How to apply for international protection

Submit your international protection request as soon as possible to the border police, when you enter Italy, or to the Questura, if you are already in Italy.

After the request, you will be identified, that is, the police will take pictures of you and register your fingerprints.

After identification, the Questura will call you to fill in form C3, that is the official form to request protection. The police officer will ask you for your personal data such as name, surname and home address *.

They will also ask you questions about your history, your trip to Italy and the reasons why you are looking for protection. You can ask for the help of a cultural mediator if you don’t speak Italian.

* The address is very important because you will receive communications about your request there. If you live in a centro di accoglienza (reception center) you must indicate the address of the centro itself. For any other case, you can choose an address where you are sure to receive future communications. If you change your address, you must tell the Questura.

At the appointment at the Questura you can bring a letter written by you in your language and / or translated into Italian in which you tell your personal story and why you need protection.

It is also important that you bring all the documents you have with you. This will help support your request. For example, you can bring:

• Identity documents (passport, birth certificate, identity card)
• Identity documents of family members who came to Italy with you
• Marriage certificate and birth certificates of your children
• Academic documents (certificates and diplomas)
• Medical certificates from doctors and hospitals in the country you fled from
• Any other document that you think may be important and can help support your international protection request

The more documents you have to support your request, the more likely you are to get protection. But remember that you can apply even if you don’t have any documents.

IMPORTANT: a few weeks may pass between submitting your request to the border police or the Questura and the meeting at the Questura to fill in the C3 form. Don’t worry if there are delays. It is important that you remain available at the same address that you communicated to the Questura, where you will receive all the communications on your request. If you change your address, remember to notify the Questura.