WHO CAN APPLY FOR FAMILY REUNIFICATION?
A foreign citizen who wishes to apply for family reunification must have had a carta di soggiorno (residence card) or a permesso di soggiorno for at least one year. The document must be valid and must be issued for lavoro subordinato o autonomo, or for political asylum, subsidiary protection, study, religious or family reasons.
FOR WHICH FAMILY MEMBERS CAN YOU APPLY FOR REUNIFICATION?
· For the spouse who has reached the age of 18 and with whom the person residing in Italy is not legally separated;
· For the children who, at the time of applying for reunification, are under the age of 18, including those of the spouse or born out of wedlock, provided that they are not married and that the other parent (if alive) has given his/her consent. Minor children who are adopted, entrusted or subject to guardianship are treated as children;
· For the children of age who are dependent on the foreign citizen, when, for objective reasons, they are unable to provide for their indispensable living needs due to serious health reasons resulting in total disability;
· N.B.: in this case, the illness and disability must be duly certified through medical documentation issued, at the applicant's expense, by the doctor appointed by the Italian Embassy competent for the country of origin of the family members for whom reunification has been requested.
· For the dependent parents
o up to 65 years: if they have no other children in their country of origin or provenance and are fully dependent on their child in Italy (they have no income);
o over 65 years: if they have no other children in their country of origin or provenance, or if the other children are unable to support them due to serious health reasons, which can be documented and verified by the Italian Embassy in the country.
N.B.: In the case of parents over 65 years of age, private health insurance covering "all risks in the national territory", i.e. registration with the National Health Service, is required.
· The child's natural parent legally residing in Italy with the other parent. The application for the nulla osta may be submitted on behalf of the minor by the legally residing parent. For the income and accommodation requirements, the status of the legally residing parent is taken into account.
REQUIREMENTS FOR RICONGIUNGIMENTO FAMILIARE
To apply for reunification for your family, you must have:
· a minimum income (income is the sum of the net salaries you receive in a year) with reference to the social allowance increased on the basis of a calculation that takes into account the members of the household
· a suitable home; you must provide with a certificate of hygienic and sanitary suitability attesting to the suitability of the lodging to accommodate the family members for whom reunification is requested. The certificate must be requested from the municipality where the accommodation is located.
THE PROCEDURE
The application for family reunification can only be submitted online, through access with SPID credentials to the dedicated portal of the Ministero dell'Interno (Ministry of the Interior, equivalent to the British Home Office) accessible at the website portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it.
When filling in the form, the applicant must indicate the Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione of Cremona only if he/she is resident in a municipality in the province of Cremona, attaching the required documentation in digital format to the application.
When the application is submitted, the required documentation must be attached, proving possession of the personal, income and housing requirements. The personal data of the applicant and family members to be reunited must be entered as they appear on the passport.
The Office will examine the attached documentation and, subsequently, the outcome of the preliminary investigation will be sent to the applicant EXCLUSIVELY from the ALI system to the e-mail address entered in the application.
Users can access the ALI system with their credentials to check for any communications. Similarly, in the event of the inclusion of lacking or inadequate documentation, the applicant will be informed of the necessary integrations from the ALI system and will be required to attach the requested documents.
If the application is accepted, the Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione convenes the applicant to check the originals of the documents, which have already been examined in copy.
The applicant will also receive the document of the nulla osta for reunification, which is transmitted electronically by the Sportello to the Italian diplomatic-consular Representation of the country in which the family member to be reunited is located.
The Consular Offices verify - through specific documentation provided by the applicant - the subjective requirements for the issuance of an entry visa, i.e. the family relationship, marriage, minor age or state of health of the family member. The six-month period for requesting an entry visa from the Italian diplomatic-consular authority in the country of origin of the family member to be reunited begins from the moment the notification of the issue of the nulla osta is received. The visa is issued or denied within 30 days of the request.
N.B. The documentation proving the family relationship (marriage certificate or birth certificate, translated and legalised) presented at the Italian Embassy to obtain the "Entry Visa" must be kept as it will be requested later by the Italian authorities.
Within eight days of entering Italy, the reunified foreign citizen must inform the Sportello, by certified email (P.E.C.), of his entry into Italy, attaching a copy of the visa and the entry stamp. The applicant will then be summoned to the Sportello in order to register his entry into Italy, present the original documentation requested in the convocation document and collect the special postal kit to apply for a residence permit for family reasons, which must then be forwarded to the Questura. If the applicant doesn’t show up at the appointment, the file will be dismissed, unless there are proven impediments beyond the applicant's control.
At the end of the procedure, the applicant obtains a permesso di soggiorno for family reasons, which allows access to welfare services, enrolment in study or vocational training courses, as well as employed or self-employed work, and can be converted into a work permit.
Presso:
Prefettura di Cremona