Italy: passport and entry requirements
Italy shares the EU entry rules, so a family holiday needs no visa, just an in-date passport for everyone, children included. On top of that, an under-18 can't check into accommodation without an adult, and wherever you stay has to register your passport with the police.
On this page
Your passport
Every passport has to have been issued less than ten years before the day you arrive, and still have at least three months left on it after the day you leave. Both tests have to pass.
The ten-year test needs a closer look on any passport renewed before September 2018. Back then, unused time from an old passport could be added to the new one, so a passport can show more than ten years between its issue and expiry dates. Anything beyond ten years doesn't count, so it's the issue date that matters, not the expiry date.
Check every passport as you book rather than the week before you fly. Everyone travels on their own passport, and a child's lasts five years against an adult's ten, so they rarely all expire together. Renew any that's close to running out, as it takes weeks to come through.
Getting in
A stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period needs no visa, which covers any normal family holiday. That limit only matters if you spend long or repeated stretches in Europe within the same six months, and it's counted across the whole Schengen area rather than country by country.
On arrival you go through EES, the EU's new entry and exit system. It records your photo and fingerprints digitally instead of stamping your passport. It's free and the record lasts three years. If you're crossing overland from Slovenia there are temporary border checks in place, so keep passports to hand.
ETIAS, an online travel authorisation the EU plans to bring in, isn't running yet and has no confirmed start date, so there's nothing to apply for before you travel. When it does start it'll cost €20 (last checked August 2026) and last three years, and under-18s won't pay the fee.
Every child needs their own passport, whatever their age, because no child can travel on a parent's. Children aged eleven or younger aren't fingerprinted for EES. Under-18s can't check into accommodation without an adult, so a teenager can't collect the room key or arrive ahead of you on their own. Once ETIAS starts each child needs their own passport as well, free for under-18s.
Registering with the police
Italy requires the place you're staying to register your passport with the police. In a hotel or on a campsite that's done for you at check-in and you'll notice nothing. If you're staying somewhere private, a friend's home or a rental that doesn't handle it, report your presence to the local police station, the questura, within eight days of arriving.
Where we cover in Italy
Our family guides to the parts of Italy we've researched.
Official sources
Last checked 11 August 2026. Passport and entry rules change, so always confirm on GOV.UK before you book or travel.
