The family unit of people residing legally in Italy is protected by the Consolidated Immigration Act (Legislative Decree No. 286, 1998) and Legislative Decree No. 30, 2007, which implements the European Directive on Family Unity.
The protection of family unity implies that a non-EU citizen, who is required a residence permit to live in Italy, is allowed to obtain one in order to live with their family member who already resides legally in Italy.
It is therefore important to draw a distinction between (a) the family member who is already legally residing in Italy, the family member towards whom one is reuniting; and (b) the non-EU family member who needs a residence permit to live with the former, the so-called reunited family member.
The requirements for the non-EU family member to obtain an Italian residence permit vary depending on whether the family member already residing in Italy is a European citizen or not.
Depending on the same aspect, the very notion of a family member and thus the types of relatives who can obtain a residence permit vary.
In this section of our website, you will find explanations of the most important cases, specification of the specific family members entitled to a residence permit for family reasons, and the requirements set for each case.
