VISA GENERAL INFORMATION

"VISA GENERAL INFORMATION"

CHICAGO CONSULAR JURISDICTION

The Consulate General of Italy in Chicago can process visa applications for legal residents in its district ONLY. i.e. Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. For other States click here.

Students studying full-time at a University located in the district of the Consulate General of Chicago will also meet the residence requirement.

Only holders of one of the following documents may apply for a visa:

U.S. Passport;

U.S. Permanent Resident Card (formerly Green Card), foreign students holding valid visas and valid I-20, exchange visitors holding valid visas and I-66;

Valid long term visas except B1/B2.

THE SCHENGEN AREA

Fifteen countries make up the Schengen area: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

A Schengen Visa issued by a Consulate of one of the Schengen countries mentioned above allows the holder to travel freely in those countries.

Short stays for either tourism or business purposes in one or more of the Schengen States cannot exceed the 90 days over a period of 6 months.

AT WHICH SCHENGEN COUNTRY SHOULD YOU SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST

If you intend to visit only one Schengen country, you must apply at the Consulate of that specific country.

If you intend to visit several Schengen countries, you must apply at the Consulate of the country which is your main destination, or the country where you will be staying longer.
If you intend to visit several Schengen countries but do not have a main destination or will be staying the same amount of time in each of them, you must apply at the Consulate of the country you will enter first.

If you do not need a visa for the Schengen country which is your main destination, please note that a visa may be required for other Schengen countries. You should then apply for a visa at the Consulate of the country of first entry.

A valid visa (if required) for the Country that you are visiting after a Schengen country is needed.

WHEN TO SUBMIT YOUR VISA REQUEST

Visa application must be submitted within 90 days prior to departure.

PROCESSING TIME

Processing time for the visa can vary between 4-20 days depending on the applicant's nationality.

Since this matter is regulated by law, the visa officers cannot intervene in the process. The applicants are therefore required not to discuss or try to negotiate the date of issuance of the visa. At the same time, the applicants are advised not to buy a ticket, before knowing exactly how long it will take to get their visa. Be advised that neither urgency nor emergency fees are considered by the Schengen procedure.

MINOR APPLICANTS

For minor applicants, the following certification is needed:

Authorization to travel signed by both parents, full printed names of both parents must be mentioned and the signatures MUST be notarized by either the Chicago Consulate or one of its peripheral consular offices;
Birth certificate, original or a notarized copy;
Notarized copies of both parents' picture I.D.

All foreign documents MUST be translated into English and the translations legalized by the competent Consulate.

CHICAGO AND PERIPHERAL CONSULAR OFFICES

Applicants must apply in person and must provide the original passport or a valid travel document (photocopies are not accepted).

In the event that the applicant is not able to travel to Chicago, he/she may appear in person at one of the peripheral consular offices to notarize his/her signature, subsequently, all documentation, including the application form with the signature legalized by the peripheral office, must be sent by the applicant himself/herself to the Consulate in Chicago for evaluation and issuance of visa. For the list of peripheral offices please click here

MAILING INFORMATION

If the applicant wants the passport with the visa returned by mail, a self-addressed, pre-stamped "UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE (Express Mail)" envelope is required. No other courier will be accepted.

OFFICE LOCATION /ADDRESS AND OPERATIONAL HOURS

The Visa Section is open to the public from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm, Monday through Friday (except for official holidays).

Address of the Visa Section:

Consulate General of Italy - Visa section
500 N. Michigan Av., Suite 1850
Chicago, IL 60611
Fax: 312-467-1335
E-mail:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

There is no legal right to a visa;

The consular administration has full authority to evaluate and request other documents in addition to those submitted by the applicant. The latter is hereby informed that submitting the application does not guarantee automatic issuance of the visa;

The passport or travel document must be valid for at least three months over the planned stay in the Schengen countries and should have a blank page to affix the visa;

All documents must be submitted in original and copy (i.e. passport, green card, bank statement, travel itinerary/ticket etc..);

The proof of residence in the jurisdiction of the this Consulate General in the form of a notarized copy of the applicant’s driver license / State I.D. or student I.D. is to be submitted;

Italy requires traveler's health/accident insurance. The applicants must secure OVERSEAS coverage from a company of their choosing, and then provide a written proof of said coverage to the Consulate at the time of application. For insurance purchased for the trip only, the whole travel period must be covered and the coverage for medical expenses must not be less than $50,000;

Applications are accepted and processed ONLY if all the required supporting documents are provided. All incomplete applications will be returned without processing.

DO YOU NEED AN ENTRY VISA - Please click here

Only for the following 4 categories please click on the correspondent link.

FORMS

FEES

Please click here