The Thai embassy in Rome did what no other post in Europe did: it published the 31 August rule as a separate announcement, on 28 August, three days before it took effect. And it read the rule more softly than anyone in the world. Here is what that means for people living in Italy, Cyprus, Albania, San Marino or Libya.
What Rome said
The announcement names two documents: a permesso di soggiorno — the Italian residence permit — held in Italy, Cyprus, Albania or Libya, and a certificato del casellario giudiziale, the criminal record certificate. A residence permit, then, not permanent residence. In its note on common mistakes the embassy lists what a citizen can use to prove residence: a certificato di residenza (the residence certificate issued by the town hall), an identity card, a passport, even a driving licence; for a foreigner the permesso, the certificato di residenza or any other proof of lawful residence is enough.
One honest caveat. The e-Visa form is the same one for every consulate in the world, and it says permanent residence. The post reads the rule softly, the form is written strictly, and the first decisions in September will show how far the two diverge in practice. We build the package to fit the form and keep documents ready in case of a request for additional documents.
Whose Rome is it
The embassy’s district: Italy, Cyprus, Albania, San Marino, Libya and the Order of Malta. The Republic of Malta does not belong to Rome: it is served by Athens. No embassy text describes the district in full — we took this from the master data of the e-Visa system.
The certificate: casellario giudiziale
The certificato del casellario giudiziale costs €19.92 in marche da bollo (the revenue stamps Italian public offices are paid with), €23.84 for the urgent version, and is valid for six months. Online you can only book the appointment; the certificate is handed over at the counter, and you can send someone in your place with a simple delega, a written authorisation that needs no notary. The certificate of pending charges, the carichi pendenti, is not required.
How long the certificate stays valid for the DTV, and whether it has to be translated or legalised, Rome does not say. The form allows the certificate of the country of citizenship instead of the Italian one: a Russian or a Ukrainian holding an Italian permesso does not need the Italian certificate. An apostille does not work for Thailand yet: the convention enters into force for the country on 28 February 2027.
The fee, the timing, the passport
The €350 fee is confirmed by the embassy’s official tariff. An Italian competitor still quotes “about €280”, and that is wrong. The fee is non-refundable. Processing takes up to 14 working days according to the post’s website, and the application goes in no earlier than 90 and no later than 15 days before the trip. In Rome the DTV is issued only as a multiple-entry visa, so the post requires a passport valid for at least a year: the DTV materials say nothing about it, and it is a frequent reason for a package being sent back.
Finances: no less than 500,000 THB, which is around €13,100, statements for three months, a sponsorship letter allowed. Dependants: the spouse and children under 20, with a document proving the relationship.
The accounts we have are all from before the reform: from Cyprus the visa came in a day, from Italy in three. Under the new rules there are no cases yet, and we quote no timings beyond the ones the post states.
Two warnings
The embassy’s website exists in English and Thai only. And the domain thaiembassy.it does not belong to the embassy: it leads to somebody else’s page, even though the embassy’s own site still links to it in the header. The official address is rome.thaiembassy.org, and the requirements should be read there and nowhere else.
What changes on 15 September
From 15 September 2026 visa-free entry for Italian citizens drops from 60 to 30 days. The embassy announced it on 2 September. For anyone used to living in Thailand for months on a stamp, the five-year DTV becomes the only calm option.
What to do now
Check your passport: less than a year left means a new passport first. Order the casellario with its six months of validity in mind. Gather three months of statements with a margin for the exchange rate. If you hold a permesso and not permanent residence, start with the Preflight Check: it shows where the package will trip over the strict form, before you pay the fee. The details and the open questions are on the post’s page, the state of every consulate is on the board.
If you are not sure whether your residence status qualifies or where to start collecting documents, message Mira: she will check your citizenship and status, tell you which consulate is yours and send you the preparation steps. A package you have assembled yourself can go through the Preflight Check — $300, a written report within two working days; full support all the way to the visa is the Solo Route and Family Route.