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Visa Process

 You are responsible for obtaining your study visa for Florence. Keep in mind that the Italian Consular Service offices are not affiliated with New York University. They are entities of the Italian national government that issue visas and perform other official functions, and they may create and/or change their requirements for obtaining a student visa at any time and without prior notification. Therefore, the steps below are meant as a general guide but it is your responsibility to follow the most up-to-date and accurate instructions as reflected on the Italian Consular Services official web sites.

What is a student visa?

It is an official stamp issued by the Italian government that gets affixed to a page inside your passport before you depart the United States. You must present it to immigration control when you arrive in Italy.

You must have a study visa because it is not legal to study as a full-time student in Florence without it.

What do you need to do?

Button: display or hide Obtain a Valid Passport

Because the visa is actually adhered to your passport, you will need a passport in order to get one. Make sure you have a passport that is valid for at least three months beyond your scheduled departure date from Italy or through August 15, 2014.

If you do not have a passport or need to renew your passport, please contact us immediately for information on expediting the passport and a letter to support your request. US-citizens can also visit travel.state.gov/ for information about securing the passport.

We suggest that you request expedited processing (two week turnaround time) to allow plenty of time to apply for your student visa.  The New York Consulate takes up to two weeks to process the visa and other consulates may take up to 2 months to process visa applications!

If you do not have two weeks to spare, students can often request the passport be expedited, even in the same day. US students can then go to the US Passport Agency to request a passport the same day. For a Passport Agency near you and for more information, please refer to their website. In addition to the Passport Agency requirements, please contact the Liberal Studies Global Programs office for a letter to accompany your application.  

Button: display or hide Note for European Union Citizens (EU Passport Holders)

Citizens of countries under the European Union do not need visas for any Schengen Country. The European Union area includes 27 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. Note: Italian passport holders are not permitted to study in Italy on their Italian passport. Please contact Liberal Studies if this applies to you.

If traveling on an EU Passport you will still need to bring additional materials to Florence to show proof that you are a student of the program. 

 

  • Acceptance Letters (English and Italian)
  • Enrollment letter (without the Consulate stamp)
  • 3 copies of the photo page of their valid EU passport 

Button: display or hide Determine your consulate based on your jurisdiction

Student visas are issued by the Italian government via Italian Consulates located in various cities throughout the world. Each Consulate has jurisdiction over the surrounding regions. You can only apply to the consulate to which your address of permanent residence is assigned.  

Please note: only a Consulate General can issue a visa, not an Honorary Vice Consulate. If you fall under the jurisdiction of a consulate that covers a wide area (many states) and cannot go in person to an appointment but there is an Honorary Vice Consul closer to your home, you should contact them to see if they are able to pre-approve your materials. What this means is they will look over everything and stamp it or give you some sort of letter which will allow you to mail it to the Consulate General giving you exemption from going in person.

The full list of US Consulate can be found here.  

Button: display or hide Gather all materials and make plans to apply

The list of definitions to the right should be used as a guide of materials needed for a complete application.  Keep in mind this is just a suggested guideline and you must confirm with the consulate's website for the most update requirements. 

Call now to book an appointment for Mid-June / July!

Button: display or hide Immigration Procedures in Italy – Final Step!

You’re required to register with the immigration service upon arrival, an important and mandatory step. The staff in Florence will guide you through the procedure and discuss additional immigration requirements when you arrive.

Italian law requires all non European students to register within eight days of their student visa start date by applying for the permit of stay for temporary residents or Permesso di Soggiorno.  It is very important that you do not lose the required documents, so make sure to put them in your carry-on luggage when you travel to Italy!  There are additional and mandatory steps to complete once you’re in Florence, but the staff will advise you of these when you arrive.

You will need:

  • All original materials returned by consulate.  Each consulate handles this differently, but the documentation will likely be some mixture of the materials you submitted as part of your application, stamped with consulate seal.
  • 4 Original 2"x2" Passport-Size Photos
  • One photocopy of your entire passport, cover to cover (that means every page, including blank pages!)
  • Three photocopies of your signature / photo page of your passport
  • Four photocopies of your visa

Button: display or hide Student Visa Status for International Students

If you are traveling on a passport other than US or EU, you should use this tool to determine if you do in fact need a Student Visa and what materials you will need to submit.  Make sure to indicate that you are staying more than 90 days and the reason for your visit is Study: Application to Italian University.

