Enrolling a foreign child in an Italian school: documents, late admission and rights without a residence permit
A child who arrives in Italy after the school year has started does not have to wait until the following September. Italian law protects the right to education of foreign minors present in the country, regardless of whether their residence position is regular. Missing or incomplete identity papers may change the way the enrolment is recorded, but they do not remove the child’s right to attend school. This guide explains the rules in force as checked on 29 September 2026, the documents a family should prepare, how the school chooses the appropriate class and what to do if an application is refused or left unanswered. The central rule: education does not depend on a residence permit Article 38 of Legislative Decree no. 286/1998 places foreign minors under the same compulsory-education rules that apply to Italian children. Article 45 of Presidential Decree no. 394/1999 is even more explicit: foreign minors present in Italy have a right to education irrespective of the regularity of t...