Part II

WHAT TO DO?

CHAPTER 4

Procedures

Foreigners’ access to Italian institutions of Higher Education is regulated by a Circular set annually (usually in May) by the Ministry of Education. For further information, please visit the website www.miur.it/0002Univer/0023Studen/0059Studen/0369Dove_I/index_cf2.htm. 

A list of the places reserved to foreign students in each university and faculty, the deadlines and all necessary information will be published online on the website of the Italian Embassy: www.ambhanoi.esteri.it.

Following here is a summary of the fundamental procedures. Since these procedures are subject to change, we suggest you to contact us or to check the website for information before coming personally to the Consular Office. In case you need additional informations, please write to the following e-mail addresses: culturale.hanoi@esteri.it, lettore.hanoi@esteri.it, consolare. hanoi@esteri.it.

Basic requirements for pre-application:

ü      Secondary school leaving qualification

It must be awarded after min. 12 years of school education, which enables students to access to university studies (academic type) in Vietnam. Such a qualification must be officially translated into Italian and duly certified (Dichiarazione di valore) by the Italian Embassy.

*Students holding a US High School Diploma must have completed two years of college education.

ü      “Dichiarazione di Valore”

The Dichiarazione di Valore is a statement issued by the Italian Embassy in Hanoi that describes all the basic characteristic of the foreign qualification, as needed by the Italian academic institutions for the evaluation of the qualification itself.

ü      Proficiency in Italian or English language. All foreign students who are going to attend courses held in Italian or in English will have to take an interview by the Cultural Officer of the Embassy in order to examine their fluency in Italian/English*.

*Some universities require candidates to take a language examination in the first half of September, prior to the beginning of the academic year.

Contents and procedures of the language examination may vary considerably from one institution to the other. It usually includes a written and an oral part.

An additional admission test may be required by those faculties (e.g., medicine) whose access is limited by some restrictions or by those universities wanting to ascertain the candidates’ general culture. Such a test may consist in oral and/or written questions, generally on Italian civilisation, history and culture, and/or current topics.

Students who have not passed the language examination cannot be admitted to university courses.

ü      University application form

Interested students may submit their pre-enrolment applications to the Italian Embassy, which will forward them to the specific Italian university. The application form can be downloaded from Universities’ website and must be filled in all its part. The Consular Officer of the Italian Embassy must authenticate the signature.

Once the pre-application is accepted (the Embassy will be notified within the end of July), the candidate can then apply for a study visa to Italy.

Requirements for Study Visa (“C” or “D” type)

All foreigners intending to enter Italy must provide the documentation required to justify the reasons and duration of their stay, as well as, in some prescribed cases, the availability of adequate economic means and lodging.

The visa is to be requested only upon confirmation of having been admitted to take the entrance exams. In order to obtain your visa, you have to provide the Italian Embassy in Hanoi with the following documents:

1.       visa application form, that you can download at www.ambhanoi.esteri.it

2.       recent passport-style photo

3.       passport or travel document valid for at least three months after visa expiry date

4.       proof of means of support in Italy of not less than Euro 350.57 for each month of the academic year. This availability can be proven through:

·        proof of personal or family resources

·        bank or insurance warranty or equivalent credit document (bank letter of credit applicable in Italy) or traveller’s cheques or other documentation proving the availability of sources of income in Italy (by means of bank transfer or deposit from abroad);

5.       declaration of the availability in Italy of appropriate lodgings as well as the funds necessary for repatriation, possibly to be demonstrated in the form of a return airline ticket.

6.       insurance coverage for medical treatment and hospitalisation, to be demonstrated by means of:

·        Consular declaration attesting to the applicant’s right to healthcare in the presence of specific agreements between Italy and the applicant’s country of origin;

·        Foreign insurance policy or one underwritten with Italian bodies or firms that must not include limitations or exceptions to the fees established for emergency hospitalisation.

The cost of a visa

Fees for visa application processing:

·        Single fee for all Schengen visas: 35,00 Euros;

·        Group visas (types A, B and C): 35,00 Euros + 1 person;

·        National visas for longterm stays (type D): 50,00 Euros.

All fees are payable in US dollars.

Important information

ü      When entering Italy, even if you have already obtained a visa, the border authorities are authorised to check the documentation required for obtaining the visa itself.

ü      In accordance with article 5 of T.U. no. 286/98, within 8 working days of arriving in Italy you must apply for a Permesso di Soggiorno (‘permission to stay’) at the local Questura (‘Police Commissary’).

Some more information

ü      No pre-enrolment exists in the case of Specialisation Degree and Master's courses. Enrolment for these types of studies takes place directly at the universities concerned; the deadlines depend on individual institutions.

ü      Candidates should obtain a study visa from the Italian Embassy anyway and they must hold health insurance policies, which entitle them to the benefits of the Local Health Units (ASL) of the Italian National Health Service.

ü      You can obtain further information contacting the International Office of the University you wish to apply to. See Appendix 1 – List of Universities and Academic Institutions at the end of the guide.

ü      For the 3^rd level or post-Lauream studies, candidates are required to apply to the Secretarial Office of the specific Specialization School (Segreteria della Scuola di Specializzazione) or the DR Office (Ufficio Dottorati di Ricerca) of the university concerned.

ü      Individual institutions may be contacted for the following types of information:
final enrolment deadlines, initial dates of study courses, subdivision of the academic year; dates and contents of the Italian language exam; application deadlines for grants and scholarships; enrolment fees and other financial contributions; housing, meals, working opportunities.