This tool can be found on the consulate’s website at

http://www.esteri.it/visti/home_eng.asp 

Forms & Links

 

Questions?


Beth Haymaker, Director of Global Programs

New York University
Liberal Studies
726 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
Tel: 001.212.998.7146 • Fax: 001.212.995.4771 http://liberalstudies.nyu.edu


Visa Documentation Definitions

Button: display or hide Passport

  • Must be signed and valid through August 15, 2014.
  • You'll need to leave your actual passport with the Consulate for processing. If you're going to travel outside of the US (including trips to Mexico, Canada, or the Caribbean) or your home country, make sure to time your application accordingly. 

Button: display or hide Photocopy of ID page of Passport

  • This is the portion with your photo ID, passport number and the accompany page showing your signature.  Do not cut the page to fit the photocopy, just submit the full page.

You will need to submit 3 more as part of your Permesso application. (So, make sure to have four copies in total.) 

Button: display or hide Visa Application

See provided sample visa application (in Forms section of this page).  Make sure to use a mailing address that falls under your consulate’s jurisdiction;make sure that you also closely follow the sample application. The number of days noted on the sample must be used since the visa is only for the duration of the program. 

Button: display or hide Proof of Jurisdiction - Photo ID

  • You must be able to prove that you fall under the jurisdiction of the consulate you are applying through, meaning you must show a photocopy of the correct identification.
  • If applying through the consulate based on your permanent address, please provide notarized photocopy of your driver's license.
  • A photocopy of the front only is needed (you do not need to submit a photocopy of the back of the card). 

Button: display or hide Proof of purchased round-trip flight

  • You must show proof of purchased round-trip flight by submitting photocopy of ticket or e-ticket

Button: display or hide Original Acceptance Letter from New York

This letter is provided by the Liberal Studies NYU Office of Global Programs and signed by Beth Haymaker clearly stating the program dates, student name and student ID number.

Button: display or hide Original Acceptance Letter from Italy

This letter is provided by the NYU Office of Global Programs and is written in Italian.  It is signed by the Sabrina Melillo, Immigration and Facilities Coordinator clearly stating the program dates, student name and student ID number.  

Button: display or hide Official Enrollment Verification Certificates (and photocopy)

 

  • This is either a letter or certificate indicating Enrollment Verification provided by NYU’s registrar’s office. 
  • It must clearly indicate the student’s anticipated graduation date (month / year) and enrollment status for fall 2013.
  • This document can only be produced for students once they complete the Transcript Release form.

Button: display or hide Proof of Financial Means Proof of Financial Means

  • The Consulates will not accept proof of funds from a Trust, IRA, or CD account.  You should bring the sample bank letter (provided in the forms section) to your bank. 
  • The format doesn’t matter as much as the content, so make sure they include all the required information stated above. 
  • If signed by the Bank Official, he or she must include his or her name, title and phone number. 
  • If your bank will not produce a letter at the local branch and can only have corporate generate one you will not be able to get the bank official’s signature notarized (since it will be computer generated) but can have the account holder’s signature notarized.  

Button: display or hide Affidavit of Financial Support

  • Provided in the forms section of this page, this Affidavit is needed when the holder of the account being used to prove financial means (see below) is not the visa applicant.
  • Make sure the affiant writes his or her birth date and not the date the document was signed!

Must be notarized. 

Button: display or hide Permessodi Soggiorno Paperwork

  • Italian law requires that all non European students register within eight days of their student visa start date by applying for the permit of stay for temporary residents or Permesso di Soggiorno.  It is very important that you do not lose the required documents, so make sure to put them in your carry-on luggage when you travel to Italy!  There are additional and mandatory steps to complete once you’re in Florence, but the staff will advise you of these when you arrive.

You will need to bring (with you to Florence):

  • All original materials returned by consulate.  Each consulate handles this differently, but the documentation will likely be some mixture of the materials you submitted as part of your application, stamped with consulate seal.
  • One photocopy of your entire passport, cover to cover (that means every page, including blank pages!)
  • Three photocopies of your signature / photo page of your passport
  • Four photocopies of your visa
  • Four 2”x2” passport style photos

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