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All study destinations·Italy, National (D) visa for study, university enrolment
Study visa check

Check your Italy study visa application before you apply

This page shows what the official pages say a Italy study visa application must contain, in their own words, with a free pre-check of your answers.

Visa Office of the Embassy or ConsulateEmbassy or Consulate of Italy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation)National (D) visa for study, university enrolment

What is being checked

Your admission letter, the money the rules ask you to show for living costs, your fees, the language level for your course, health insurance where it is asked for, and your past visas.

Why applications fail

Money shown in the wrong form or below the amount the rules set, an admission that is not final, or papers that do not match each other.

What our software does

The free pre-check reads your answers against these rules and shows where they usually fall short. Paid study checks for Italy are not open yet.

01
Study visa (university enrolment): pre-enrolment on Universitaly

Pre-enrolment validated on Universitaly

University PRE-ENROLLMENT letter, after submitting the request via the Universitaly portal

What the officer assesses: Whether you pre-enrolled on Universitaly, whether the university validated it, and whether you brought the summary of that validated pre-enrolment.

You start on Universitaly, the Ministry of University's website. You fill in the pre-enrolment form and upload your papers. The university then checks it and validates it online. Only then can you apply for the visa. If the university does not validate it, the visa is refused. Bring the summary of the validated pre-enrolment and the university's letter.

Where this comes from 4 official sources

Evidence that addresses it

  • The university's pre-enrolment letter (two copies)
  • The summary of your pre-enrolment as validated on Universitaly
  • Any message from the university about entry tests or conditions
02
Study visa (university enrolment): school diploma and its declaration of value

School diploma, declaration of value and authenticity

Final secondary school diploma in original + one copy, legalized and translated into Italian, accompanied by a declaration of value or CIMEA authenticity certificate.

What the officer assesses: Whether the original final school diploma is legalised, translated into Italian and backed by a declaration of value or a CIMEA certificate, and whether the visa office can confirm it is genuine.

You need your original final school certificate, plus a copy. It must be legalised and translated into Italian. It also needs one of two papers. One is a declaration of value from the Italian consulate. The other is a certificate from CIMEA, Italy's office for comparing foreign diplomas. The visa office must check that your papers are real, whatever the university used.

Where this comes from 2 official sources

Evidence that addresses it

  • Original final secondary school diploma and one copy, legalised
  • An Italian translation of it
  • A declaration of value, or a CIMEA comparability and authenticity certificate
  • Proof of any academic entry tests you had to pass
03
Study visa (university enrolment): means of support

Money to live on: €10,179.85 a year

Financial coverage of at least €783.06 per month (equal to €10,179.85 annually) for each month of the academic year

What the officer assesses: Whether you can show at least €783.06 a month, €10,179.85 a year, from lawful sources that can be traced, whose money it is, and whether it will still be there for the later years of the course.

You must show at least €10,179.85 for each year of study. That is €783.06 a month. The money should be yours, or from close family. It must come from lawful sources that can be traced. The visa office looks at how the account moved and whether the money fits your family's income. A scholarship from the Italian government of at least that amount can replace this. A scholarship you only applied for does not count.

Where this comes from 4 official sources

Evidence that addresses it

  • Bank statements for you or your sponsor, signed and stamped by the bank
  • For a family sponsor: proof of the relationship and of their income, such as the last six payslips or company records
  • A scholarship award letter, if you have one
  • Original documents, signed and stamped by whoever issued them
04
Study visa (university enrolment): language certificate

Language of the course, at B2 level

Students must demonstrate knowledge of Italian at a level not lower than B2. For courses taught in English, certification of adequate English proficiency must be provided.

What the officer assesses: Whether a certificate shows Italian at B2 or higher, or, for a course taught in English, English at B2 or higher in all four skills, and whether you can show it at an interview.

You need a language certificate. For a course in Italian, it must show Italian at level B2 or higher. B2 means you can follow and join in normal talk and study. For a course in English, you need an English certificate at B2 or higher. It must cover listening, reading, speaking and writing. The consulate may also test you in a short interview.

