You decided Italy would be your next destination. You already see yourself in front of the Colosseum, and you’re ready to make your dream trip to the Bel Paese, but then it dawns on you: Do I need a visa to travel to Italy?

We get it. It’s a scary question since having the proper visa can easily ruin your dream trip. That’s why we want to examine the visa requirements for traveling to Italy and help make them easy to understand.

Generally speaking, visiting Italy is relatively simple from a visa standpoint. If you’re planning a short tourist stay, you don’t need a visa if you’re from these countries.

Yet, I strongly advise you to keep reading this article to ensure you comply with all the passport, document, and visa requirements to enter Italy as a tourist.

Also, the rules for visiting Italy as a tourist apply to any other country in the Schengen area.

The Schengen what??

Most countries in the European Union are part of the 1985 Schengen Agreement. It’s a treaty that abolished the border checks between the participating countries. If you intend to visit Spain, France, or any other countries in green on the following map, the rules for visa requirements explained in this article similarly apply to those countries.

Please also know that this article will mainly focus on visitors who intend to visit Italy for tourism. Check the below section if you intend to visit Italy for any other purpose.

Do You Need a Visa to Travel to Italy?

There are a few questions that you’ll need to answer in order to determine whether or not you need a visa. First and foremost, how long are you staying?

Follow the directions in the following two sections based on whether you plan to stay in Italy for less than or more than 90 days.

Short Stay (less than 90 days)

If you’re from any of these countries and are planning on a short tourist stay (less than 3 months) in Italy, you won’t need a visa.

Country Required Document Length of Stay Visa Required

USA Passport (valid for at least 3 months) < 90 days NO

EU Identification Document (recommended) < 90 days NO

UK Passport (valid for at least 6 months) < 90 days NO

Canada Passport (valid for at least 3 months) < 90 days NO

Australia Passport (valid for at least 3 months) < 90 days NO

The required documents and visas are required for short-term tourists to Italy.

You can stay within the Schengen area without a visa for 90 days or 180 days. For most tourists, that’s enough information! If you need to enter Italy (or the Schengen area) more than once, use this official visa calculator.

So is that it? Yes! If you’re a US citizen planning a short-term tourist visit to Italy, you don’t need a visa!

On the other hand, if you’re from any of these countries and plan to visit Italy (for tourism and less than 90 days), you will need a Schengen visa.

(If you plan to stay in Italy for over 90 days or have a purpose different from tourism, please read further below.)

Schengen Visa Requirements

If you need to apply for a Schengen visa to visit Italy (you’re from one of these countries), read through this list of required documents for a few minutes.

To ensure the document list is tailored to the country you’re from, answer these 4 questions on this official Italian travel website.

A short-stay visa to visit Italy may take up to 15 days to process. However, depending on your specific situation, it might take up to 60 days (in exceptional cases) to process your Schengen visa.

Hence, please plan accordingly!

Cost to Apply for a Schengen Visa

As per the Schengen Visa Info website, the Italian Visa fees for short-term visits for all types of visas are as follows:

• €60 for adults
• €35 for children under the age of 12
• Free for children under the age of 6

Long Stay (more than 90 days)

Planning on visiting Italy for a period longer than 3 months? It is time to do your research! In these cases, it is automatically assumed your entry purpose is not tourism. Hence, you will need a visa!

But don’t worry; the Italian government made it easy to understand what the visa requirements to enter Italy are in your specific case based on just four questions:

Fill out these four questions to determine which visa you need to travel to Italy.

PLEASE NOTE: you must obtain a visa in your home country. Times may vary according to the country you’re applying from.

So please plan accordingly!

Passport Requirements to Travel to Italy

All visitors are required to show a passport upon entering Italy (except EU nationals—more on this below).

Specifically, your passport has to be:

• issued within the previous 10 years;
• valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned departure date from the Schengen area.

Examples:

Your passport expires on October 10th, 2025. You plan on leaving Italy by July 10th, 2025.

Your passport expires on October 10th, 2025. You plan on leaving Italy on August 1st, 2025.

Your passport expires on October 10th, 2025. You plan on leaving Italy on July 1st to visit Spain for 20 days and leaving the Schengen area on July 20th, 2025.

EU nationals are not required to show a passport or national ID card when traveling from one border-free Schengen EU country to another. Yet, it is highly recommended that you take one with you so you can prove your identity if needed. Have Europa.eu as your official source if you have any doubts.

Other Documents

When you thought you knew everything about documents and visa requirements to travel to Italy… here’s something you need to add.

Italian immigration laws require visitors to show proof of their means to pay for their stays in Italy. But don’t fear! A simple credit card, a financial statement, or cash is enough!

And if you have to bring cash because you don’t have a credit card, please remember this number: €10,000. Anything over that, and you’ll have to declare it to customs and prove that it is money that is legally yours.

The Italian border officer may also ask you a few questions related to your trip to Italy:

• What is your purpose for visiting Italy?
• How long do you intend to stay in Italy?
• Where are you going to stay in Italy?

Now, practically speaking, it is rare for you to be asked all these questions and sent back to your home country because you don’t have €0.90 in coins to pay for your Italian espresso.

But you’re not officially allowed in the Italian territory until the border office approves you. So, here’s my dummy-proof list of things you’ll want to bring with you to secure your entry to Italy:

• a credit card (or enough cash);
• hotel/B&B receipts;
• your travel itinerary;
• your airplane/train tickets to prove your intent to leave;

That’s it. Bring these few simple things with you, and you won’t have any issues!

Summary (and a surprise!)

This article examined the visa requirements for traveling to Italy, especially as a tourist. As you can see, it is straightforward to determine your visa eligibility for touring Italy! Tourists from most countries (US, Canada, UK, and others) won’t need a visa if their Stay is shorter than 90 days.

However, you still need to ensure that your passport doesn’t expire and that you bring your credit cards, travel itineraries, and hotel receipts.

So where’s the surprise? I have two for you!

First, if you need inspiration on where to go in Italy, check out our top destinations!

Second, starting in mid-2025, everybody will need a visa waiver to enter Italy (called ETIAS).

There’s nothing to worry about. It’ll be a simple 10-minute questionnaire, and you still have some time before you need to look into it! However, keep it in mind for your future travel plans.

In the meantime, take a look at the best times to visit Italy so you can start planning your trip! And good luck on the application process!