Which documents are equivalent to a passport for entering Italy?

You want to invite a friend of yours, a non-EU foreigner, to enter Italy with a tourist visa or with an invitation, and you know they need a passport or another equivalent document, legally recognised by the Italian Government. Yes, but which ones are they?

The Council of the European Union, on its website, has a document with the European legislation that establishes the list of travel documents recognised by the Italian Government and by all the countries of the Schengen area: List of travel documents that entitle a foreigner to cross the external borders and that may be endorsed with a visa

A valid travel document is an indispensable certificate for applying for a visa for all the countries of the Schengen area, and it must always attest the identity of the citizen who holds it and their nationality.  

Here is the list of travel documents legally recognised by the Italian Government to obtain an entry visa for Italy and for all  Schengen countries:

1. Passport. 

Of course it is the best-known international document, the main and most common one, indispensable for applying for a visa for Italy.

How many types of passport exist?

1. diplomatic, service (or official, special, or for public affairs) or ordinary;
2. individual (with the possible inclusion of minor children) or collective, issued to groups of not fewer than 5 and not more than 50 people, 

Other travel documents, equivalent to a passport, are:

• Travel document for stateless persons issued under the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons signed in New York on 28 September 1954. 

Who are stateless persons?

Stateless persons are foreign citizens who are subject to the visa requirement for Italy.

• Travel document for refugees, issued under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees signed in Geneva on 28 July 1951. 

Who are  refugees?

Refugees are subject to the visa requirement for Italy, unless they hold a residence permit issued by one of the Schengen States or a travel document issued by one of the countries that are signatories to the Strasbourg Agreement of 20 April 1959.

• Travel document for foreigners, which is a document given to citizens who cannot receive a valid travel document from the Authorities of the country of which they are citizens. 

• Seaman’s book,  which is the professional document issued to seafarers for the exercise of their activity. It is recognised as a valid document for entry into the Schengen Area only in relation to the seafarer’s professional needs, and not for other reasons. 

• Airman’s certificate,  which is a document given to pilots and to the crew members of civil airlines for the exercise of their activities.

• United Nations laissez-passer,  which is a document with a maximum validity of 90 days, issued to UN staff and to the staff of dependent Institutions under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies adopted by the UN General Assembly in New York on 21 November 1947. 

• Laissez-passer issued by a NATO Headquarters,  which is a document issued to personnel – military, civilian and their dependants (spouse and children) – sent to serve in a State of the Atlantic Alliance, under the Agreement between the States Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty signed in London on 19 June 1951 and ratified by Italy with Law No. 1335 of 30 November 1955. 

• Identity card for citizens of the States of the European Union, also valid for expatriation for work reasons. 

• Identity card  for citizens of the States party to the European Agreement on the Abolition of Passports (Paris, 13 December 1957), valid for travelling, for tourist purposes, within the territory of one of the signatory States, for trips of no more than 3 months. 

• Document for participants in school trips within the European Union, issued to foreign students resident in the States of the European Union.

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