The electronic permit for family members of EU citizens

The residence card for a family member of an EU citizen, until last month, consisted of a paper document, which has now been replaced by the electronic residence permit, with the consequence that the new card will be equivalent to all residence documents currently in force in Italy.

Why does the residence card change?

All residence permits must comply with the new European Union regulations, established in Regulation 2019/1157 and therefore must have an expiration date and must be renewed.

The residence card of family members of EU citizens that does not comply with these requirements will no longer be valid upon expiry or, in any case, within 3 August 2026, if the deadline is earlier than this date.

Changes have been made in the new Charter such as the adoption of more modern security measures, which make the document highly secure and more difficult to falsify than the paper one: one of the novelty elements is the detection of fingerprints.

The new Card will therefore be rigid, containing both the photo of the face, which will be inserted into the card’s microprocessor, and the fingerprints.

How is the application presented?

The new document can be requested or renewed by submitting the application to the Police Headquarters or through Post Offices and the costs to be borne by the applicant are:

– a revenue stamp of 16 euros

– € 30.46 to produce the document

– 30 euros by registered mail (if the request is made through the post office)

In conclusion, the Card documents already issued remain valid until expiration or replacement with the new document, but in any case no later than 3 August 2023.