Before leaving home: pre-enrolment and entry visa

If you are a non-EU citizen and wish to study in Italy for more than 90 days, you need a Visa to enter Italy. If you stay for less than 90 days, find out from the Embassy (or Consulate) if you require a visa.

Important: you must apply for a visa for "Study –Exchange and Mobility Programme".

To apply for a visa you must:

• pre-enrol online via the Universitaly portal (step 6). Important! Pre-enrolments for the A.Y. 2024/25 are open.
  In the application you must indicate: 
  - “Specify the reason for the visa application”: I want to spend a mobility period for study/traineeship (e.g. Erasmus);
  - “Course information”: Institution: Università di Bologna, Course type: Corso/i singolo/i – Single course(s), Course name: in the text field you must describe your position at the University of Bologna, e.g.: Mobility student for study, Mobility student for traineeship (and your reference teacher at Unibo), Visiting student (and your reference teacher at Unibo), Visiting PhD (and your reference teacher at Unibo);
  - “ID account at the chosen University / AFAM / Institute”: name.surname@studio.unibo.it (if you are not a visiting PhD student).
  You will also need to specify the Embassy / Consulate where you will apply for an entry visa to Italy. The pre-enrolment application will be verified by the University of Bologna and forwarded to the Embassy / Consulate you have specified. The University of Bologna also issues you an invitation letter, when you have completed the online registration on AlmaRM and uploaded a copy of your passport;

• contact the Embassy / Consulate to find out the requirements to obtain an entry visa for "Study –Exchange and Mobility Programme" and make an appointment if necessary.

You must apply well in advance for the visa, as the visa process can take several months.

Important!

If you are a student from the United Kingdom (UK) or from another non-EU country residing in the United Kingdom, carefully read the instructions on the website of the competent Consulate in London for "Exchange and mobility programs".

Among the required documents there is: “6) Original recent letter (not older than 1 month) of acceptance from University in Italy, specifying the type of course, number of weekly hours and dates”.

To get the letter you have to:

• make an appointment at the competent Consulate for the visa application

• request the letter well in advance (about 20 days), by writing from your @unibo.it address to exchange.students@unibo.it and proving the date of your appointment.

The letter will be sent to you at  your @studio.unibo.it address within 20 days of your appointment.

If you are a non-EU student, but you fall into the following situation:

• you are enrolled at a university in the European Union (Schengen Area) and
• you have a residence permit for study purposes issued in a member country of the European Union (Schengen Area) which covers the entire mobility period and which is renewable in the country where it was issued and
• you participate in a European mobility programme or you carry out a mobility under an international agreement of the University of Bologna

you must check, at the Visa Office of the Embassy of Italy in the country where you currently reside and study, if you are exempted from a visa. It is recommended to have a written reply by e-mail from the Visa Office. In this case, upon arrival you will have to make the declaration of presence and you will not have to apply for a residence permit.

If the Embassy/Consulate offers this service, also apply for the issue of an official Italian tax code (codice fiscale).