It’s Good to Make Friends in High Places

We started out for nearby Viterbo early this morning on a scouting expedition expecting only to locate the Questura (a sort of police headquarters) and the immigration assistance office of CISL. There are numerous blogs and forums filled with horror stories of people who have spent days, weeks and months trying to complete this initial phase of the application process for the coveted Permesso di Soggiorno (permit to stay beyond 90 days). Given what we’ve read and the advice we’ve received, this initial step today was only a logistical and fact finding mission with no expectation of accomplishing anything.

We arrived in Viterbo, and after a few missed turns, found the Questura and a parking space…bravo! At the Questura we were directed to the immigration office we sought, located in another building one block away…OK, no big deal. We found the right building but, lacking a directory, we asked around before finding the right floor and office suite…still, we were OK. We took a number and waited only a few minutes before talking to a friendly police officer who explained and confirmed the process as we understood it. We simply would have to return to this office once our forms were completed and processed at the Post Office. The helpful officer also explained that we would need a couple of additional documents that were not in the printed instructions (Ah Ha…Rule #2). We thanked the officer for the information and left feeling confident; so we decided to push our luck and find the CISL office.

Surprisingly, we used only 20 minutes of the three hours parking fee. Departing the parking lot we gave our space and the paid parking receipt to a woman who was in desperate search of a parking space. Having done our good deed for the day, we headed off on the next phase of our little adventure.

Our trusty GPS guided us a few kilometers to the CISL offices where we were warmly greeted by Sig. Eugenio. He explained to us once again the application process and proceeded to actually complete the required forms electronically and print them all. Within an hour Mr. Eugenio handed us our completed applications and then escorted us across the street to a bar where we purchased the required tax stamps (bolla) and an espresso. Then he escorted us to the Post Office back across the street where he introduced us to a senior official who reviewed and processed our applications on the spot (unheard of), collected the application fees and postage to mail the packets to Rome, and scheduled our appointment at the Viterbo Questura in three weeks. Mr. Eugenio provided all of this personal service at no charge…totally gratis!

Obviously, this morning’s experience was an incredible example of dumb luck and serendipity (disproving Rule #1). But we’re not done yet!!! And we’re absolutely not gloating. We still have to clear the final hurdles at the Questura in three weeks (a test of Rule #3).

With a handshake, Mr. Eugenio left us with a typical Italian gesture….a sentiment cloaked in an old proverb: “A small glass of wine makes good friends”; to which we replied “It’s good to make friends in high places”.

Our earlier good deed was repaid many times over.