Study in Italy: Universities, Costs and the Visa Route

To study in Italy as a non-EU student, you apply to one specific programme, pre-enroll on the national Universitaly portal and get a type D student visa from the Italian consulate in your country of residence. Public universities charge from about €160 to about €4,000 a year, depending on family income, and some have lower fixed fees for international students.

Italy suits applicants who plan ahead. You need 12 years of school, an English certificate at B2 or higher for English-taught programmes, and a family that can show €10,179.85 a year in legal, traceable funds. In return, you get a choice of public universities, private business schools and art and design academies, many with programmes in English.

Italy is a poor fit if you need a guaranteed place within a few weeks, cannot document your family's income, or expect a dorm room on arrival. Paperwork takes months, places for non-EU applicants are capped, and housing is scarce in Milan and Bologna. Below are the costs, the steps and the catches, with current prices and dates for the next intake.

How much does it cost to study in Italy?

At public universities, tuition depends on family income, not on citizenship. Fees are calculated through ISEE; foreign families use an equivalent called ISEE parificato. If you submit no income documents, you pay the maximum rate. Politecnico di Milano, for example, charges from about €160 to about €3,940 a year, and the University of Bologna's maximum for a bachelor's is about €2,040.

Some public universities charge non-EU students whose family lives abroad a flat fee instead. Bologna's reduced fixed fee is about €1,160 a year for a bachelor's, based only on a declaration of foreign income. It covers citizens of Pakistan, India, Nigeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. Students from Bangladesh, which is on Italy's list of particularly poor countries, pay even less in Bologna and Padua.

Prices for the next academic year are mostly not published yet; Bocconi, for one, says its next amount "will be defined soon". Private schools raise fees from year to year: at NABA, the second year costs 2% more and the third 2.5% more. At Istituto Marangoni, a €4,000 enrollment fee is charged every year on top of bachelor's tuition.

Low-income students can apply for the regional DSU scholarship, which may cover tuition and pay a cash grant. It comes with strict conditions, explained below and on our DSU scholarship page.

Public, private and AFAM: types of universities in Italy

Three kinds of institutions matter to international applicants. They differ in price, selection and the diploma they award.

Medicine is a separate track with its own entrance exam and national quotas. See our guide to medicine in Italy before you choose a university.

Admission requirements

For a bachelor's, you need a school certificate after at least 12 years of study. In Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Egypt, school usually lasts 12 years. In Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan, it usually lasts 11, so under current rules you close the gap with one year of university at home or a foundation course.

For English-taught programmes, the consulate expects an English certificate of at least B2 in all four skills. Each university sets its own IELTS or TOEFL minimum. Italian-taught programmes require Italian at B2, checked by the university. The entrance test depends on the programme: since November 2025, the English versions of the TOLC tests have been replaced by CEnT-S, and some programmes accept the SAT. The university alone decides which documents it needs for enrollment.

Documents by country: apostille or legalization

• India, Pakistan (since 9 March 2023), Bangladesh (since 30 March 2025), Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain: an apostille from your own authorities is enough.
• Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan: apostille as well.
• Nigeria, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait: these countries are not part of the Apostille Convention, so documents need consular legalization at the Italian embassy.
• CIMEA: the comparability statement costs about €150, and the standard processing time is about 60 working days. For countries in the Lisbon Recognition Convention, it can be downloaded free from the ARDI database; only the authenticity check is paid.
• Before paying for CIMEA, check whether your university needs it at all. The consulate needs either CIMEA or a DOV, not both.

Student visa and documents

Your visa is a national type D visa, "Studio – Immatricolazione Università", valid for 365 days with multiple entries. Only the consulate decides on it. A validated Universitaly application does not guarantee an appointment or a visa. The consulate also weighs "migration risk": your family's financial situation, the quality of your previous education and whether your chosen programme makes sense for you.

