Italy Student Visa from India 2026/27

To study a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Italy, Indian students need a long-stay national study visa (type D). For the 2026/27 and 2027/28 academic years, you must complete pre-enrolment on the Universitaly portal, show at least €10,179.85 for one year of study, and submit your file at the VFS Global centre for your consulate. The Italian consulates in India say they will not accept Bachelor's and Master's study visa applications for the 2026/27 intake after 30 November 2026, and processing can take up to 90 days, so do not wait.

This guide explains each part of the file in plain English, based on the official checklists published by the Italian consulates in India and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Rules can change, so always download the latest checklist for your consulate before you book.

Which visa you need and where to apply

If your course in Italy lasts longer than 90 days, you need a national visa (type D) for study. Short courses of up to 90 days use a different, short-stay visa and are not covered here.

You apply to the Italian consulate that covers the state you live in, through its VFS Global centre. A few examples from the official pages:

• Consulate General of Italy in Bengaluru: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry. If the address on your passport is outside these states, the checklist asks for proof that you have lived in the area for the last six months (for example Aadhaar, a rental agreement or utility bills).
• Consulate General of Italy in Mumbai: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Students can submit at the VFS centres in Mumbai or Cochin, and the consulate says every student must attend a video interview when submitting.
• Students in other states apply to the Italian Embassy or consulate that covers their state. Check the jurisdiction on the official website before you book.

The consulates ask every applicant to book the appointment with their own email address and phone number. This is a consulate rule, and a good counsellor will help you prepare the file while you book in your own name.

Step one: admission and Universitaly pre-enrolment

Your visa file starts with the university, not the consulate. The usual order is:

If your university also asks for a CIMEA statement of comparability or a Declaration of Value (DOV), arrange it early, because it can take weeks. The checklists ask for these only when the university requires them. Our study in Italy page explains how admissions work.

Proof of funds: how much and how to show it

For students enrolling in an Italian university in 2026/27 and 2027/28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sets the minimum at €10,179.85 a year. If your course is longer than a year, you only need to show this amount for the first year. The Kolkata consulate checklist also gives the monthly figure of €848.32 for shorter periods.

The checklists for India accept funds shown in these ways:

• Your own bank account: an original six-month bank statement, stamped and signed by the branch manager, with income documents such as income tax returns (ITR).
• A sponsor: the sponsor's original six-month bank statement, their ID and a sponsorship letter. If the sponsor lives in India, the checklists say they must be a relative up to the fourth degree of kinship.
• An education loan or a family income certificate, along with the other income proof listed.
• A government scholarship: the original scholarship letter. If it is below the minimum, you show the rest through the other options.

The Ministry says a bank guarantee or an insurance policy is not accepted as proof of funds for study. The number of years of ITR asked for is different between checklists (two years on the Bengaluru checklist, three on the Kolkata one), so follow the checklist of your own consulate.

Not sure how much you will need in total, including rent and fees? Try our free Italy funds and cost calculator.

Documents checklist for the study visa

Based on the 2026/27 checklists from the Kolkata consulate and the VFS Bengaluru centre, a typical file includes:

1. Passport valid for at least three months after the visa ends, with at least two blank pages, plus copies.
2. Visa application form, filled in and signed, with recent passport-size photographs on a white background.
3. Cover letter or statement of purpose of up to one page, and a short CV.
4. Proof of admission: the Universitaly pre-enrolment summary (or the admission letter for courses not on Universitaly) and the receipt for any enrolment fee paid. The payment should be visible on your bank statement.
5. Education documents: your final degree or Class 12 certificate and marksheets, attested by the state Higher Education Department and apostilled. Attestation by a Sub-divisional Magistrate is not accepted.
6. CIMEA statement or DOV, only if your university asks for one.
7. Proof of funds as explained above.
8. Health insurance from the accepted range of Schengen-compliant travel medical insurance or an Italian insurer. The coverage and period asked for are different between checklists, so check yours carefully.
9. Accommodation for at least your first 30 days in Italy: a hotel booking, rental agreement or university housing with a signed contract.
10. Flight ticket or proof of enough funds for the journey, as your checklist says.
11. Language certificate: B2 English for English-taught courses (or a medium of instruction letter from your previous institution), or B2 Italian for Italian-taught courses.

If your name is spelt differently on different documents, the checklists ask for an attested and apostilled "one and the same" certificate. Applicants under 18 have extra requirements, such as an apostilled birth certificate and parental consent.

Visa fee, processing time and deadlines

The consulates say a national study visa can take up to 90 days to process. For the 2026/27 intake, Bachelor's and Master's study visa applications will not be accepted after 30 November 2026. For the 2027/28 intake, the cut-off is 31 October 2027. These dates do not apply to PhD, foundation, Erasmus and some other courses.

Visa and VFS service fees are set by the consulate and VFS Global and can change. Please check the current amounts on the VFS Global Italy page for your city when you book, rather than relying on figures from older blogs.

Planning for 2027/28? Start now. University applications for many programmes open months before the visa window, and the documents that take longest are apostilled certificates, CIMEA or DOV, and six months of clean bank statements.

After you reach Italy

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says you must apply for a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) for study within eight days of entering Italy. With a study residence permit you may work part-time for up to 20 hours a week, and no more than 1,040 hours a year. Part-time work helps with expenses, but it should not be counted as proof of funds for the visa.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Leaving pre-enrolment until the last week, when the university may need time to confirm it.
• Large, unexplained deposits in the six months of bank statements.
• Getting certificates attested by the wrong authority, or using a provisional certificate that does not show the final result.
• Booking the appointment through someone else's email or phone number.
• Following an old checklist. Download the latest one from your consulate or VFS centre before you prepare the file.

SuccessBeacon helps with Bachelor's and Master's admissions in Italy, Universitaly pre-enrolment, scholarship applications and preparing your visa file. If you would like someone to go through your documents with you, book a free counselling session with our team in Bangalore.