How to acquire the Italian VISA
for seafarers only (Visto di Lavoro Subordinato Marittimo)
This is by far one of the most simple but very specific VISAs that are required for crew members in order to join a vessel in Italy. It also only applies to the company Costa Cruises and their crew members. As the ships from the company are registered in Italy, crew members that join the country by air in order to join a vessel by law (as the ship is considered part of Italy) need to acquire a working seaman VISA, called “Visto di Lavoro Subordinato Marittimo“.
YOU DO NOT NEED THIS VISA:
IF YOU’RE NOT A CREW MEMBER FROM COSTA CRUISES
IF YOU’RE EMBARKING OUTSIDE ITALY
IF YOU’RE DISEMBARKING IN ITALY
It’s important to mention that the visa costs 116 EUR and, like all other visas, this fee will be reimbursed on board. You are eligible to apply for it up to 3 months before your embarkation date, and all details will be sent to you either by the company or your agency. This tutorial exists because some crew members experience difficulties during the application process, and most agencies around the world do not provide accurate information to candidates.
Start by identifying which Italian consulate is closest to your place of residence. Each city or country has its own specific website, which also allows you to view the forms in your own language, so you should use the one nearest to you.
After finding the consulate closest to you, the page will reload and, by default, display all text in Italian. Don’t worry: on the top right corner, you can change the language to your native one.
Click to create a new user and fill out the form with all your basic information, such as full name, address, country, and most importantly, your passport number.
Once you’ve created an account, you’ll receive an automatic email to confirm your identity. You won’t be able to access the website until you confirm this email. After that, you can select “Login for Registered User” and log in using the credentials you previously received.
After accessing the website again using your credentials, you will be redirected to a small menu that might be in Italian, but don’t worry, you can go back on the previous page and select another language and it should keep it as your choice.
On the “Menu Principale” on your left, the first option should be “Prenota il Servizio”, or an option to make an appointment (on your own language). On this same menu you can change your password, check the dates of your appointments or even change the consulate location.
As again, you should be registered on the consulate closest to your home address.
On the right side, you will see two options: “Visti” and “Dichiarazioni di Valore”. You can click straight into “Visti” to be redirected to the next phase.
Optionally you can click on the other option, a PDF file will open and it will show different prices of different visas available. As we mention again, the one you’re applying to will cost you 116 EUR.
Now you need to fill out again some important information like your passport number, validity, address, telephone number, profession (use the one you will be working on board) and most importantly, a field for you to describe why you’re applying for a VISA.
You must fill out (it can be in your own language) that you’re applying for a “Visto di Lavoro Subordinato Marittimo” (copy and paste from here to be sure).
Review all your information and click to Confirm.
Lastly, you will be able to see a calendar with all the available dates for you to do your interview on the consulate of your choice.
After you confirm the date that works best, you will receive again an email confirming the upcoming interview, with the address of the place you need to be at on the scheduled time, with all your required documents as instructed either by the company or by your agency.
In case you’re applying with an agency, at this time you should contact your agency and confirm the next steps.