Where this comes from 2 official sources

Evidence that addresses it

  • A language certificate from a recognised body, at B2 or higher, in the language of the course
  • Any language result the university recorded on Universitaly
05
Study visa (university enrolment): accommodation

A place to live in Italy

Proof of accommodation availability at least for the initial period of stay

What the officer assesses: Whether you show a real place to stay for at least the first part of your stay, not just an application for a student residence.

You must show where you will live, at least when you first arrive. A hotel booking or a letter from someone hosting you can do this. Only applying for a room in a university residence is not enough. Being on a list for one is not enough either.

Where this comes from 2 official sources

Evidence that addresses it

  • A hotel or rental booking for at least the first weeks, or a hosting declaration
  • A confirmed room offer, if you have a university residence place
06
Study visa (university enrolment): health insurance

Health insurance for care and hospital

Adequate health insurance coverage for medical care and hospitalization

What the officer assesses: Whether health insurance covers medical care and hospital stays in Italy, with no limits on urgent hospital charges, in one of the accepted forms.

You need health insurance for doctors and hospital stays in Italy. It must not cap the cost of urgent hospital care. A foreign policy needs a consulate statement that it is valid in Italy. An Italian policy needs a statement from the insurer that it has no such limits. You show it again when you ask for your residence permit.

Where this comes from 1 official source

Evidence that addresses it

  • The insurance policy, with its dates and cover
  • For a foreign policy: the consular statement that it is valid in Italy
  • For an Italian policy: the insurer's statement that urgent hospital costs have no limits
07
Study visa (university enrolment): purpose of study (D.I. 850/2011, art. 4(2))

Is study the real reason for the trip

University pre-enrollment and acceptance by the Italian university does not automatically entitle the applicant to a visa.

What the officer assesses: Whether everything together shows that the main reason for coming to Italy is to study: your family's money, the kind and quality of your past studies, and whether the new course fits them.

Even with every paper in place, the visa office must decide if you are really coming to study. It looks at three things most. Your family's money. What you studied before, and how well. And whether this course makes sense after it. A long gap, or a sudden change of subject, needs a clear reason. You can add a short letter that explains why you chose this course. The consulate may call you for a short interview.

Where this comes from 4 official sources

Evidence that addresses it

  • Transcripts and results from your past studies
  • A short motivation letter: why this course, this university, and why now
  • An account of any gap since your last study, with proof of what you did
  • Evidence of your family's income and assets

This is an Italian national long-stay D visa to enrol at a university. It is not a Schengen short-stay visa. First you pre-enrol on Universitaly, the Ministry of University's portal, and the university must validate it. Then the Italian visa office decides the visa. In Nigeria that is the Consulate General in Lagos or the Embassy in Abuja, by the state you live in. A validated pre-enrolment does not mean you will get the visa. The visa office also judges if the main reason for your trip is to study. Within eight working days of arriving, you must ask the Questura (the local police immigration office) for a residence permit for study. Italy does not publish a list of refusal reasons for students. These grounds rest on the consulate's document list and the Ministry of University's rules for 2026-2027 and 2027-2028. For the 2026-2027 year, the visa application must be made by 30 November 2026.

Free check

Where does your study application stand?

Six questions, read against the requirements above. Nothing you choose leaves this page.

  1. 1 Where are you with your place on the course?

    The school’s confirmation (a CAS, a letter of acceptance or an I-20) comes before the visa, and the visa is checked against it.

  2. 2 Have you paid the course fees?

    Fees paid reduce the money you have to show, and in Ireland and most Canadian cases they must be paid before you apply.

  3. 3 How will you pay for your living costs?

    Every destination checks that the money is there and that its source makes sense.

  4. 4 How will you show your English?

    The UK and Ireland set a level for the visa itself; Canada and the US rely on the school’s own entry requirement.

  5. 5 How does this course follow your last study?

    Officers ask why this course, now, and a gap or a change of subject has to be explained.

  6. 6 What is your visa history?

    A previous refusal for any country has to be declared and answered.

Answer all 6 questions to see the result. Nothing you choose leaves this page.

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