Family cohesion with an EU citizen through marriage in Italy

What is ‘family cohesion’ with an EU citizen legally residing in Italy?

‘Family cohesion’ allows a foreign national to obtain a new residence permit based on their family relationship with an EU citizen with registered residency in Italy. Both a marriage and a same-sex registered union make two people family members.

Main requirements to apply for family cohesion through marriage performed in Italy

The person married by the applicant in Italy (or the partner civilly united) should be either Italian or an EU citizen with registered residency in Italy (so-called ‘iscrizione anagrafica’).
The applicant and their spouse/civil partner should be married / united in Italy;
The applicant and their spouse/civil partner should live together after the application for family cohesion unless they have minor children.
The applicant should demonstrate a sufficient income to sustain themselves: around 9,000.00 euros per year in case of one family member; around 12,000.00 euros in case of 2 applicants applying for the residence permit. Note that also the income of the Italian or EU citizen can be used to meet this economic requirement.

Main Procedural Steps

Application for the residence permit at the Police headquarter;
Registration of the applicant’s fingerprints at the Police headquarter;
Issuance of the residence permit for family reasons.

Validity of the residence permit for family members

The residence permit issued to family members of an EU or Italian citizen is a long-term residence permit, with a 5-year validity. And it is easily renewable as long as the family relationship is still existent at the time of the renewal.
The residence permit for family reasons allows the foreign national to perform work activities in Italy.

Time Frame

The average time frame for obtaining the residence permit for family reasons is 2 or 3 months from the application date.

Get in touch

Our immigration lawyers are here to assist you in navigating the complex process of Family Cohesion with an EU citizen through marriage in Italy, ensuring that your rights are protected and your application is successful. Contact us!

Italian Visa

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Nicholas 2024-10-18

Start to finish guidance from the Lexia team

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Fantastic Experience

Throughout the process Pietro Derossi and his associates that I dealt with were extremely responsive despite the time difference. We were guided through the process of obtaining Italian citizenship for eight family members through my grandmother. This involved many unusual situations due to meeting certain dates. Pietro provided me the necessary form letters and agencies to contact in the US to obtain the documents to produce to the Tribunal. I would highly recommend him and his firm for any work of this kind.

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