Applying for an Entry Visa or a Residence Permit

Before leaving home, foreign students need to find out about the Italian laws governing a stay in Italy.

Citizens from any EU country – as well as citizens from the Switzerland, Norway, the Principality of Liechtenstein, Iceland, Andorra, the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of San Marino and the Vatican City – have the right to enter Italy, move and reside freely in Italy for a maximum of three months.

Exchange students (Erasmus or other programmes) – who are EU citizens and will be staying in Italy for more than three months but in any case temporarily – can stay in Italy without any formalities: they only need to have an ID as a travel document.

Entry Visa for Study Purposes

How to apply for an entry visa: http://vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home.aspx

Short-Stay Visa

Since the Single-Cycle Degree Programme in Veterinary Medicine has restricted access, candidates need to ask for a short-stay entry visa in order to take the mandatory entrance exam.

Visa for Study Purposes

Once completed the pre-enrolment procedure, students need to apply for an entry visa for study purposes / “Application to Italian Universities” to the Italian Diplomatic Missions in their own country of origin.

A visa for study purposes shall be issued only for the enrolment in a 1^st-Cycle or a 2^nd-Cycle Degree Programme; in any case it can be issued to foreign students who register in academic years other than the year of enrolment.

Documents on arrival in Italy

Within eight days after their arrival in Italy, students holding a type-D visa for study purposes (see http://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/view/10620/) need to apply for a residence permit at the foreign citizens’ office at thecompetent Police Station (“Questura”) in the town where they want to take up residence.