TYPES OF VISA
Tourism (both individuals and ADS groups)
Business
Family or friend visit
Cultural or sport event
Work
Study
Family reunion
Other visas
BIOMETRIC DATA COLLECTION (VISA INFORMATION SYSTEM)
As from 12 October 2015, all Schengen visa applicants are required to provide their biometric data (10 fingerprints and a photo) when applying for a Schengen visa. All applicants will have to apply in person when fingerprints have to be taken for the first time. Since biometric data information are stored for 59 months, in case of following visa applications it won’t be necessary to come again in person. It is a simple and quick procedure that only takes a few minutes.
Exemptions from the fingerprinting requirement are provided for a limited number of applicants, including children under the age of twelve and persons for whom the collection of fingerprints is physically impossible. Heads of State and members of the national government with members of their official delegation and spouses will also be exempted, if travelling for official purposes.
For more information please read the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs webpage and the website of the European Commission.
Italy does not require fingerprint capture for national visas.
WHERE TO APPLY FOR A VISA IN CHINA
Visa applications can be submitted as follows:
a) At the Visa Office of the Consulate General of Italy in Chongqing:
To schedule an appointment or to ask information, please write to chongqing.visti@esteri.it
b) At the VFS Application Centres located in Chongqing, Chengdu e Kunming
VFS is a service provider, managed by a private company, authorized from the Consulate to accept the visa applications. The evaluation of the applications falls under the only competence of the Visa Office of the Consulate.
Starting from 22 March 2024, requests for a National Visa (type “D” – from 91 to 365 days) must be submitted directly to the Consulate Desk, by appointment using the following link: Prenot@mi.
However, requests for Schengen visas (type “C” from 1 to 90 days) will continue to be received at the IVAC Visa Centres).
Applicants – regardless of the type of visa requested, type “C” or type “D” – must submit an application based on the geographical distribution of the Italian consular districts in the P.R.C.
VFS CHONGQING
E-mail: infocq.itacn@vfshelpline.com
Address: Room 7, 3F, Tower B, Reliance Center, No. 2 Xihu Zhi Road, Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing, 401147, China
Acceptance of applications hours: Monday – Friday: 8.00 – 20.00 / Saturday – Sunday: 9.00 – 19.00 (with prior appointment only)
Passports collection hours: Monday – Friday: 8.00 – 20.00
VFS CHENGDU
E-mail: infoctu.itacn@vfshelpline.com
Address: Room 3204, 32F, tower A, Chengdu Maoye Plaza, No.19 Dongyu Street, Jinjiang District, Chengdu, 610000, China
Acceptance of applications hours: Monday – Friday: 8.00 – 20.00 / Saturday – Sunday: 9.00 – 19.00 (with prior appointment only)
Passports collection hours: Monday – Friday: 8.00 – 20.00
VFS KUNMING
E-mail: infokm.itacn@vfshelpline.com
Address: 1501B, Building A, Low Carbon Business Center, No.12 Shibo Road, Kunming, 650000, China
Acceptance of applications hours: Monday – Friday: 8.00 – 20.00 / Saturday – Sunday: 9.00 – 19.00 (with prior appointment only)
Passports collection hours: Monday – Friday: 8.00 – 20.00
Chinese citizens resident in Hong Kong or Macao shall submit visa application at the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong.
WHO CAN APPLY
All Chinese citizens who have been resident for at least in one of the 4 Consular Districts of the territory of the People’s Republic of China can submit a visa application at the Consulate of their own District of residence.
Citizens of those countries for which a visa is required can also apply for a visa (check to find out for which countries it is necessary), as well as foreigners coming from countries subject to a visa requirement, who are regularly resident. in one of the 4 above-mentioned districts.
ADS Tourism groups:
According to EU-China Memorandum of Understandings, ADS (Approved Status Destination) group tourism visa applications are submitted by accredited travel agencies. Appointments for fingerprints capture will be scheduled for the whole group of travellers. ADS visas are limited to a maximum of 30 days.
Travel agencies aiming to apply for accreditation (white badge) must follow procedures according to the Manual of Sanctions related to ADS (LINK). For further information please contact 010.65320783
Chinese Diplomatic, Service and Public Affairs passport holders:
According to Chinese regulation, all diplomatic, service and public affairs passport holders must submit visa applications through the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
VISA FEES
National visas: 116 euro
National study visas: 50 euro
Schengen visas: 80 euro
– children from the age of 6 years and below the age of 12 years: 40 euros
– nationals of countries with which the EU has concluded Visa Facilitation Agreements shall pay a fee of 35 euros Please consult the list on the European Commission website to know if your country is one of them.
