Italy — Study (English-taught bachelor's (Laurea))

Main requirements

For a three-year Laurea you need a secondary-school diploma after at least 12 years of schooling (new-system diploma, or old-system diploma plus pre-university), and if your country has a university entrance exam the university may ask for proof of passing it. The circular's annex on foreign qualifications has no Iran-specific rule and doesn't mention the Konkur, so ask your university whether it wants your Konkur result. Final-year students can pre-enrol 'with reservation' and apply for the visa with an official provisional certificate (not a self-declaration). As for master's, Universitaly pre-enrolment and university validation are mandatory, capped from 2026/27 at the non-EU quota plus 20%. Some fields, such as architecture, have a national entrance test, also booked through Universitaly.

Documents

Original official Italian translation of the diploma and the last four years' report cards legalised by Justice and Foreign Affairs; CIMEA certificate or Dichiarazione di Valore; language certificate; validated pre-enrolment; admission letter with Form A; translated shenasnameh; passport; photos; proof of housing; insurance; financial documents and ticket. Originals must be shown at submission.

Language

For English-taught courses the Tehran embassy requires at least IELTS 6, TOEFL 78 or FCE 169, valid two years. For Italian-taught courses the university tests Italian at least at B2, unless you hold a CLIQ certificate (e.g. CELI, CILS) at B2 or above.

Costs and proof of funds

For 2026/27 and 2027/28 study visas you must show at least EUR 10,179.85 per year from legal, traceable sources (per the official circular, as of October 2026), preferably your own or a family member's up to the 4th degree. Add the return ticket (or the ticket itself) and any unpaid tuition. Merely being eligible for a regional DSU grant does not count; only a formally awarded grant does. The Tehran embassy checklist words the amount as 'for each month of the academic year', which contradicts the circular's yearly figure; if in doubt, ask the embassy before you submit.

Bachelor's tuition at public universities is usually ISEE-based and often waived for DSU grant winners; take the exact figure from the university's fee table.

Regional DSU grants are run by bodies such as ER.GO (Emilia-Romagna), EDISU (Piedmont) and DiSCo (Lazio) and are based on the ISEE parificato, which you obtain from an approved CAF using family income and asset documents issued in Iran, translated and legalised by the Italian diplomatic authorities. Self-declarations are not accepted. Exceptions differ by region: EDISU Piemonte lets students who arrive with untranslated originals have them certified and translated at their own embassy or consulate in Italy and then legalised at a Prefettura; ER.GO accepts a certificate from your country's embassy/consulate in Italy, legalised by the Prefettura, only for exceptional, objective reasons (e.g. the service being suspended); DiSCo Lazio allows it only for countries on its own list. Read the international-student section of your region's call. Example: ER.GO 2026/27 caps ISEE at EUR 25,000 and ISPE at EUR 50,000, and the off-site (fuori sede) grant is up to EUR 7,171.11 a year. Deadlines are usually in summer (ER.GO 2026/27: 24 August 2026), before you arrive, so prepare the financial documents alongside the visa file. In 2020–21 a group of Iranian students in Tuscany lost their DSU grants because their documents were not legalised in time by the Tehran embassy, so start early.

Steps and timeline

Each university sets its application and pre-enrolment deadlines. The final visa deadline is 30 November 2026 for 2026/27 and 31 October 2027 for 2027/28. If you must sit a language or entrance test in person in Italy, you get a D visa valid 100 days so you can enrol after passing without going home.

Once your pre-enrolment is validated you apply for a national D visa 'Studio – Immatricolazione Università' at the Italian Embassy in Tehran via VisaMetric; it is valid 365 days with multiple entries. Per the embassy's visa page, every applicant except children under 12 gives fingerprints. The entry-visa fee per the EU Immigration Portal is EUR 116, plus the VisaMetric service fee. Besides documents, the consulate assesses migration risk: family finances, quality of past studies and how coherent the chosen course is with your background. A validated pre-enrolment and complete file do not guarantee a visa, and you may be called for an interview. If you get the visa but don't enrol, it is revoked from 31 January of that academic year.

Notes for Iranian applicants

The Italian Embassy in Tehran closed in February 2026, reopened on 19 June 2026, and its consular section resumed all services on 8 July 2026. During the closure it announced that Iranians could apply at any reachable Italian embassy or consulate where they can stay legally; if that happens again, ask [email protected]. For 2026/27 study visas no booking was needed: VisaMetric emailed appointments to the address registered on Universitaly. This can change each year, so check your year's notice. The embassy advises getting a CIMEA certificate (comparability plus authenticity) instead of legalisation/Dichiarazione di Valore. Your shenasnameh and diplomas need an official Italian translation legalised by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and university degrees must first be released (degree release). You need a 6-month bank statement in English, issued no more than one week before submission; cash or bank guarantees are not accepted. If you use a parent's account, add proof of relationship (translated and legalised), proof of job, social insurance and income declaration. Uni-Italia Tehran (Pietro della Valle Italian school, [email protected]) gives free guidance on courses and pre-enrolment. The embassy warns against intermediaries claiming special channels; the only allowed costs are the consular fee and the VisaMetric fee.

Men: per Iranian secondary sources, the exit permit with a bond is only for master's and PhD, so a young man who hasn't done service and has no exemption practically cannot leave for a bachelor's. Check your status at Police+10 before spending money.

After arrival (work during studies, post-study stay, path to permanent residence)

Within 8 working days of arrival you must apply for the study permesso di soggiorno with the postal kit (or a university desk), then attend fingerprinting at the Questura; per the EU Immigration Portal the fee is EUR 40–100 plus about EUR 76.46 in admin costs. To renew each year you must pass at least one exam in year one and at least two in later years. A study permit lets you work up to 20 hours a week and 1,040 hours a year. After graduating (bachelor, master, PhD or university master) you can get a 9–12 month permit to look for work or start a business, and study permits can be converted to work permits outside the Decreto Flussi quotas. The EU long-term residence permit needs 5 years of legal residence, income at least equal to the assegno sociale, suitable housing and a pass in an Italian language test; study-permit holders cannot apply until they switch to a work or similar permit.