The Italian A2 test for the EU long-term residence permit: who sits it, the 80% pass mark, and who is exempt
To get Italy's EU long-term residence permit (permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo, once called the carta di soggiorno) you have to show Italian at A2. The usual way is a short test run by your prefecture. Many people never sit it, because a certificate or a school diploma exempts them.
The rules are in the ministerial decree of 7 December 2021 (Gazzetta Ufficiale no. 36, 12 February 2022), which replaced the decree of 4 June 2010. We read it, and a prefecture's leaflet for candidates, on 7 November 2026.
How the test works
You apply online to the prefecture of the province where you live. The application must include your personal details, your residence permit (type and expiry date), your passport and the address where you want the letter. If anything is missing, the application is inadmissible.
The prefecture calls you within 60 days, with the day, time and place. The test is on a computer; you can ask to do it on paper instead, with the same content, marking and time limit.
You need at least 80% of the total score to pass. The decree says the test checks understanding of short texts and the ability to interact. The leaflet describes three parts: listening to a short spoken text and answering questions, reading short texts and answering questions, and writing a short text.
If you fail, you can sit it again. You make a new application, the same way as the first.
On the day, and the result
The leaflet lists what to bring: your residence permit (or the receipt for its renewal), a passport or identity card, the prefecture's letter, and a black or blue pen. If you arrive after the test starts, you cannot sit it. Nobody may come into the room with you, and children are not allowed in the building.
The result goes into the Interior Ministry's system, and the police headquarters (questura) checks it there when it decides your permit. The leaflet says to look up your result online at least a week after the test, or ask at the adult-education centre (CPIA) where you sat it.
Who does not have to sit it
Children under 14, and people with a serious limit on learning a language because of age, illness or disability, certified by a public health facility, are outside the test altogether.
Five other groups are exempt because they already prove A2 another way:
1. An A2 certificate or higher from one of the five recognised bodies: Università Roma Tre (CERT.IT), Università per Stranieri di Perugia (CELI), Università per Stranieri di Siena (CILS), Società Dante Alighieri (PLIDA), and Università per Stranieri "Dante Alighieri" of Reggio Calabria. The 2010 decree named four; Reggio Calabria was added in 2021.
2. A course at a CPIA (adult-education centre) that ends with a title showing A2 or higher.
3. A2 recognised under the integration agreement (accordo di integrazione) credits.
4. An Italian school diploma (lower or upper secondary), or current enrolment at an Italian university, doctorate or university master's.
5. Certain workers who entered Italy under article 27 of the immigration law (paragraph 1, letters a, c, d and q) and do that work.
With a certificate, a CPIA title or a diploma, you attach a certified copy to your permit application. For the integration-agreement and article 27 cases, you attach a declaration instead.
Test or certificate?
Our reading: the prefecture test answers one question only, A2 for this permit. A certificate from one of the five bodies is a document you keep and can show elsewhere, but you pay the exam centre for it. If you also plan to apply for citizenship, that needs B1 and a certificate, and the prefecture test does not count for it: see CILS or CELI for citizenship.
The decree does not state a fee for the prefecture test. Ask your prefecture or a free assistance office (patronato) before you apply.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Sitting the prefecture test when you already hold an A2 certificate.
Attaching a certified copy of the certificate to the permit application.
A certificate from one of the five recognised bodies exempts you from the test.
Arriving a little late on test day.
Arriving before the start, with your permit, ID and the letter.
The leaflet says you cannot sit the test once it has started.
Treating a pass as proof of Italian for citizenship.
Planning a B1 certificate for citizenship.
The test checks A2 for the long-term permit only.
Questions
What level of Italian do I need for the EU long-term residence permit?
A2 of the Common European Framework, under the ministerial decree of 7 December 2021.
What is the pass mark of the Italian test at the prefecture?
At least 80% of the total score.
How long does the prefecture take to call me for the test?
The decree says the prefecture calls you within 60 days of your application.
Can I retake the Italian A2 test if I fail?
Yes. You apply again online, the same way as the first time.
Which certificates exempt me from the test?
An A2 or higher certificate from Roma Tre, Perugia (CELI), Siena (CILS), the Società Dante Alighieri (PLIDA) or the Università per Stranieri of Reggio Calabria.
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