Permesso: Part 3,847

I started off the new year on a good note, with my hard-earned permesso in hand. Hard-earned, you ask? What could be so hard about getting a permesso if you already have your visa? Well, friends. Sometimes it feels like the entire country of Italy has conspired against foreigners. You remember this permesso story. And, this one.

In November I was shooed away from the questura with a, "No, you need to wait at least three months." "But the guy told me it would be ready in two weeks." <Shrug>

On December 30, I said BASTA and went back to the main questura. After finally getting to the woman at the front, she looks at my file and tells me my permesso has been ready since November 6th. Well, colour me surprised (but not really). She tells me to go to my questura immediately, and tell them that they must give me my permesso, even if it isn't "permesso handing-out day." I arrive there, and the conversation goes pretty much exactly like this (in Italian, but translated for your convenience):

"Hi, I'm here to pick up my permesso. The woman at the main questura told me you had to give it to me today."

"But today we can't give out permessos. That only happens on Saturdays."

"It's ok. You can. She told me you could."

"But we can't. It's Monday today. We only give them out on Saturdays."

"It's ok. You can."

"But we can't."

"But you can."

"Let me call the guy who deals with permessos."

So this guy arrives, and we proceed to pretty much have the same conversation. Once he realizes that I'm really not going anywhere, he tells me that he'll see what he can do and tells me to wait. After a couple of hours, he finally calls me in and has my permesso right there. Joy! So I sign whatever I need to, confirm my fingerprints, and just as we're finishing up he says, "I can tell someone helped you with this. You must know someone at the questura, eh?"

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.

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I'm not often left speechless, but there I was. I thought maybe I misunderstood his Italian, and asked him what he meant. He repeated the same thing. Apparently, someone helped me with this permesso application and made it easier for me. I still, to this day, do not understand what he meant. Even when I explained that this process has been one of the most difficult and confusing things I've ever had to do, he insisted that someone had helped me. I hate to think of where I'd be right now without that supposed help.

Oh Italy, I might love you, but I will never understand you.

*I write these permesso stories more as a PSA. I searched all four corners of the internet to find information on visas and permessos, so if any of this information can be useful to someone out there in my shoes, I will be happy. Actually, if someone out there does stumble upon this, feel free to message me directly and I will share more information about permessos that you could ever think possible!