The Visa Process for non-EU students

“Congratulations, you have been admitted to the Economics University Luigi Bocconi!“

After you have read this sentence, you are first going to be happy and excited. Though soon after you will realize that you are soon going to be one of us, you have to start thinking about how to prepare for your life in Milan – and the first step is a permission to come to Italy, which is a VISA. I was in the same situation 2 years ago, in which you are now, and I will try to help you through by sharing my experience. This is the order in which you should approach the Visa Process. Do not do this later than the June before start:

1. The first thing to do is find your closest Italian Consulate and contact them explaining your issue.
2. Get the Official Validation of your High-School Diploma called “Dichiarazione di Valore del diploma di maturità/laurea/dottorato” issued by the Italian Embassy in the country you live
3. Ask for a letter of acceptance from your University in Italy, which in your case is Bocconi, indicating the place and duration of the course, and dates of attendance
4. Send a letter addressed to the Italian Consulate in charge, stating that you have private means of support. If you are a recipient of financial aid, submit a statement which shows the exact payments
5. You need a letter from your bank indicating your account number, financial status, and balance. The letter must be signed by a bank official
6. One passport size photograph
7. One application form fully completed and signed at the Consulate;
8. Your passport must be valid for three months longer than your planned stay in Italy
9. Flight reservations (round trip)

Now, that I have listed you all the documents you should collect, I will explain few of them in detail.

1. Contact the Embassy

This is going to be your first most important step because for different countries the Visa requirements can vary. Therefore you should check the list with the official in charge in the Embassy. NOTE: there are sometimes deadlines for the application for Students Visas, or other dates you that you have to respect, therefore contact the Italian Embassy and your Country Embassy as soon as possible.

1. The Validation of your High-School Diploma

This is a document stating that your High-School Diploma is officially recognized by the Italian Consulate and hence valid in Italy. This gives you permission to study at an Italian University. So, you should contact the consulate and ask when the Validation can take place. You will get your high-school Diploma from the administration at your school and send it to be verified.

1. Acceptance Letter

You will require a letter of acceptance from the Admissions Office at Bocconi, which is your proof, that you are admitted to an Italian University. This is essential for your Student Visa application, as it states that you will study in Italy.

1. + 5. Letter stating means of support & a Bank Account Statement

This step goes together with the next one, namely the statement from your bank account. These documents prove that you are being financially supported (or if you are fin. independent – able) to pay for your life in Italy. DONT FORGET that the letter from the bank has to be signed by a bank official!!! These are the documents that you should collect, before you go to the Consulate where you fill in the application form (7.) and bring all the other details stated above (6., 8., 9.) After this process, you should be granted a Student Visa (usually for one year). When you arrive in Milan, you have one other obligation to fulfil before you are done with your permission to study in Italy – this is called “Permesso di Soggiorno” which is a Permit of Stay for Italy. The External Relations Office at the Police Station you belong to will issue this document to you. The process of applying for the Permit of Stay is the following: “Within 8 days of arrival, all non-Eu citizens who hold a study visa for Italy must apply for a permit of stay for study purposes. The permit of stay is issued by the local police station (Questura – Ufficio Stranieri) whereby, first, an application has to be presented at authorized Post Offices. When the form is ready you can present it at the Post Office using the available “kit”. Afterwards you will be asked to go to the local police station (Questura) by SMS and letter so you can give your fingerprints and receive an electronic version of your permit of stay” Note: Proof of Health Insurance must be shown to the competent local authorities in Italy (Questura) in order to obtain your Permit of Stay. A Health Insurance Policy can be purchased on arrival in Italy at the Post Office, from Inassitalia, which was specially designed by the Italian Government for foreign students to cover all medical expenses without disbursing any money in case of illness. The documentation you need for the Permit of Stay is the following:

1. Post Office documentation:

• Completed Post Office Application/Kit
• A photocopy of the pages containing personal data + student Visa page of the passport or other equivalent document. You must present the original document when submitting the application at the Post Office
• Photocopy of insurance policy or receipt of payment for Italian insurance policy, valid throughout the country and for the entire period of validity of the permit of stay, for the risk of illness and injury
• Photocopy of Financial Statement from ITALIAN BANK: document certifying that you have at least € 5.424,90 in your Italian bank account.
• Marca da Bollo (Italian Stamp: can be purchased at any tabacchi shop) of € 14,62. The Marca da Bollo will need to be placed on the completed permit of stay application.
• Photocopy of a statement certifying that at least one exam has been successfully passed for the 1^st renewal and at least 2 exams have been successfully passed for each successive renewal of the residence permit, except in circumstances beyond one’s control regular students may print official transcripts from a punto blu on campus.
• Receipt of payment of € 87,00 paid at the Post Office for the Electronic Permit of Stay (the payment form is included in the Post Office Kit)

Application Fee: € 30,00 paid at the Post Office when submitting application After submitting the documents to the Post Office, you should receive 2 documents:

1. A ricevuta (mod.22A, registered letter receipt) with the user ID and password needed to check the state of progress of the application online .
2. A letter with the appointment date and time at the Police Station, Questura, for the final step in the procedure (if this letter is not given to you at the Post Office it will be sent later on as certified mail, raccomandata, to the applicant’s address in Italy.)

1. Documents for QUESTURA (Local Police Station Immigration Office)

Bring the originals and photocopies of ALL your documents

• Passport or other equivalent document
• Expiring permit of stay PLUS photocopy (front side only)
• 4 identical passport-size photographs
• Original insurance policy or receipt of payment for Italian insurance policy PLUS photocopy, valid throughout the country and for the entire validity period of the permit of stay, for the risk of illness and injury (1)
• Original statement certifying that at least one exam has been successfully passed for the 1^st renewal and at least 2 exams have been successfully passed for each successive renewal of the residency permit, except in circumstances beyond one’s control regular students may print official transcripts from a Punto Blu on campus.
• Original Financial Statement PLUS photocopy: document certifying that you have at least 5.424,90 in your Italian bank account.

After you pick up your Permit of Stay, believe it or not, but you are officially allowed to study and live in Italy. 4 June 2012