The core file includes:

• Proof of funds of €10,179.85 per academic year, plus a return ticket or the money for one. The money must be legal and traceable, ideally in your own account. Funds from relatives up to the fourth degree are accepted.
• Accommodation: a hotel booking for the first period, a rental contract, a hosting declaration or a room already assigned in a residence. A pending dorm application does not count.
• Health insurance with no limits on emergency hospital care. A foreign policy needs a consular declaration that it is valid in Italy.
• An English certificate of at least B2 for English-taught programmes.
• Fingerprints, required for national visas since 11 January 2025.

Check the current visa fee with the visa center when you book. Uni-Italia, a non-profit association, also helps with Universitaly and the visa through its centers abroad. The full checklist is on our Italy student visa page.

What to know before you apply

Italy rewards careful applicants and punishes late ones. These are the points most agencies skip.

The paperwork runs in a chain

Universitaly, CIMEA or DOV, the consulate and then the permesso di soggiorno each depend on the previous step. The CIMEA comparability statement alone takes about 60 working days in standard processing. The non-EU quota plus 20% can run out before the official deadline. If you are not enrolled by 31 January of the academic year, your visa is cancelled. To renew the permesso, you must pass at least 1 exam in your first year and 2 in each following year. How we help: we build a dated plan for every step and start the slow ones first.

DSU is income-based, and losing it is expensive

The DSU scholarship is awarded by a regional agency based on family income and assets. For the current academic year, the national income ceiling is an ISEE of €28,339.88, and regions can set lower ones: ER.GO in Emilia-Romagna uses €25,000. The minimum grant for a student living away from home is €7,171.11 a year. First-year students must earn 20 credits (CFU) by 30 November of the following year. If you miss that, you repay everything you received, including meals, and lose your tuition exemption.

Two more catches. The regional budget may not cover every eligible student, so eligibility does not always mean money. Income documents must come from your country's authorities, with an apostille or legalization and an Italian translation; self-declarations are not accepted. DSU eligibility does not count toward your visa funds either. Only a scholarship already awarded does.

Housing is the tightest part

The regional agency ER.GO has 1,842 beds in Bologna, for a university with about 97,000 students. Politecnico di Milano's residences have 2,131 places for about 49,000 students, and the university warns that priority does not guarantee a room. Book a hotel or short rental for your first weeks so your visa file has valid accommodation, and search for a room from Italy.

The visa minimum is not your real budget

€10,179.85 a year is roughly €850 a month. Real costs in Milan are about €1,100–1,400 a month with a room. Cash is not accepted as proof, and a large one-off deposit just before the visa does not count: the consulate looks at the family's overall finances and income.

Check what diploma a course gives

At AFAM academies, not every course leads to a recognized diploma. NABA's Bachelor of Arts is a Diploma Accademico di I livello, recognized by the Italian Ministry of University (MUR) and equivalent to a university degree. NABA's Diploma Programmes are private courses that end with a certificate of attendance, not recognized by MUR. Istituto Marangoni's One-Year Intensive courses also give a certificate without MUR recognition. Marangoni's one-year "Master" is a first-level academic master, not a two-year master's degree. Degrees at the London campuses of both schools are British, not Italian. How we help: we check the exact status of every programme on your shortlist.

Living costs, work and student life

Rent is the biggest monthly cost, and it varies a lot by city. The figures below are average prices for a single room and our estimate of a full monthly budget with that room.

Politecnico di Milano estimates a monthly public transport pass at about €22 and suggests arriving with €200–250 in cash. Budget two fixed costs for your first year. The first residence permit costs €116.46 in fees, and voluntary registration with the national health service (SSN) costs €700 per calendar year. That €700 is not reduced by month and runs to 31 December.

A student permit lets you work up to 20 hours a week and 1,040 hours a year, and you cannot go over 20 hours in any single week. Treat part-time work as extra income, not as the basis of your budget. After graduating, you can apply for a 9 to 12-month permit to look for work or start a business. With a job offer of at least 20 hours a week for at least 6 months, a university student can convert a study permit into a work permit outside the annual quotas, even before graduating.

Universities in Italy we help you apply to

Not sure where to start? Book a free consultation with AcademGo. We will check your documents and school years, shortlist 3–4 programmes that match your budget and grades, and map your visa route with dates for the next intake. Message us through the form, WhatsApp or Telegram on our contacts page.