Hero
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Hi Janice, Essentially, if you stay in Italy over 90 days out of any 180 day period you have to have a visa. Yes I know that there are a lot of people who don't get them and live here as illegal aliens but then they always have to worry about the normal and totally legal police document checks. This past weekend in Tuscany the police had a mass document check. They caught many illegals of all nationalities as well as many people who had been looked for by the police. I personally think that doing it the illegal way is too huge of a risk (banned from the entire EU for 5 years and then allowed in only after getting permission from the minister of the interior) to take but that is my opinion. Check out my site for pertinent info on visas (I sent you a message as well on Portal Italy but don't know if you saw it) The type of visa you would need would be a long stay or an extended stay visa. You will need to prove that you have funds to live on as well as a place to stay. No one knows how much the funds must be as it seems to be by whim. If they like you they lower the bar IMO. Don't bother calling the consulate as they nornally will only do things in person. Have a big smile on your fave and be nice as can be and that will get you a bit farther. NY is supposed to be one of the tougher consulates. BTW, the tourist visa is a non visa, you get no stamp. It is valid for 90 out of every 180 days only. If when you arrive in Italy and you go to the questura within the first 8 days and register (apply for the permesso di soggiorno) which you have to do, you will then be able to request another 90 days and they will normally give it. This can only be done once though. Good luck and please do check out my site as it has answers to many of your questions.
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| Posts: 4096 | Location: Siena, Italy | Registered: 17 September 2001 |  |
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