Visa fees are waived for applicants belonging to one of the following categories:
• children under 6 years;
• school pupils, students, postgraduate students and accompanying teachers who undertake stays for the purpose of study or educational training;
• researchers from third countries travelling for the purpose of carrying out scientific research as defined in Recommendation No 2005/761/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 September 2005 to facilitate the issue by the Member States of uniform short-stay visas for researchers from third countries travelling within the Community for the purpose of carrying out scientific research;
• representatives of non-profit organisations aged 25 years or less participating in seminars, conferences, sports, cultural or educational events organised by non-profit organizations.
• EU/EEA citizens family members, when accompanying or joining the EU/EEA relative, falling under Directive 2004/38/CE and Italian Legislative Decree 30/2007:
a) spouses;
b) partner (in case of bounding civil union, compared by hosting Member State’s law to marriage and not in violation of hosting Member State law);
c) descendants under, including spouses’ and legal partners’ descendants;
d) direct ascendants, including spouses’ and legal partners’ ascendants;
• diplomatic passport holders.
Applicants lodging the visa application at the VISAMETRIC Application Centres will also be asked to pay a service fee: 115 CNY for ADS visas and 180 CNY for all other visas.
VISA APPLICATION PROCESSING TIME
The Consulate General of Italy in Chongqing processes individual tourism and business visa applications in two working days (36 hours) from passport delivery at the Embassy; in case controls cannot be done in 36 hours longer processing time might be needed. According to Schengen Visa Code all decisions must be given within 15 calendar days, eventually extendible to 45 days (see art. 23). For national visas processing requires up to 30 days for family reunion and salaried work, and up to 120 days for self-employment work.
We do recommend lodging visa applications well in advance (at least 15 days prior to departure date). Applications cannot be lodged earlier than three months before the start of the intended journey.
Citizens of some countries are subject to consultation procedure which might extend processing time. If you are not a Chinese or a Mongolian national, please check here if your country/passport needs consultation procedure.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Holding a valid visa does not automatically give the right of entry to Schengen area.
Please, be aware that holding a short-stay visa does not automatically entitle to enter Schengen area. Once arrived at Schengen border control, or during other controls, travellers may be asked to provide information on means of support, on how long they intend to stay in the Schengen State, and why they are visiting the Schengen State.
It is therefore recommended to carry with you copies of the documents presented when you applied for the visa (e.g. letters of invitation, travel confirmations, other documents stating the purpose of stay). For more information, please read art. 5 of Schengen borders code (link).
What happens if visa is refused
Negative decisions on applications are notified to the applicant. In the refusal letter reasons on which refusal decision was taken are clearly stated. Visa applicants whose applications are refused can decide to apply again or to appeal. Appeals must be brought against refusal decisions directly at the T.A.R. of the Latium Region, through a lawyer acting on applicant behalf, within 60 days of the serving of the decision itself. The appeal will have to be notified, under penalty of nullity (as per art. 144 of C.P.C. and art. 11 of R.D. no. 1611 of 1933), to the relevant “Avvocatura dello Stato”.
For family reunion visas only, appeals must be addressed to the ordinary court (“Tribunale ordinario”) of the place of residence of the family member living in Italy.
How to read a Schengen visa sticker and correctly use your Schengen visa
“Duration of stay … days” indicates the number of days you may stay in the Schengen area. The days should be counted from the date you enter the Schengen area (the entry stamp) to the date you exit the Schengen area (the exit stamp), i.e. both days included. The period of time between “From … until” is usually longer than the number of days printed in the “Duration of stay”. The difference in period is meant to give you flexibility to plan your entry into and exit from the Schengen area, but your stay in the Schengen area must never exceed the exact number of days in the “Duration of stay … days” filed. No matter how many days you have stayed in the Schengen area, you must leave no later than the date printed in the “Until” field.
Schengen visas entitle to one or two or multiple entries. Travelers who often need to go to Schengen area can apply for multi-entry visas up to 5 years. In case you are a multi-entry visa holder, please remember that for intended stays on the territory of the Member States duration of stay cannot be more than 90 days in any 180-day period, which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay. In order to avoid over-stay or to better know how many days you can still stay in Schengen territory, please check here the European Commission calculator.
How to correctly use your Italian national visa
All Italian national visa holders, once arrived in Italy must convert their visa into a residence permit (“permesso di soggiorno”) applying within 8 days from first entry in Italy. Applications must be submitted to relevant police authorities (“Questura”) of the Province of intended residence. Residence permit duration will be the same as indicated in the visa. Residence permits can be renovated or extended directly in Italy. To know the relevant police authority according to your destination, please check the following website.
Further information
For any further information, please read the website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the website of the European Commission.
Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data for the purpose of issuing an entry visa for Italy and the Schengen Area
General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679