HOW TO OBTAIN A STUDENT VISA FOR ITALY BEFORE ARRIVAL

International students will have to apply for a student visa at the Italian Embassy/Consulate in their home country.

Please, visit the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for further information about specific countries eligibility for student visas at the link:  http://vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home/en

The general documents Embassies/Consulates usually ask for are the following:

• application form (each Embassy/Consulate will provide the applicant with it)
• visa letter (provided by the Luiss BS Visa Office only to officially enrolled students);
• passport photos;
• copy of the passport of the applicant;
• copy of the bank account of the applicant;
• mandatory health insurance.

Please, do not rely only on the above information. Each Embassy/Consulate might ask applicants for further documentation, so it is important to get in contact with the local Italian authorities to have an updated and complete list of required documentation.

Please, consider that having an appointment at the Embassy/Consulate could take months, as well as obtaining a student visa. For this reason, we recommend our students to contact the Italian authorities as soon as possible, in order to arrive on time for the beginning of the Programme.

It is student’s responsibility to make sure what documentation each Italian Embassy/Consulate requires.

Please remember that the only document that entitles a non – EU citizen to stay in Italy is the Permit of stay, not the visa!

HOW TO OBTAIN A STUDENT PERMIT OF STAY IN ITALY

Non-EU students who intend to spend more than 90 days in a row in Italy have to request a Permit of stay – Permesso di soggiorno – not later than 8 working days from their arrival in Italy.

Permit applications will have to be submitted to the Sportello Amico of the Italian Post office. 

Visit the following link:  http://www.portaleimmigrazione.it/immigrazionenet/default.aspx

The Visa Office will support international students in filling in the required documentation by appointment emailing visaluissbs@luiss.it

Please, find the list of the required documents for the permit below:

• a photocopy of all pages of applicant’s passport, blank pages included;
• 4 recent passport-size photographs;
• a copy of the visa letter issued by the Visa Office;
• a copy of the Health Insurance policy, valid on Schengen territory and for the entire duration of the Permit of Stay.

The cost of obtaining the Permit of stay is around € 200,00

After submitting the documents, the Post Office will issue a receipt with the date and time of the student’s appointment at the Immigration Office (via Teofilo Patini, 19, 00155 Rome).  Afterwards, the student can check his/her status of the permit visiting the following website https://questure.poliziadistato.it/stranieri/ using the code indicated on the Post Office receipt.

Please note that the above-mentioned website only tells the student if his/her permit request has been granted or not.

As a matter of fact, the student will receive an alert either via email or text when the permit is ready to be collected at the nearest Police Office to where he/she lives.

Renewal of the Student Permit of stay

Students holding a Student Permit of stay should always be aware of their Permit expiring date, because depending on their schedule/plans they might need to renew the permit or not.

If they need to extend their stay in Italy for study reasons, they have to start the renewal procedure at least two months before the above-mentioned date.

The procedure and the documents required are the same submitted for the first request. The only difference is that Luiss BS Visa Office will have to issue a transcript of records upon request of the student who will have to ask for it by writing an email to visaluissbs@luiss.it.

For any changes regarding the status of the permit of stay (for instance, work permit, “permesso in attesa di occupazione”, or any other) Luiss BS Visa Office cannot support the student further, but the student can address any question to the closest CAF office (Centro Assistenza Fiscale).