Expired Residence Permit in Italy After 60 Days

If an Italian residence permit has been expired for more than 60 days and no renewal has been requested, the situation is legally serious. Article 13 of the Immigration Act identifies a permit expired for more than 60 days without a renewal request as a ground connected to irregular stay and possible expulsion.

That does not mean every late renewal filed on day 61 must automatically be rejected. Italian administrative case law has repeatedly required the authorities to examine the substantive conditions for renewal in appropriate late-filing cases. The correct response is to file and document the case quickly, not to assume either automatic approval or automatic expulsion.

This article explains the legal risk after the 60-day threshold. For the filing procedure, read the late renewal of an expired residence permit guide. If the permit is already expired, our expired residence permit renewal service can assess the facts and evidence before a new submission.

The two deadlines people often confuse

Legislative Decree 83/2026 changed Article 5(4). Article 4 states that the decree’s provisions apply from 22 May 2026, while the decree formally entered into force on 4 June 2026. Renewal should now be requested at least 90 days before expiry, replacing the previous 60-day pre-expiry wording.

The separate 60-day rule after expiry remains important. Article 13 addresses the situation in which a permit has expired for more than 60 days and no renewal has been requested, while current guidance on pending-renewal rights also treats filing before expiry or, absent force majeure, within 60 days after expiry as an important threshold.

These are different concepts: 90 days is the current advance-filing rule before expiry; 60 days is a separate post-expiry threshold. Neither should be described as a guaranteed grace period in which nothing can go wrong.

What changes after the permit has been expired for more than 60 days?

Once more than 60 days have passed without a renewal request, the foreign national can fall within the irregular-stay provision in Article 13(2)(b). That creates potential enforcement consequences and makes every additional day strategically important.

The threshold should not be read as an instruction to wait 60 days. A person with a renewable permit should file as early as the law requires. Late filing shifts the case from an ordinary renewal to a situation in which the delay itself must be explained and the continuing substantive right to the permit must be demonstrated.

Can a permit still be renewed after 60 days?

A late application is not necessarily legally meaningless. Official institutional guidance published before the 2026 change to the pre-expiry filing period cites case law holding that formal expiry can be treated as an ordinary rather than absolute deadline for renewal or conversion where the substantive conditions for the new permit remain satisfied. That source is used here for the case-law references, not for its older 60-day pre-expiry filing guidance.

The strength of a late renewal depends on the facts: why the application was delayed, how long the delay lasted, whether the original permit remains substantively renewable, whether the applicant continued to satisfy income, employment, family or other conditions, and whether there are independent grounds for refusal.

Force majeure is particularly important because Article 13 itself recognizes delay caused by force majeure in the broader irregular-stay framework. Serious illness, documented inability to act or another exceptional event should be supported by evidence, not merely asserted.

What evidence matters in a late-renewal case?

The application should normally address both the underlying renewal and the delay. Useful evidence can include:

• the expired permit, passport and complete immigration history;
• documents proving that the requirements of the permit continued after expiry;
• employment, income, family, study or other evidence relevant to the permit type;
• medical records, travel restrictions, administrative communications or other evidence explaining the delay;
• evidence of stable residence, work and family ties where relevant to proportionality or the assessment of the case.

A generic letter saying “I forgot” is not equivalent to a documented legal explanation. Even when the delay itself is not fatal, the Questura still has to verify that the permit could lawfully be renewed on the merits.

Can you work with an expired permit?

A person who filed a qualifying renewal application and holds the official receipt can have lawful-stay and temporary-work rights while the procedure is pending under Article 5(9-bis), subject to the statutory conditions and until any communication of legal obstacles.

The position is much weaker when no application was filed within the legally relevant period and the permit has simply been expired for months. An employer should not treat an old expired card alone as proof of continuing work authorization.

Travel outside Italy can create additional problems

Domestic late-renewal arguments do not automatically solve border and re-entry problems. Travel with an expired permit can be subject to separate rules concerning the renewal receipt, route of travel, passport and re-entry through Schengen borders.

If the permit is already expired and no renewal has been filed, leaving Italy before obtaining case-specific advice can make the situation more difficult. Do not assume that a late application can be managed in the same way from abroad.

Does late renewal automatically lead to expulsion?

Article 13 makes expiry for more than 60 days without a renewal request legally relevant to expulsion, so the risk is real. But a late renewal should not be described as producing automatic expulsion in every case, particularly where an application is subsequently filed and the substantive right to renewal remains arguable.

Family life, length of residence and other protected interests can also affect particular immigration decisions under the statutory rules. These factors do not erase the late filing, but they can be legally relevant to the administration’s assessment and to any challenge.

What if the Questura refuses the late renewal?

A refusal must be read carefully to determine the legal reason, court with jurisdiction and deadline. A residence-permit refusal appeal may challenge an unlawful assessment, but litigation is not a substitute for proving the renewal requirements in the first place.

In some cases a new or corrected administrative application is the better response; in others, the refusal must be challenged judicially. The strategy depends on the decision and the person’s current legal position.

What to do if you are already beyond 60 days

Do not wait for the problem to resolve itself. Confirm whether the original permit remains renewable, prepare the full merits of the renewal, collect evidence explaining the delay, file through the correct channel as soon as legally appropriate and retain proof of submission.

The 60-day threshold is a risk threshold, not a point of no return in every case. A strong late-renewal file addresses both questions directly: why the person still qualifies for residence and why the administration should accept and examine an application filed after expiry.