31st FW Soggiorno Office keeps Wyvern families together

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jessica Blair
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy – --  AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy –
Moving overseas can come with many challenges, including a variety of requirements unique to that host nation.

One of the host nation requirements we face at Aviano Air Base is ensuring that our family members have their soggiorno permit, allowing them to continue living in Italy.

A soggiorno permit is an authorization from the Italian Government that grants non-military members and civilian employees not belonging to the European Union permission to stay in country. This permit takes the place of avisa, allowing them to stay for the duration of the active duty or civilian contractor’s tour in Italy. This process is all made possible by the 31st Security Forces Squadron’s soggiorno office team, comprised of both service members and local nationals alike.

When families arrive in Italy with their no-fee passport and mission visa, that visa is no longer valid and cannot be used anymore. Within eight days of arrival into the country, all non-active duty members are required to apply for their codice fiscale, a number that serves as a temporary social security number, then immediately call the soggiorno office to set up an appointment.

At this appointment, they take the soggiorno application received at their in-processing seminar known as Wyvern Welcome, their codice fiscale and a copy of their military orders or contract. Applicants must be present at the appointment to verify and cross-check their information. Afterwards, photos will be taken to submit to the questura, the Italian immigration services. It is important to apply for the soggiorno as soon as the codice fiscale is received, otherwise it may lead to issues with the questura.
“If the sponsor's dependents do not apply for their soggiorno, they could be considered tourists and will only be allowed to stay in country for 90 days before they are sent back to their home of residency,” said Senior Airmen Tatiana Orsted, 31st Security Forces Squadron soggiorno clerk.

The Italian Immigration Laws and Foreign Clearance Guide is provided to Aviano AB by the questura in Pordenone. It must be followed to the letter, which is why the soggiorno office team is so vital. The soggiorno is critical to all non-active-duty members, as it keeps them legally in the country for the duration of their sponsor's stay.

“Members need to look at the start date of the visaand be aware that if they come into Italy before the start date of the visathen they are considered tourists which means they can stay only for 90 days,” said Margaret Zovich, 31st SFS soggiorno liaison. “By the foreign clearance guide they must depart Italy and return to the US and re-enter Italy after the effective date of the visa.”

No civilian employees would be able to work on-base if they never obtained a soggiorno. This includes our DODEA teachers, AAFES employees, contractors and dependents trying to apply for jobs.

After they are properly verified, soggiorno office liaisons bring the soggiorno permits back to base and have members come to pick-up them up on set dates. This process is to prevent members from having to wait for over a month to receive their soggiorno permit. Because of the liaisons process, families receive the permit after roughly two weeks.

“By coming with all the proper documentation and application forms completed the process will be quicker,” said Zovich. “If it is only a renewal, not more than 15 minutes. An initial request may take between 30 minutes to an hour depending on how many dependents are involved.”

The team takes all the soggiorno packages once every two weeks to the questura in Pordenone to prevent everyone having to come to a face-to-face appointment with the questura on-base.

“I process approximately 2,000 soggiornos packages annually,” said Zovich. “This is a big accomplishment because of the trustworthy working relationship we have created over the years of working together.”

The office also helps all members who need information on elective residence visas, family soggiornos and student visas. Once these members obtain the proper visa, the soggiorno office team helps them fill out the application form which is provided by the Italian Post Office. This assistance is necessary because the application and all its instructions are in Italian.

If Aviano AB’s soggiorno office did not exist there would be no liaison with the immigration section at questura di Pordenone or the Headquarter Police Station. This means all dependents, regardless of age or employment would need to wait in line along with all other foreigners before being seen by the Immigration officer. A process that could take several hours, according to Zovich.

Changing a name in Italy can also be a lengthy process and members should come talk to the soggiorno liaison before doing so to make sure they know all the steps that are involved, especially if they are not US citizens.

“It is advisable for members not to cross any borders until they receive their soggiorno because they could have problems with border police,” said Zovich. “This includes babies born in Italy.”


When a family or a civilian contractor departs Aviano AB, their soggiorno permit must be turned in into the soggiorno office, as the office needs to return all soggiornos to the questura.

“The most rewarding aspect of what we do is when we are able to obtain a soggiorno permit in just a few days because of an emergency situation, and when a family/civilian employee appreciates what we do,” said Margaret Zovich, soggiorno liaison. “Our sole priority in this office are families and we do whatever we possibly can to help keep them together.”