Family reunification (non-EU sponsors)

This is the ordinary-immigration route (art. 29 of the immigration code) for a non-EU resident of Italy who wants to bring family from abroad. It is not the route for family of EU citizens — they use the far more favourable free-movement rules on our non-EU family of EU citizens page. Facts verified 22 July 2026; orientation, not legal advice.

Who can sponsor, and for whom

You can sponsor if you hold a long-term/Blue Card permit or a permesso of at least one year (work, asylum, study, religious, family). A recent amendment adds a threshold: two years of uninterrupted legal residence before reunifying anyone other than minor children (international-protection holders are exempt). You can bring: your spouse (18+, not legally separated), minor children, dependent adult children only where total invalidity prevents self-support, and dependent parents (with no other children at home, or over 65 with documented reasons).

The two tests: income and housing

• Income ≥ the annual assegno sociale + 50% per family member reunified (2× for two or more children under 14). On the 2025 table that meant €10,504.26 for one family member, €14,005.68 for two — the base amount is re-indexed every January, so check your prefettura's current table. Refugees are exempt.
• Housing: a certificate of idoneità alloggiativa from your comune (hygiene and habitability standards; valid 6 months), plus your title to the dwelling. For parents over 65, health insurance or voluntary SSN enrolment is also required.

How it works

1. You file online only, on the Interior Ministry's Portale ALI (SPID/CIE), addressed to the Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione at your prefettura.
2. The nulla osta is due within 150 days (extended from 90 in 2025; document requests pause the clock).
3. Your family member presents it to the Italian consulate within 6 months and applies for the reunification visa — the consulate verifies the family ties (legalised documents; DNA testing as fallback).
4. After entry: presence declaration within 48 hours, Sportello Unico appointment within 8 days, then the permesso per motivi familiari via the postal kit.

What the family permit gives

The family permit lasts as long as the sponsor's permit and renews with it — and it allows employed and self-employed work from day one, plus study and welfare access (art. 30). After divorce, the sponsor's death, or a child turning 18, it can be converted to a work or study permit. And if your family member is already legally in Italy, skip the whole nulla osta procedure: coesione familiare at the Questura converts their existing permit directly.

Bringing school-age children? They can be enrolled in school at any point in the year, even before the permesso is issued.