VISA FEE: CFA F 77,000
The religious purposes visa allows foreign religious personnel and ministers of worship belonging to confessional organizations to enter Italy for short‑ or long‑term stays in order to participate in religious events or to carry out ecclesiastical, religious, or pastoral activities.
To obtain the visa, the applicant must provide documentation proving the religious nature of the stay and the connection with the hosting institution. Generally, an official declaration from the Italian religious institution inviting or hosting the foreign national is required, specifying the applicant’s role, the planned activities, and the duration of the stay.
The hosting institution must also guarantee coverage of food, accommodation, and return travel expenses, or the applicant must demonstrate possession of adequate financial means, according to the parameters established by the Ministry of the Interior.
Applicants who are not religious personnel but wish to participate in pilgrimages or other religious events may be granted a tourist visa, provided the legal requirements are met.
What documentation is required?
To obtain the visa, the applicant must submit, in addition to the duly completed and signed application form, a valid travel document and passport photos:
- Proof of the applicant’s status as a “religious person” or minister of worship within their confessional organization, as well as proof of the religious nature of the initiative or activities to be carried out in Italy, through formal declarations issued by the head of the religious organization and authenticated by any national‑level superiors present in the country;
- Note Verbale requesting the visa from the Apostolic Nunciature for religious personnel belonging to Catholic organizations;
- Invitation letter from the religious organization in Italy, authenticated by the Vatican Secretariat of State, for religious personnel belonging to Catholic organizations;
- Round‑trip travel ticket (or booking);
- Proof of accommodation (hotel reservation, declaration of hospitality, or declaration of assumption of accommodation costs by the inviting institution);
- Health insurance valid throughout the Schengen Area, with a minimum coverage of EUR 30,000 for medical expenses and repatriation, in accordance with Article 15 of the Visa Code (Regulation (EC) 810/2009);
- Proof of sufficient financial means for the requested period of stay, not lower than the parameters set out in “Table A” of the Directive of the Ministry of the Interior of 1 March 2000, where expenses are not covered by the inviting institution. For this purpose, bank statements and payslips for the previous 6 months must be submitted. If the applicant holds multiple bank accounts, the account on which the salary is paid must also be included.