Renewing a residence permit in Milan: when to apply and timing

Updated on 1 October 2026

Renewal of the residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) must be requested at least 90 days before expiry: this is what article 5 of the Consolidated Immigration Act (Testo Unico Immigrazione) says today, whereas until recently it was 60. The police immigration office (Questura) has 90 days to renew it, but in Milan the real wait can be longer. In the meantime, with the receipt for your application you can stay in Italy and work.

In brief

• Request renewal at least 90 days before expiry (art. 5, paragraph 4, current text).
• Legal deadline for renewal: 90 days from the application.
• With the receipt you can stay and work while you wait.
• You check if it is ready on questure.poliziadistato.it/stranieri with the registered-mail number or case number.
• Permit expired for more than 60 days with no application: risk of expulsion (art. 13).

When must you apply to renew the residence permit?

The text currently in force of art. 5, paragraph 4, of Legislative Decree 286/1998 says that renewal is requested “at least ninety days before expiry”. The deadline was lengthened in 2026: this is why many sites and videos still say “60 days”. That is no longer the case.

The practical advice is simple: mark the expiry date minus three months on your calendar and start preparing the documents even earlier. If you wait until the last moment and a document is missing (for example an updated work contract or tax return), you risk being late.

And if the permit has already expired?

Do not wait any longer. Art. 13 of the Consolidated Immigration Act provides for expulsion when the residence permit “has expired for more than sixty days and renewal has not been requested”. If you are close to this limit, or have already passed it for a serious reason (illness, a blocked journey, document problems), you need advice immediately, before filing the application.

How do I renew in Milan?

In Milan, as in the rest of Italy, there are two routes. Which one to use depends on the type of permit:

1. Postal kit: for most permits (for example work and family) the application is sent from authorised post offices with the yellow kit. At the post office you receive the receipt with the registered-mail number. Then the Questura calls you in for fingerprints.
2. Prenota Facile: for some permits the Milan Questura uses the portal prenotafacile.poliziadistato.it, where you book an appointment at the counter. We talk about it in our article on Prenota Facile.

To find out which route applies to your permit, check the Questura’s page or ask us: a kit sent for a permit that must be booked online only wastes time.

How long does renewal take?

The law (art. 5, paragraph 9) says the permit is “issued, renewed or converted within ninety days” of the application.

In practice the timing depends a lot on the Questura. There is no public official data on the real times of the Milan Questura: be wary of anyone who promises you a precise date. What we can say is that a complete and correct application avoids requests for additional documents and new appointments, which are the first cause of delay.

Can I work and travel with the receipt?

Work: yes. Art. 5, paragraph 9-bis, says that while waiting for renewal the foreigner “may legitimately stay in the territory of the State and temporarily carry out work”, if they have the receipt for the application, until the Questura says there are grounds for refusal. Keep the receipt together with your old permit.

Travelling abroad: be careful. The receipt is not a residence permit. Before leaving, especially for countries outside the Schengen area, ask for advice: returning to Italy with only the receipt can cause problems.

How do I check online if my residence permit is ready?

The State Police has an official, free service: questure.poliziadistato.it/stranieri.

1. Open the site (it is also available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Ukrainian).
2. Enter the registered-mail number (12 characters) that you find on the Post Office receipt, or the case number (10 characters) if you applied directly at the Questura.
3. Read the status: being processed, being printed, or ready for collection.

When the permit is ready, the Questura also sends an SMS to the number given in the application, with the day, time and place of collection. That is why it is important to write your phone number correctly on the form and not change it.

Please note: use only the official site. Do not give your receipt number to pages or people who ask for money to “check” your case.

What are the most common mistakes in renewal?

From our experience with the studio’s clients, these are the problems we see most often:

• application made too late, when the permit has already been expired for weeks;
• income not properly shown (tax return or payslips missing);
• change of address not reported, so the Questura’s letters do not arrive;
• wrong type of permit in the application, for example renewal instead of conversion;
• missing housing suitability or hosting documents when they are needed.

If you meet the requirements, you could also consider applying for the carta di soggiorno instead of renewing every time.

Do you want to renew your permit without mistakes?

We can check your documents before sending, fill in the kit with you and follow you through to collection. We cannot decide the Questura’s timing, but we can help you avoid delays that depend on an incomplete application.

Book a 30-minute consultation for €60 at our office in Milan or online on WhatsApp, or write to Sofia, the studio’s assistant, on WhatsApp from the booking box on this page: she answers in 8 languages. All the details are on the residence permit renewal page.