New on TikTok: Episodio 7 – Travelling through another Schengen country while waiting for a residence permit renewal Welcome to a new episode of the Immigration Law Podcast. I am lawyer Fabio Loscerbo. In the previous episode, we explained that, under certain conditions, a person waiting for the renewal of a residence permit may return to their country of origin and subsequently re-enter Italy. Today we focus on a detail that can create serious problems: a connecting flight through another country in the Schengen Area. The receipt issued in Italy proves that a residence permit renewal procedure is pending. However, it must not be confused with a valid residence permit allowing normal travel throughout the Schengen Area. For this reason, when travelling with an expired residence permit and a renewal receipt, the itinerary becomes extremely important. A flight from your home country directly to Italy is different from a journey that enters the Schengen Area through another country. Consider a practical example. A person is travelling from Morocco back to Italy. A direct flight from Casablanca to Milan creates a different situation from a journey from Casablanca to Paris and then from Paris to Milan. In the second case, the person first enters the Schengen Area in France and must therefore deal with the rules applied by the French authorities. The same issue may arise with connections in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands or another Schengen country. It is therefore not enough to check the departure city and the final destination. Before buying a ticket, every stage of the journey should be examined carefully. A cheaper fare or an apparently convenient connection may create a serious problem at the border. The practical rule is simple: when travelling with a renewal receipt and an expired residence permit, always check the complete itinerary before departure, paying particular attention to connections within the Schengen Area. I am lawyer Fabio Loscerbo, and this is the Immigration Law Podcast. See you in the next episode.