Student Visa

Italy being a highly developed country is home to numerous prestigious educational institutions. It is no surprise that foreigners all over the world won’t benefit from this educational system. If you are lucky enough to have been granted admission by a school in Italy and you will be traveling soon then a student visa is a must-have for you.

An individual whose country is not a member of the EU/EEA will need to apply for a visa to study in Italy. Since schooling takes quite a length of time then the visa category will be the long-stay visa. The visa costs about 60 Euros. The processing time for a study visa takes about 3 weeks, however, the application should be made about 3 months before your departure date to give ample time in case you encounter any delay in the processing of your visa.

The procedures of being a bona fide student in Italy might seem complicated but is easy enough to grasp.

The steps to being a student in Italy is as follows:

• Accept your admission offer and pay the mandated fees to the university.
• Locate the embassy/consulate/visa application center nearest to you.
• Submit a visa application, pay the application fee and attend the interview.
• Patiently await a response from the visa officers.
• After you have gained entrance into the country, apply for a residence permit within 8 days of your arrival.

You will be issued a residence permit to allow you to live in the country while schooling the wonderful Republic of Italy.

REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION OF A STUDENT VISA:

Although the steps to being a student in Italy have been listed above, one of the most important steps is the visa application process. It involves submitting a lot of documents alongside your application form. To make your visa application smooth and easy, the necessary documents needed are mentioned below:

• Visa application form: To begin the visa application process, you need to have correctly filled out and signed a visa application form. Be sure to have at least one extra copy in case it is required.

• Valid passport: You would be required to present a valid passport and the date of expiration must exceed that of the visa in request by 3 months and is not older than 10 years.
• Passport photograph: At least 2 recent passport photograph, both identical and meeting the Italian passport requirements is needed.

• Confirmation of admission: This could be a copy of your admission letter from a university in Italy, you are required to show proof that you have genuinely been offered admission by the said school.

• Document of previous education: This means that you would be asked to present certificates of your previous educational qualifications.

• Confirmation on civil status: This could be in form of a birth certificate, a marriage certificate [if the applicant is married], a child certificate[ if the applicant has a child] or any other document showing the citizenship status of the applicant.

• Confirmation of accommodation: A proof of accommodation is meant to show where you would be living in Italy. It could be a copy of a rental agreement or a letter of invitation if you will be staying with someone already residing in Italy.

• Confirmation of financial support: This can also be called proof of funds, it is meant to show that all your finances would be catered for during your study. It can be in three forms:

– A detailed bank statement.

– A sponsorship letter containing the details of your sponsor.

– A scholarship letter detailing the areas covered by the scholarship.

• Proof of insurance: A confirmation of insurance is there to prove that if you experience any medical emergencies either during your travel or your stay, your medical bills will be covered.

• Flight itinerary : This is a copy of all your flight details which you would need to present to the visa officers. This provides information about your trips such as the date and time you would be flying to Italy.

Although the above-mentioned documents are necessary, you might be asked by the visa officer to present additional documents during your registration. Examples of additional documents you may need are; a letter explaining your purpose for visiting, a letter declaring that all documents are genuine and your information is correct to the best of your knowledge, a letter of consent from a parent if the applicant is a minor, and so on.