How long have you been here?
'Quanto' = KWAHN-toh; 'tempo' = TEM-poh. 'Da' here is unstressed and short.
Ask this when meeting someone new who appears to be a newcomer to the city or country — at an expat meetup, in a language class, or when it comes up naturally that the person has recently moved.
Italian uses 'da' + present tense to express duration of an ongoing situation, which is very different from English. 'Da quanto tempo sei qui?' literally means 'From how much time are you here?' This structure is one of the key A2 grammar points.
Da quanto sei in Italia?
How long have you been in Italy?
Shorter, more colloquial version — 'tempo' is dropped in fast speech.
Da quando sei a Roma?
Since when have you been in Rome?
'Da quando' asks for a point in time rather than a duration.
È tanto che sei qui?
Have you been here a long time?
Very colloquial — 'è tanto che' is a spoken shortcut for duration questions.
Italians are genuinely curious about foreigners living in Italy and will often ask what brought you there. A genuine answer about loving Italian culture or language is always warmly received.