Lost or stolen permesso di soggiorno: how to get a duplicate (2026)

In short: report the loss or theft to the police, then ask for a duplicate. For most electronic permits that means a postal kit with the report, a €30.46 bollettino and a €16 stamp, plus the €30 Poste fee. If you are abroad, you need a re-entry visa from the Italian consulate.

Who this is for: non-EU citizens whose electronic permesso di soggiorno or EU long-term permit (permesso UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo, the old carta di soggiorno) was lost or stolen while it was still valid. EU citizens do not need a permesso. Some permit types follow a different procedure at the Questura (see below).

Step 1: report the loss or theft (denuncia)

Every official checklist we found starts with a copy of the denuncia di smarrimento (loss) or denuncia di furto/sottrazione (theft). Without it you cannot apply for a duplicate.

One Questura checklist says the report is made at the "Uffici delle Forze di Polizia". Under Italian law (Law 121/1981, art. 16) the police forces include the Polizia di Stato and the Carabinieri, so you can also go to the Carabinieri.

Official pages do not publish a list of what to bring to the report. Your passport, and a photo or photocopy of the lost card if you have one, will help the officer identify the document. Keep several copies of the report: you will need one for the application.

Step 2: postal kit or Questura?

For most electronic permits, the postal kit. Poste Italiane lists "Duplicato permesso di soggiorno" and "Duplicato carta di soggiorno" among the requests handled at Sportello Amico post offices. The Questura di Treviso lists the duplicate of a permesso and of an EU long-term permit under the postal kit procedure.

For some permit types, the Questura directly. The Questura di Milano handles duplicates of the asylum-seeker permit (richiesta asilo) by PEC email to the Questura. The Questura di Alessandria takes duplicates of residence cards for family members of EU citizens only by appointment booked by email. Check your own Questura's page before you go.

Cost

The Polizia di Stato says no contribution (the €40, €50 or €100) is due for a duplicate of a permit in corso di validità (still valid).

Documents for the postal kit

From Questura checklists on questure.poliziadistato.it (lists vary, so follow your own Questura's):

• copy of the police report (denuncia)
• €30.46 bollettino and €16 marca da bollo
• copy of your whole passport
• copy of the lost permesso, if you have one
• proof of where you live (Treviso asks for a residence certificate or a declaration of hospitality)
• photos: one checklist says 2; Treviso asks for 4 at the Questura appointment, with your original passport and the originals of everything you copied

After you send the kit, the steps are the same as for any kit: see what happens after you send the permesso kit.

Meanwhile: can you work or travel?

We found no official source that says what the police report plus a duplicate receipt let you do. The Polizia di Stato notice on travelling with a post office receipt covered renewals and first permits, not duplicates, and applied only from 1 August 2008 to 31 January 2009. Ask your Questura before you plan any trip abroad.

Lost or stolen abroad

You cannot get a duplicate from abroad. The Italian consulates' re-entry visa (visto di reingresso) is for holders of a permesso or carta di soggiorno who find themselves without the document because of theft or loss and want to return to Italy. It is issued after the competent Questura gives its opinion. The Consulate General in Lagos asks for:

• the visa application form
• a valid passport
• a recent photo
• the report of theft or loss made to the local police
• a declaration confirming your right to continue your stay in Italy

Consulates may ask for more, so check your consulate's own list. Once back in Italy, apply for the duplicate.

If your permit has expired or expires soon

The fee rule above applies to duplicates of a still-valid permit. If your permit has expired or is about to, ask your Questura whether to apply for a renewal instead, and keep the police report: Questure ask for the old permit at the appointment, and the Questura di Forlì-Cesena says that if a document was lost or stolen you bring the report when you collect the new card. If you are abroad, consulates say the re-entry visa can also cover a permit that expired not more than 60 days earlier, if you asked for its renewal in time. The consulate still checks with the Questura that issued it, and in all other cases the Questura must first give its clearance (nulla osta).

Sources: poste.it guide "Permessi di soggiorno"; poliziadistato.it articles 225 ("Il rilascio del permesso di soggiorno") and 10929 ("Stranieri: per uscire dall'Italia basta la ricevuta postale"); Questura documents and pages on questure.poliziadistato.it for Treviso (rinnovo/aggiornamento/duplicato, kit postale), Alessandria (permesso di soggiorno), Milano (rinnovo/duplicato richiesta asilo), Forlì-Cesena (collecting permits) and a Questura checklist "Duplicato permesso soggiorno o permesso UE S.L.P."; Consolato Generale d'Italia a Lagos, "Visto di reingresso"; Law 121/1981 art. 16. Checked October 2026.