Expired Visa. Applied for first Permesso. Fingerprints done

Hi guys!

I have a particular situation and I wonder if any of you has any experience in this exact context, which apparently is very unique.

My visa expired in October, 2023, I applied for my permesso in September 2023 (I couldn't do it before because I kept coming back and forth for health issues). I did my fingerprints appointment in Feb 2024 so they took away the big sheets with the appointment date that usually goes with the receipt.


Now, I went back to India for a surgery for 2 weeks and on my flight back to Italy, the airline refused me because they said I needed a Visa.

I was 100% sure I could travel with the receipt (without going to any Schengen countries) but apparently it can happen that ignorant airlines staff don't know about the receipt.


The law sates that you don't need a visa if it's a renewal, so what about a first issue?

Has any of you travelled without a visa and with just the receipt of first permesso, after the fingerprints appointment?


Now my question is: what do I do? The embassy told me that to be sure I need a re-entry visa, but I'm scared that will take a lot of time. What if I tried to book another flight?



Thanks to anyone!