Yes - the Regulation provides a card type for exactly this: the permanent press card.
The Text
Art. 14/1 of the Press Card Regulation: a permanent press card may be issued for life to media members with at least eighteen years of professional service and to information officers who have held a press card for at least eighteen years.
| Who | Period required |
|---|---|
| Media member | At least eighteen years of professional service |
| Information officer | At least eighteen years holding a press card |
| Foreign media member | A permanent press card cannot be issued (Art. 14/3) |
The Condition Not Sought in Retirement
The key provision is Art. 14/2: applicants for a permanent press card must meet the other conditions save for the one in Art. 8/1-f.
Subparagraph (f) reads: having concluded a contract conforming to Law No. 5953 and, save for force majeure, working without a break of more than one month from the date of leaving a job.
But the Other Conditions Still Apply
The exemption covers only subparagraph (f). The rest remain in force:
- Having completed 18 years of age (a)
- Graduating from at least a high school or equivalent institution (b)
- Not being under legal incapacity or barred from public service (c)
- Not having been convicted of the catalogue offences (ç)
- Not having been convicted of terrorism offences (d)
- Not having been convicted of the offences in Art. 25/2 of Law No. 5187 (e)
- Not engaging in commercial activity outside media activity (g)
How the Eighteen Years Are Calculated
Art. 14/4, added by Presidential Decision No. 8624 of 6/6/2024, clarifies the calculation: in computing the periods in the first paragraph, at most twenty-four months of the total periods during which a free press card was held under Art. 13 are taken into account.
Who Cannot Get One
Art. 14/3: a permanent press card cannot be issued to foreign media members. For them the Regulation provides the fixed-term press card in Art. 11 and the temporary press card in Art. 12.
Does a Permanent Card Bring Commission Membership?
It can. Under Art. 30/1-ç, four members of the Press Card Commission are designated by the Directorate from among holders of permanent press cards.
Summary
- A retired journalist can hold a press card: the permanent card may be issued for life to those with at least eighteen years of professional service.
- The continuous-work condition in Art. 8/1-f is not sought for the permanent card.
- The bar on commercial activity outside media (subparagraph g) does apply.
- At most twenty-four months of free-card periods count towards the eighteen years.