STUDENT VISA FOR ITALY

WHICH DOCUMENTS ARE NECESSARY TO GO AND STAY IN ITALY

student visa for italy - Image 1

Identity card, passport, tourist visa, student visa, health card, declaration of presence, residence permit.

What is a student visa

The student visa is a necessary document only for students residing in non-EU countries who decide to attend an Italian course and stay in Italy for a period longer than three months.
Please note that only the Italian consular offices abroad have the authority to grant any type of visa for Italy (including the student visa). For this reason, the visa application can only be made at the Italian consulate in your country. The decision to grant the visa is only up to the visa office of the Italian consulate abroad.
Our school can only advise you in order to give you a better chance of obtaining the visa, send you the necessary certificates required by the Italian consular authorities to submit the application for a student visa and assist you in the visa application procedure or in case of unexpected problems.
Below we analyze all the cases according to the nationality of the students and the duration of their stay in Italy.

Periods of stay in Italy of less than three months (-90 days)

If your nationality is not part of a European Union country (Schengen area) it is always mandatory to have a valid passport for any period of stay in Italy.
A stay in Italy for less than 90 days is considered by the Italian authorities to be tourism, even if the reason for your trip is to attend an Italian course at an Italian language school for foreign students.
If you plan to stay in Italy for a period of less than three months, the required documents and the procedure for entering Italy are different for each country. For this reason, we suggest you to ask for information to the Italian embassy of your country.
Based on our experience these are the different situations.

  • from some countries in the world it is possible to arrive and stay in Italy without any particular document.
  • from some countries, when you arrive at the airport in Italy, it is sufficient to declare that you’ll stay in Italy for study reasons and show our certificate of enrollment.
  • for some countries it is necessary to apply for a tourist visa at the Italian Embassy. To obtain it you will have to show your certificate of enrollment in the courses of our school.
  • for countries considered by the Italian Ministry of the Interior to be at high risk of immigration, more complex procedures are required, and often it is not possible to obtain any type of visa.
    You can check the web site of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs if you need a visa to come to Italy.
    PLEASE NOTE For any country, without a visa, it is usually not possible to stay in Italy longer than three months, and it is usually not possible to make or renew a visa in Italy.
    PLEASE NOTE Although health care for serious illnesses and injuries is free in Italy, we still recommend that you take out personal health insurance in your own country that covers any kind of minor needs.

Periods of stay in Italy for more than three months (+90 days)

If you plan to stay in Italy for a period longer than three months and your nationality is not part of the European Union countries (Schengen area) it is mandatory to have a valid passport for foreign countries, and to obtain a student visa from the Italian Embassy of your country.

Level of Italian to obtain a study visa

For most countries, embassies grant a study visa only if the student has already studied Italian and already has at least an A2 level (in some cases B1).
The student must provide proof of having studied Italian and give the Italian consulate a copy of the certificate of attendance at a course in a school that describes his or her level of Italian.
In some cases it may be sufficient to show a certificate of studies compatible with the Italian language and culture.
In the absence of a certificate, in some cases it may be sufficient to have an interview with an official to demonstrate that you have at least A2-B1 knowledge of Italian.
If you are a beginner or have little knowledge of Italian and the consulate cannot give you a study visa, you have two options.
Attend an Italian course in your country and reach at least an A2 level.
Come to Italy for less than three months with a tourist visa, attend Italian courses at our school, return to your country and ask for a 4 to 12 month study visa.

What to do before planning a study trip to Italy for more than three months

  • Decide the dates of your stay in Italy
  • Send an email to the school describing your intentions to enroll in an Italian course for more than three months. In this way we can give you useful advice for the visa procedure and for your trip to Florence.
  • Enroll in a course of at least 20 hours per week (the minimum allowed to obtain a visa). For a subsequent student visa, 10 hours per week is occasionally allowed.
  • Fill in and send us the enrollment form
  • Contact the Italian consulate in your country to declare your intentions to take an Italian course in Italy, ask if you are in the necessary condition to obtain a student visa, and what documents are required.
    Remember that before booking your plane ticket, you must first be sure to get your student visa.
    You can find the contacts of the Italian embassies and consulates abroad on the website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Book an appointment at the Italian consulate to receive the visa
    TAKE NOTE Since for some countries the procedure for obtaining a study visa can be long and complicated, we suggest you to decide the dates of your stay in Italy at least two-three months before your arrival in Italy (preferably 4-5 months in advance).
    TAKE NOTE The student visa for Italy allows you to travel legally in all EU countries (Shengen area) for the duration of your visa.

If the consulate has positively evaluated your condition in order to grant you a student visa, these are the mandatory requirements for applying for the visa:

  • have a valid passport
  • submit the school’s certificate of enrollment and the document that the school is recognized by the Italian Ministry of Education
  • prove that you have paid in full for the course booked (required by Italian law)
  • prove that you have actually booked accommodation. If you book accommodation with the school, we will provide you with the document of the accommodation booking declaration.
  • prove that you have sufficient financial capacity to support yourself during the period of your stay in Italy.
  • show the receipt of a personal health insurance (see below for more information) valid for abroad.
  • submit a motivational letter and have an interview with a visa officer
  • round-trip airline tickets

Health insurance

How to make a personal health insurance for Italy
For study trips to Italy longer than three months, it is mandatory to take out a personal health insurance policy. You have three options available. Take out a private insurance in your country. Ask our school to make an insurance for you. In this case you can choose a private insurance or a public insurance from the Italian National Health Service (SSN).
For the issue of private health insurance our school has signed an agreement with the Welcome Association Italy (WAI). By signing up with WAI (www.waitaly.net) you will have access to the health insurance of Generali Italia, which is recognized by Italian embassies and consulates for the issue of student visas and by police headquarters for the issue of residence permits.

Residence permit

What is a residence permit
The residence permit is a document that allows non-EU citizens to stay legally in Italy for long periods (more than three months). It has a duration equal to the dates of the course of study.
Residence permit in Italy
If your nationality is from a non-EU country and you have received a student visa for a period longer than 90 days, you must apply for a residence permit within 8 days of your arrival in Italy.
When you arrive at school, we will give you the necessary assistance and useful information for the application to be made at the post office near the school.

Renewal of residence permit in Italy

If you have a student visa, it is possible to extend your stay in Italy after the expiration of the visa by doing the procedure for the renewal of the residence permit again.
In this case you need to enroll in our courses and submit a new certificate of enrollment.
Remember that it must be presented within 60 days before the expiration of the previous residence permit.

If you want to travel to Italy and need more information about the visa, contact us!