Applying for an Italian Visa
Non-European MathMods Students selected to study at the University of L'Aquila will need to apply for a student visa at the nearest Italian Embassy. The visa application requirements and processing time can be lengthy, taking anywhere from a few weeks up to several months. It is very important that you contact the nearest Italian Embassy for information as early as possible in the application process.
When the evaluation process is concluded and the adequate students have been selected by the Consortium, the University of L'Aquila will issue a Confirmation document (invitation letter), which will enable you to apply for a student visa.
Please notice that, before arriving in Europe, you will only need to apply for a visa at an Italian Embassy/Consulate, as Italy is the location for your first semester. By using the documents we will send you, you will normally receive an Italian visa for one year (notice that it is necessary to have a passport valid until 3 months after the expiry of your visa). Afterwards, during your first semester you will have to apply for a German visa (Germany being the location for your second semester) at the German Consulate in Rome, and so on.
Find the nearest Italian consulate/embassy here
Documents you'll be required to provide
The Italian Embassy in your country will ask you to provide the following documents:
- a passport valid until 3 months after the expiry of your visa
- an invitation/admission letter (in Italian) from the MathMods Consortium, which states information regarding your admission to our programme and the programme itself, the language of instruction, proof of accommodation, tuition fees and health insurance coverage [such a letter will be uploaded into your Universitaly.it profile after approval];
- your previous university qualifications (degree certificate and transcript) and verification (see below)
- proof of sufficient financial means to cover tuition fees, travel and living costs;
- other additional documents, depending on the Embassy you visit.
Recognition of Previous Qualifications
You'll have to submit verification of your previous university qualifications both to the embassy to obtain a visa and to our university to complete your enrolment. To do so, you'll have to submit ONE of the following certificates:
1. CIMEA Statements of comparability
CIMEA (ENIC/NARIC network) has implemented a service of certification and comparison of Italian and foreign qualifications. Note that you'll only need to request a statement of comparability. The application has to be submitted on the Cimea Diplome platform.
2. Declaration of Value (DoV)
The DoV is a document providing an official description of your academic certificates, duly legalized by the Consular office of the Italian Embassy in the country where such degree was gained. For specific requirements, please contact the Italian Embassy/Consulate operating in the same area/region as your home university.
3. Diploma Supplement
You may submit a Diploma Supplement to verify your previous qualification only if it is issued by the institution where you gained your undergraduate degree.
4. Direct Verification
In place of the above-stated certificates, starting this year (2024 edition) you may also entitle the University of L'Aquila to contact the institution where you obtained your previous degree and verify the genuine nature of your qualifications. For this purpose, you will be required to provide details of an administrative responsible person, typically working in the registrar's office, who must send a confirmation letter (upon request from the University of L'Aquila) to verify your qualifications. Further information about this procedure will be emailed by our staff.
Note that some local Diplomatic-consular missions might still require that you obtain a Declaration of Value (DoV) or CIMEA statements before they issue your study visa, even though they are aware that our university accepts other forms of verification (see above), as it will be evident from your Pre-Enrolment on Universitaly. If that is the case, you will have to fulfil the embassy's specific requirements, otherwise, you will never obtain any visa from that specific embassy. And that can be much lengthier, so make sure you enquire in good time in advance if the specific embassy you're about to visit has such an additional requirement. This won't change the fact the our University accept any of the four-listed certificates, instead, to finalize your enrolment.
For further information on this topic, check out the related webpage on the UAQ site: www.univaq.it/international
For further information about study visa, declaration of value, legalisation of documents and more, follow the links below:
Applying for an Italian Residence Permit (non-EUs only)
Within 8 days after you arrive in Italy, you will have to apply for a residence permit. Very important note: if you're going to get to Italy several days before our suggested arrival day, please make sure you apply for a residence permit in time.
The MathMods team will assist you with preparing all the required documentation, which includes a couple of forms to be filled in and, among others:
- a copy of your full passport (every single page, cover included)
- a copy of your health insurance card
- accommodation proof
- financial proof
- enrolment certificate
- financial proof
All you need to do is visit any Italian post office (map) and withdraw such forms. Just show your passport and ask for a "kit permesso di soggiorno" ("soggiorno" sounds like "sojjorno"). Then, bring it to class and we'll fill it in together!
All the required documents will have to be put into an envelope and submitted to the local police station (questura) through a post office. At the end of the submission, the clerk at the post office will hand you three different receipts, which will be your temporary residence permit (might be required while travelling in Schengen countries).
When the police station (questura) has received your application, they'll fix an appointment (usually after around one month) to complete the rest of the required procedures and finally issue the plastic card you can see on the right.
The whole process will cost you around 120 euros.
