I haven’t been much in the blog updating mood. Instead, I’ve been bouncing around California thoroughly enjoying the company of family and friends. Also, eating. Eating A LOT.
My main extracurricular activity has been waiting. Waiting for paperwork from Italy, waiting for paperwork from the Italian Consulate in LA, waiting to see if I could go back to Rome.
I moved to Rome on a student visa and finished my Masters program in November. Once you stop being a student, you cannot stay in Italy on a student visa. Don’t think you can enroll in one more class and thus renew your permesso di soggiorno. If you have finished the program that you got the visa for, it’s time to go home.
What you need: a new Italian visa.
Since my status had changed, I had to head back to the US and apply again.
I wish I had some secret tip to help you get an Italian visa, but the only thing you can do is fill out all the forms and wait.
I have complained about Italy’s bureaucractic hoops many a time before, but I have to say that the Los Angeles Consulate really came through for me this time. For that, I am incredibly grateful and ready to fly back to Rome for Christmas.
I’m also exhausted. I had no idea how much waiting on a government could mess with your emotions. I am already dreading the renewal process. Or worse, the chance that I won’t be offered a opportunity to renew.
This uncertainty is so difficult for me to accept. I hate that I cannot live in a place where I have made my life. The experience has really helped me understand larger immigration issues.
Here is how you get an Italian visa:
-Fill out the forms and follow the directions on the Italian Consulate website. AND, I can’t believe I am saying this, but be nice to the bureaucrat who is in a position to help you. Don’t blame them for the ridiculous rules and requirements. Just bring the papers they tell you to bring and smile.
-Marry an Italian
-Be patient. It will happen.
Marry an Italian hahaha! I assume getting married in Italy also isn’t the easiest thing!
Merry xmas to you! Are you really thinking of getting married to an Italian? Hehehe
Good luck with that process! I am moving to Europe next year for the year to live and work and got so fed up with the Italians that I finally got a German visa (which was so easy!) and will just go to Italy to visit and stay for a while now unfortunately. So I applaud those who actually get their visas and survive the process. Just out of curiosity, which visa are you applying for now that you’ve finished your studies?
What can I say… With roles switched (an Italian trying to settle in the US), I could entertain you for a full week with tales about my quest for visas and a green card. Bureaucracy is evil, no matter the Country it belongs to 🙁
With the new visa will you be able to work? I’m reading your blog from the beginning, trying to get ideas on how to get myself over there as a student, but all information is good information!
Hi! On a student visa, you can work 20 hours. Different types of visas have different restrictions. You can sometimes get them through employers, but that is rather rare.