After you send the permesso kit at the post office: what happens next

In short: keep your receipt, wait for your Questura appointment (on the sheet from the counter or by registered letter), bring originals and 4 photos, then collect your card when you get the SMS.

You handed in your kit at the post office, paid, and walked out with a receipt. Here is what comes next, step by step, based only on what official sources say.

Who this is for: non-EU citizens who sent a first permit or a renewal (also updates, conversions and duplicates) through the postal kit at a Sportello Amico post office. EU citizens do not need a permesso di soggiorno. Applications made directly at the Questura follow that Questura's own procedure.

Step 1: keep the receipt (ricevuta)

The post office gives you a receipt for your application. It matters for three reasons:

• It is your proof while you wait. The Portale Immigrazione FAQ says the receipt has legal value and, together with your identity document, allows you to remain in Italy while you wait for your permit.
• It can let you work. The Polizia di Stato says that while waiting for a first work permit you can work temporarily, unless the authorities notify you of a reason the permit cannot be issued. The same applies to a renewal, as long as the permit being renewed allows you to work. For a first permit for employment, self-employment or family reunification, the receipt gives you the same rights as the permit itself.
• It holds your tracking codes. It shows the 12-character assicurata number and a user ID and password for Portale Immigrazione. See our guide to checking your status online.

Keep the original. You need it at the Questura and again when you collect the card.

Step 2: your Questura appointment (convocazione)

Next, the Questura has to see you in person to take your fingerprints and photo (the rilievi fotodattiloscopici, often called fotosegnalamento). You learn the date in one of two ways:

• At the post office counter, on a printed sheet with the date, time and place, if the Questura's calendar had a free slot at that moment.
• Later, by registered letter (raccomandata) to the Italian address you wrote in your application, if no slot was available.

Portale Immigrazione says waiting times for the convocazione vary from Questura to Questura. Write your address carefully in the kit, so the letter reaches you. You can also follow your application by logging in to Portale Immigrazione with the codes on your receipt, and the Questura di Bologna notes that your appointment can be checked there too. If you registered your kit details online in advance (the "Compilazione Dati Ricevuta" section, only for hand-filled kits), you can also get the appointment by SMS.

Step 3: what to bring to the appointment

Lists differ a little between Questure, so always follow the list from your own Questura or the letter you received. The Questure di Treviso and Rovigo, for example, ask you to bring:

• the original receipt (ricevuta of the assicurata) from the post office
• the second copy of your payment receipt (the bollettino you paid for the electronic permit). Portale Immigrazione says one copy goes in the kit and the other must be shown at the Questura appointment
• the appointment sheet from the post office (or your convocazione letter)
• 4 passport-style photos of yourself, plus 4 of each child under 14 to be added to your permit (the children must come too)
• your original valid passport
• the originals of every document you sent as a photocopy in the kit
• for renewals, your current or expired permesso

About photos: Portale Immigrazione says you must bring 4 passport photos with a white background (at least 45 mm high and 35 mm wide) to the appointment. At least one Questura (Ferrara) lists 2 per person. Bringing 4 is the safe choice.

Do not put originals or photos inside the kit envelope. The Questura di Ferrara says this explicitly: originals are shown at the appointment.

Step 4: the timeline

Article 5 of the Testo Unico Immigrazione says the permit is issued, renewed or converted within 90 days of the date you applied. This was 60 days until the rules changed on 22 May 2026. Some official pages have not been updated and still say 60 days. That is the legal deadline. Official sources do not publish a reliable average waiting time for each Questura, so we do not give one here.

Step 5: how you find out the card is ready

• By SMS. The Polizia di Stato says you will receive an SMS with the day, time and place to collect your permit.
• Online. The Polizia di Stato check at questure.poliziadistato.it/stranieri shows the name and address of the office where you collect the card once it is ready. Enter your 12-character assicurata number.

If the online check says your card is ready but no SMS arrives, check your Questura's page. Some Questure have their own way to book a collection slot. The Questura di Forlì-Cesena, for example, has a booking calendar for people who did not get the SMS.

Step 6: collecting the card

You collect the card in person at the office shown in the SMS or online. The Questura di Forlì-Cesena, for example, asks you to bring:

• your original passport
• your original old permesso (expired, or the one being updated), if you have one
• the original receipt of your application

If any of these was lost or stolen, bring the police report (denuncia). The Questure di Treviso and Rovigo add that when the card is handed over and activated, parents and children over 6 must be present.

If you miss the Questura appointment

There is no single national rule published for this, so check your own Questura. Several Questure (for example Bologna and Ferrara) state:

• If you cannot attend because of a sudden impediment, you will be called again automatically (riconvocato d'ufficio). The new date comes by registered letter and/or SMS to the contacts in your application. Ferrara asks for the impediment to be documented.
• If you miss the second appointment without a good reason, your application is closed (archiviata d'ufficio).

So if you know you cannot make it, keep proof of the reason (for example a medical certificate), contact your Questura's Ufficio Immigrazione, and watch your post and phone for the new date. If your application is closed, talk to a Patronato or an immigration lawyer before doing anything else.

If nothing happens

If you never get an appointment or the card seems stuck, see our status check guide. It covers Portale Immigrazione, the Poste helpline 800.200.309 and when to contact the Questura.

Sources: poste.it guide "Permessi di soggiorno"; portaleimmigrazione.it (FAQ on waiting times for the permit and for the convocazione, Compilazione Dati Ricevuta); poliziadistato.it article 225 ("Il rilascio del permesso di soggiorno") and questure.poliziadistato.it/stranieri; Questura documents and pages on questure.poliziadistato.it for Ferrara (kit postale), Treviso and Rovigo (documents for kit postale), Bologna (Ufficio Immigrazione) and Forlì-Cesena (collecting permits); D.Lgs. 286/1998 art. 5 on normattiva.it, as amended by D.Lgs. 83/2026. Checked October 2026.