Yes, you can leave Italy and come back while you wait for your permesso di soggiorno (residence permit), but only on Italy’s terms. The Poste Italiane receipt and your old permit are recognized at Italian borders, not by the rest of the Schengen Area, so the route you book matters as much as the papers you carry.
This guide sets out the rules from the Polizia di Stato for renewals and for first permits, the trap of the Schengen 90-day rule, and the separate arrangement for children under 14. It was checked against the Polizia di Stato pages in October 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the immigration office (Ufficio Immigrazione) of your Questura before you book.
Updated October 2026 · Puglia Everyday research
If your permit is being renewed
Foreign residents waiting for a renewal can leave and re-enter Italy under specific conditions. At the border you show three things:
- the Poste Italiane receipt (ricevuta) proving you applied, on time, to renew your permit or your EU long-term residence permit;
- the original of the expired permit you are renewing (carry a photocopy too);
- a valid passport or equivalent travel document.
Other Schengen countries do not treat the receipt or an expired Italian permit as a valid residence document. The safe pattern is a direct flight between an Italian airport and a country outside Schengen, with no stopover in Paris, Frankfurt, Munich or Amsterdam on the way. From Puglia that usually means a direct route out of Bari or Brindisi. The list of non-Schengen destinations served directly changes with the season, so check the routing on the ticket rather than the destination alone.
If you have an urgent reason to go to another Schengen country before the card is ready, ask the Questura. According to the Ministry of Labor’s integration portal, it can issue a temporary paper permit in cases of real need, even before the renewal is decided.
Keep the receipt in a plastic sleeve tucked inside the passport, because a creased, faded slip of thermal paper is not what you want to hand a border officer at six in the morning.
Key finding: Puglia Everyday research found that while a permesso di soggiorno is being renewed you can leave and re-enter Italy with three documents, the Poste Italiane receipt, the expired permit and a passport, but only on direct routes between Italy and a country outside Schengen, because other Schengen states do not recognize the receipt (October 2026).
Cite this: Puglia Everyday research, “Traveling while you wait for your Italian residence permit”, October 2026, pugliaeveryday.com/moving-to-italy/definitive-answer-can-i-travel-while-awaiting-my-permesso-di-soggiorno/ · Download the data (CSV)
| Case | What to carry | Route rule |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal pending | Poste Italiane receipt; original expired permit; valid passport | Direct between Italy and a non-Schengen country; no Schengen transit |
| First permit pending (work, self-employment, family) | Passport with entry visa; Poste Italiane receipt (stamped at the border) | Leave and re-enter via an Italian external border, any crossing since 11 March 2009; no Schengen transit |
| Children under 14 | Temporary paper permit from the Questura including the children | No Schengen transit |
| Visa-free days elsewhere in Schengen | 90 days in any 180 | The receipt does not reset or extend the count |
If you are waiting for your first permit
People who have applied for a first permit for employment, self-employment or family reunification can also travel, with stricter conditions:
- You leave and re-enter Italy through an Italian external border. Since the circular of 11 March 2009, the return crossing no longer has to be the one you left from.
- You carry a valid passport or travel document with the entry visa that shows the reason for your stay.
- You carry the Poste Italiane receipt for the first-permit application.
- You do not transit through any other Schengen country.
- The border police stamp the receipt as well as the passport, when you leave, so keep it flat and legible for the return.
Before 2009 you had to come back through the same crossing. That rule was dropped, so flying out of Brindisi and back into Bari is fine, as long as both flights are direct to and from a country outside Schengen. Some airlines still query a receipt at check-in, especially once the entry visa has expired, so ask the Questura before booking if your visa is near its end date.
The Schengen 90-day rule
Non-EU citizens who do not need a visa can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen Area. The receipt does not reset that clock or extend it outside Italy. If you are waiting for a first permit, or your old permit has expired, your days elsewhere in Schengen can run out long before the plastic card arrives.
There are usually no fixed checks between Schengen countries, but police carry out spot checks on trains, at stations and at airports. Overstaying in another Schengen country can mean a fine, removal or an entry ban. Until your card is in your hand, the safe choice is to stay in Italy or travel only directly between Italy and a country outside Schengen.
Traveling with children under 14
Under a circular of 27 June 2007, a parent who has applied to renew or update their permit and to add children under 14 to it can ask the Questura for a temporary paper permit (permesso provvisorio cartaceo) that includes the children. It lets them leave Italy for a short trip and come back.
Ask the Questura how long the paper permit will take. If it is not much quicker than the card you are already waiting for, it may be simpler to wait. The no-transit rule applies to the children’s paper permit as well.
Two typical cases
A renewal and a family visit
A non-EU resident has applied to renew her permit and holds the receipt from Poste Italiane. She needs to fly home for a family event. With the expired permit, the receipt and her passport, she can fly directly from Italy to her home country and back. A lower fare with a change in another Schengen airport is the one to avoid, because her documents are only recognized in Italy.
A renewal with two children
A worker has applied to renew his permit and to add his two children, both under 14, and needs to travel with them at short notice. He can ask the Questura for a temporary paper permit that includes the children. If the Questura says it will take several weeks, and the renewed card is due at about the same time, waiting may be the better plan.
Before you book
At a Questura in Salento, the immigration office line tends to form well before the doors open, and a short, polite question at the desk about your trip usually gets a clear answer. Ask it before you pay for a ticket.
Book a direct route, carry every document, and count your Schengen days if you plan to go anywhere else in Europe. If your permit is tied to family members, our guide to working as a family dependent while you wait for your permit covers what the receipt allows in daily life. If you are arriving on an investor visa, our Italy golden visa guide sets out the permit timeline from nulla osta to Questura.
Related guides on our site cover the full move to Puglia, step by step, getting a codice fiscale, domicile versus residence, and buying a marca da bollo.
Permesso travel FAQ
Can I travel with my permesso di soggiorno receipt?
Yes, if you are renewing a permit: carry the Poste Italiane receipt, the original expired permit and a valid passport, and travel directly between Italy and a country outside Schengen. If you are waiting for a first permit, you also need the entry visa in your passport.
Can I fly through another Schengen country?
No. Other Schengen countries do not recognize the receipt or an expired Italian permit, so avoid stopovers in airports such as Paris, Frankfurt, Munich or Amsterdam until the card is in your hand.
Can I leave from one Italian airport and return to another?
Yes. Since the circular of 11 March 2009 you no longer have to come back through the crossing you left from, so flying out of Brindisi and back into Bari is fine on direct non-Schengen routes.
