho: You - 4
Register residence with the Città di Torino
The declaration can be filed online or at an anagrafe office, and takes effect from the day you make it. The comune then has 45 days to verify. Turin's anagrafe network is spread across the city — check which office covers your address before travelling.
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 asking a neighbour. Put your surname on the intercom and letterbox the day you move in.
In personWho: Polizia Municipale di TorinoWithin 45 days of declaring - 6
Track the permit and start renewals early
The Polizia di Stato runs an online status lookup against the receipt number. File renewals at least sixty days before expiry; the renewal receipt keeps you lawful while it is processed.
OnlineWho: You
Documents you’ll need
- Passport with the type-D visa
- Nulla osta and, for employment, the signed contratto di soggiorno
- 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
Turin's engineering employers hire non-EU specialists often, and the route they file matters more than anything else.
The ordinary work permit is rationed by the decreto flussi — a quota decree filed on a click day where the year's places disappear in minutes. The EU Blue Card for highly qualified roles, intra-company transfers, researchers and university teaching all sit outside the quota entirely. In an aerospace or automotive hire, that is the difference between starting in three months and waiting for next year's window. Ask HR explicitly which route they are filing.
Source: Ministry of the Interior; Ministry of Labour
Intra-company transfer time does not count toward permanent residence, and Turin's multinationals use it heavily.
Time held on the ICT permit for intra-corporate transferees is expressly excluded from the five-year calculation for EU long-term residence. Stellantis, Thales Alenia and the aerospace primes move people into Turin on group postings routinely, and a three-year assignment can end with you no closer to settled status than on day one. If staying is the plan, a local Italian contract or a Blue Card gets you there and an ICT posting does not.
Source: Ministry of the Interior
The Politecnico's English-taught masters are a legitimate and heavily used route into the Italian labour market.
The Politecnico di Torino runs a large number of masters programmes substantially in English, and its graduates feed directly into the automotive, aerospace and energy clusters around the city. Converting a study permit into a work permit after graduation is expressly provided for and draws on a quota reserved in the decreto flussi. The caveat worth knowing early is that study time has historically counted at half rate toward the five-year permanent residence clock.
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Residence registration takes effect the day you declare it, not when the comune approves it.
The declaration is immediately effective, so you can request a residence certificate, register with the health service and start the driving-licence conversion clock straight away. The comune then has 45 days to verify, and silence at the end of that period confirms it. Newcomers routinely wait for a confirmation that is never going to arrive, delaying everything that depends on it.
Source: Città di Torino; national anagrafe rules
Common mistakes to avoid
- Letting the eight-working-day filing window pass while apartment-hunting.
- Accepting an ICT posting when settling in Italy is the actual goal.
- Not asking whether the employer is filing a Blue Card or a quota permit.
- Waiting for the comune to confirm your residence before using it.
- Filing a renewal in the final fortnight before expiry.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.
Make it your personal checklist
Globe Quest turns this into a tracked, AI-personalized plan for Turin — timed to your move date, with reminders so nothing slips. Free to start.
Sources
- Ministry of the Interior — immigration and asylum — official
- Polizia di Stato — residence permit status lookup — official
- Città di Torino — official
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Visa for Italy portal — official
Last verified August 2026. Government processes change — always confirm critical details against the official source before acting.