# an idea for how Americans can live in Italy legally for a long time



## jsmithy90210

Hello all,
I want to throw a scenario at you all and see what you think. Let’s say you are an American who wants nothing more than to live legally in Italy and can survive only working part-time over there. In reality, the only possible way for Americans (who have no family links to EU) to live long-term in Italy seems to me to acquire a student visa. There are certainly a lot of schools out there, and if you enroll while over in Italy you can get the enrollment letter which you would need at the Consulate.
Hypothetically, you could get that one-year visa, get your PdS when you arrive, then every year ask to enroll in that same school (or enroll in another school) before your one year is up, return to the states, and go to the consulate for a one year visa. Then repeat, every year. You might not have to actually finish (or even attend) classes as long as you got that letter every year.
Does anyone see any potential problems with this? (i.e., do you think the Consulate would deny the visa request after a couple years? Do they care? Would they (especially smaller consulates) remember you after a couple years?) Another possibility is to enroll in a 2- or 3-year program and attempt to extend your PdS while over in Italy, but I heard that is less likely to be approved. I have also heard that sometimes (but rarely), a student visa is denied if a picky consulate doesn’t see a connection between what you HAVE studied and what you are PLANNING to study.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.


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## NickZ

A multi year program is going to be a college level. You'll need to tick all the boxes for that. If you can get into an Italian college I'm sure you'll be able to say until the end.


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## jsmithy90210

NickZ said:


> A multi year program is going to be a college level. You'll need to tick all the boxes for that. If you can get into an Italian college I'm sure you'll be able to say until the end.


for those who have graduated university already, there are some multi-year programs in fine arts or photography which aren't necessarily for a degree...


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