Italy family-visit visa from India: the official document checklist, decoded

The checklist, as published

Condensed from the official document linked above; wording is the mission's, shortened. Where the mission names an official form it is listed under "Forms". Always download the current version from the source link on the day you apply.

1. Schengen visa application form.
2. Valid passport: valid at least 3 months after leaving Schengen, at least 2 empty visa pages, issued within 10 years.
3. Passport copy of the inviting person (EU national or Indian citizen).
4. Proof of family relationship and accommodation: invitation letter filled and signed by host in Italy; signature must match host's ID/passport.
5. Host EU citizen: ID/passport copy with signature page; non-EU host: passport copy with signature page plus Italian residence permit.
6. Italian certificates via ANPR portal with QR code; birth certificate (parents' names), marriage certificate, stato civile, stato di famiglia mandatory.
7. Indian documents duly apostilled.
8. Minors: birth certificate (original + copy); legalised consent letter of non-travelling parent; travelling alone: both parents summoned to Embassy.
9. Overseas health insurance certificate, minimum EUR 30,000 for urgent hospitalization or repatriation; insurer's stamp and signature mandatory.
10. Applicants with insufficient finances sponsored by host: fidejussione (bank guarantee) in original issued by an Italian financial institute.
11. Employment: employee (approved letter, 3 months pay slips, 3 years ITR); self-employed (incorporation certificate, business statements, ITR); students (school letter).
12. Economic proof: bank statement last 6 months, updated within 1 month, name as on passport, positive balance, no business accounts.
13. Round trip flight ticket.
14. Documents proving return to country of residence: employment contract/employer declaration, proof of education, children's school, caregiver proof.

Forms named by the mission

• Letter of Invitation (Lettera di Invito), tourist PDF
• Proof of Sponsorship and/or Private Accommodation ('Dichiarazione garanzia e/o alloggio', Article 14(4) Visa Code) bilingual form
• Processing time Declaration (waiver declaration) PDF
• Declaration on Travel Health Insurance PDF

Notes the mission attaches

• All the documents should be provided in original and copy; forged certificates, affidavits or passports are not returned and may lead to prosecution in Italian and Indian courts.
• This category excludes spouse, civil-union partners, children, dependent parents and in-laws of EU nationals, who use the separate 'Visiting Family EU' category.
• The sponsorship form lets the host declare bearing living costs, having taken health insurance for the guest, and an optional bank guarantee.
• Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore list this purpose as 'Invitation' with their own checklists; Mumbai adds that the applicant has to submit the original invitation letter and not a photocopy.

What each item is for

Every Schengen checklist is Article 14(1) of the Visa Code made specific: (a) purpose of the journey, (b) accommodation, (c) means of subsistence for the stay and the return, (d) information enabling an assessment of your intention to leave before the visa expires. Read the list above with those four heads in mind: bookings and invitations answer (a) and (b); bank statements, salary slips and tax returns answer (c); employment, business, family and property papers answer (d). Our documents guide explains each head, and the cover-letter guide shows how to make them agree.

For a family or friends visit the host's documents carry the weight: proof of the host's status in Italy, the relationship, and, where the mission uses one, its own hospitality or sponsorship form. A missing or informal invitation is the classic route to ground 2 or 10 on the refusal form.

Processing time, as stated by the mission

"You should apply for your visa between 15 and 180 working days before your planned departure date. Processing time for the short term visa is 15 working days (extendable up to 45)." (source) The Visa Code sets 15 calendar days from an admissible application, extendable to 45 (Article 23).

Fee, as stated by the mission

"VFS Italy India New Delhi visa fees tab (2026-08-17): visa fee (categories A, B or C) EUR 90 = INR 9,940; applicants aged 6 to 12 EUR 45 = INR 4,970; under 6 free; VFS service charge INR 652 inclusive of all taxes; courier INR 912; courier assurance INR 782; premium lounge INR 5,734 per application." (source) The euro amounts are fixed by Article 16: EUR 90 adults, EUR 45 children six to eleven, free under six.

Italy's record for applications lodged in India

In 2025 Italy decided 53,423 applications lodged in India and refused 12.7% (all-India average 15.7%); 89.2% of visas issued were multiple-entry. Its consulates: Bengaluru (12.4%), Kolkata (13.4%), Mumbai (10.1%), New Delhi (16.7%). Which one handles you depends on your state of residence: see the Italy country page.