All Visa applications submitted through to this Consulate by residents of Arizona only requesting short term visas (up to 90 days, aka “Shengen Visa”) and long term visas (beyond 90 days, aka “National D Visa”) fall within the exclusive authority of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles, California, and more specifically of its Visa Department which is the only entity that determines whether or not an application is complete, and whether it deserves to be approved or rejected.

If you do not know whether you need a visa to enter Italy and/or the Shengen area, please consult this web site: http://vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home/en

If you have determined that you need a visa (either “Shengen” or “National D“), please know that instructions regarding the different types of visas, their requirements (which change also based on the age of the applicant), applicable fees and forms are available to the public through the web site of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles.

We kindly invite you to read them in detail and follow them point-by-point. Please do not contact us requesting a legal consultation on whether you should apply for a visa, which type, or for specific guidance or on how to prepare a visa application because that type of service is beyond the scope of what this Italian Honorary Consulate in Arizona is authorized to do. If you need that type of service, please know that the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles has a section called “Assistance” under “Passports and Services” tab where you will find a list all the attorneys known to the Consulate who provide this type of detailed, professional service:  https://conslosangeles.esteri.it/consolato_losangeles/en/i_servizi/per-i-cittadini/assistenza

Here’s what this Italian Honorary Consulate in Phoenix, Arizona can do for you: as a matter of facilitating the submission phase of a visa request by applicants who reside in Arizona, this Italian Honorary Consulate is available to receive visa applications for the purpose of identifying the applicant. This eliminates the need of making an appointment before the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles, California.

The type of visa that this Honorary Consulate is authorized to accept are:

(a)       Shengen Visa for up to 90 days authorizing the applicant to enter and stay in Italy (which is part of the Shengen area) when Italy is either your main destination or is the country where your first enter the Shengen area. Because all Shengen visas applications require fingerprints, this Honorary Consulate can accept them as long as the applicant has submitted this/her fingerprints in the past 3 years when she/he applied for another Shengen visa. (*note: even if this prior condition is met, it is nonetheless always possible that the Visa Department may require your personal presence before its offices in Los Angeles.)

(b)       All types of National (D) Visas, especially “Student” and “Elective Residence” visas.

The procedure is as follows: Make an appointment through the appointment page of our website [NOTE: we set aside time for visa applications only on Wednesday afternoon, so please use the calendar at the bottom of the page]. At your appointment, please be sure to bring your typewritten visa application form complete in all its part (except for your signature, because you will sign it before the Honorary Consul) along with the following:

  1. Proof of residence in Arizona (i.e. a valid AZ driver’s license);
  2. Disclaimer signed and dated [PDF];
  3. Valid U.S. passport in original;
  4. Appropriate consular fee (be careful because they change every 3 months) which you can pay by money order payable to the “Consulate General of Italy” (the consular fees table is available on this website). Make sure to indicate your full name and the type of visa requested on it;
  5. All needed supporting documents as listed by the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles (please note: this Honorary Consulate will not review the merits of your application nor will determine whether the documents provided are sufficient because, again, that type of review would be beyond the scope of the service that it is authorized to perform);
  6. Two exact copies of your entire application (one for the Visa Department and one for yourself, to be with you in your carry-on baggage at the time of your entry at the Italian border);
  7. 2 USPS Priority Express envelopes (blue color): 1 addressed to the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles (see address below, 1 pre-stamped and self-addressed for the return of your US passport back to you);
  8. Authorization to mail you back your US passport with your visa [PDF].

Once you will sign this application before the Italian Honorary Consul in Arizona, it is your duty to mail your own application as soon as possible to the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles at this address:

Consulate General of Italy
Visa Department
12424 Wilshire Blvd., Suite # 1400
Los Angeles, CA 90025

Processing time may vary depending on how busy the Visa Office within the General Consulate of Italy in Los Angeles is. This Honorary Consulate declines any responsibility concerning the processing time and, since we are not the authority processing visa, please be aware that we do not return calls or email requesting updated on such applications.

Above all, we thank you for choosing Italy as your destination and wish you a pleasant stay in Italy!