You have plans to go to Italy in near future right? Have you done all your visa formalities? Well, there is no need to be scared if you know what exactly you should do. You can easily get Italy visa if you know what has to be done, when to be done and how to be done.
First of all, you need to determine which kind of visa for which you want to apply. Student visas are somewhat easy, as long as you possess plenty of documentation regarding your place and that of course of study, your duration of stay, and documentation of your place to live. Then talking about work visas, these are pretty hard to receive, except you are getting sponsored by an Italian company or a U.S. firm doing business in Italy.
Again, massive documentation! Remember, the economy in Italy has been pretty risky for the past several years, and jobs aren’t a plentiful supply. As you might imagine, the Italian government wishes to do its best to avert the foreign interlopers from snatching jobs away from that of Italian citizens. Logical!
Elective Residency Visa
Then there is also the elective residency visa and it basically states you are coming to Italy NOT to do work, and that you have adequate financial resources to live in the absence of becoming a burden on the country. This is the greyest of all needs, because there are no published criteria for the edge of required financial assets, and the requirements appear to be a lot higher when applying for your Italian residency visa, than applying for that of the permesso di soggiorno (stay permit) that takes over from visa once you have settled in the region of Italy.
Also remember that not all the Italian Consulates are formed up equal. It is truly an unfortunate fact. Some Italian Consulates are disreputably tough on their criteria, and with there being a lack of distinct criteria for things like need financial assets, this can be frustrating. Add to this that being needed to go to the Italian Consulate in your area, or the one nearest to you in your part of the country. You cannot simply shop around. The point is you have to do proper research before you apply for the visa.
An Italian Visa is good for one year
No matter, you are planning to live in Italy for a year, five years, or the rest of your life; visas are just issued with one-year validity. You see, once you step in Italy, you would be required to get a permesso di soggiorno that would become your document that permits you to stay in Italy. Once you properly navigate that process and get your permesso di soggiorno, you do not have to renew your Italian visa. You just keep renewing the permesso each year (until you pass the standards for getting a longer-term permit to stay). It would be better that when you have your interview with consulate, you should articulate your commitment to live in Italy for a shorter time.
Conclusion
So, whether Italy tourist visa or you want to settle in that area of the world; you have to be thoughtful and prudent about all the documents. You have to be tactful about the procedures too.