Studying Medicine in Italy in English: Admission Test, Seats and Costs
How non-EU applicants get into English-taught medicine at Italian public universities, what it costs and what to prepare for the next intake.
Non-EU students can study medicine in Italy in English at public universities, but only through a competitive entrance test and a small, separate quota of seats. For the current intake, that test is the IMAT, held on 29 September; the format for the next intake has not been officially announced yet.
Below: how admission works today, how many seats non-EU applicants have, what the Italian-language reform changed and what the degree costs. Every figure is given with the academic year it applies to.
If you are searching for "MBBS in Italy", note one thing first. Italy does not award an MBBS. The degree is a single-cycle Medicine and Surgery degree (laurea magistrale a ciclo unico), and how your home country recognizes it is a separate question we cover below. For the wider picture, start with our guide to studying in Italy.
How the IMAT works for English-taught medicine
In the current cycle, English-taught medicine still uses a national entrance test. The Italian-language reform did not replace it. According to the University of Bologna, the test takes place on 29 September at 13:30 and lasts 100 minutes. Registration ran on Universitaly from 26 August to 9 September.
The paper has 60 multiple-choice questions, each with five options. Scoring is approximately +1.5 for a correct answer, −0.4 for a wrong one and 0 for a blank, for a maximum of about 90 points. Blind guessing costs you points, so practice deciding when to skip.
| Section (University of Bologna) | Questions |
|---|---|
General knowledge and reading skills | 4 |
Logical reasoning | 5 |
Biology | 23 |
Chemistry | 15 |
Physics and mathematics | 13 |
Total | 60 |
Biology and chemistry carry 38 of the 60 questions. That is where most of your preparation time should go.
For the next intake, the ministry (MUR) has said it will publish the admission procedure for medicine in a separate note. Nobody can yet confirm whether English-taught programs will keep the same test or move to a new model. Build your study plan on the current syllabus, and treat any date for the next intake that you see online as unofficial until the ministry publishes it.
Seats for non-EU applicants living abroad
Each university sets a separate quota for non-EU citizens who live outside Italy. These quotas are small. At the University of Bologna, the English-taught Medicine and Surgery program currently has 20 seats for non-EU applicants from abroad and 140 for EU and equivalent applicants.
Across Italy, the current ministerial decree reportedly sets around 1,362 seats for non-EU applicants in English-taught medicine, about 11 in dentistry and about 7 in veterinary medicine. These are approximate figures from secondary sources and change every year.
Two rules shape your strategy:
- On Universitaly you list one program for your pre-enrollment. The visa and residence permit are issued for that one course.
- As a non-EU applicant from abroad, you generally compete only for the seats of the university named in your pre-enrollment. Seats are not reassigned to other universities for you.
Choosing the university is therefore a strategic decision. Read more on our University of Bologna page.
Italian-taught medicine after the reform
The 2025 reform (Law no. 26 of 14 March 2025) changed access only to Italian-taught Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine. Instead of an entrance test, students take an open first semester. It is currently called "semestre aperto": three 6-credit courses in biology, chemistry and physics, then exams and a national ranking.
In the current cycle, the semestre aperto exams are on 10 December and 11 January. Non-EU applicants from abroad still go through Universitaly pre-enrollment and need Italian at B2 level. If you do not already speak Italian well, the English-taught route is the realistic one.
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Tuition fees and living costs
At Italian public universities, fees depend on the university and on your family income (ISEE), and some universities apply a fixed fee to non-EU students whose family lives abroad.
| University and program | Fee rule | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
University of Bologna, Medicine and Surgery (English) | Family income ISEE up to €27,000 | €157.04 (fixed part only) |
University of Bologna, Medicine and Surgery (English) | Maximum, or no ISEE submitted | €3,315 |
University of Padua, medicine (fee group B) | Non-EU students with family abroad | €2,990 + regional tax up to €192 + €16 stamp |
University of Padua, medicine (fee group B) | Citizens of countries on the ministry's list of particularly poor countries (includes Bangladesh) | €996.66 + regional tax + stamp |
Fees for the next academic year have not been published yet. Treat the table as a reference for budgeting.
Living costs are usually the bigger part of the budget. As a rough guide, expect about €950–1,250 a month in Rome and Bologna and about €1,100–1,400 in Milan, room included. A single room costs on average about €585 a month in Bologna, €615 in Rome and €704 in Milan.
Medicine fees at Bologna and Padua
EUR per year, current fees
- Bologna, maximum or no ISEE€3,315
- Padua, non-EU with family abroad€2,990
- Padua, particularly poor countries€996.66
- Bologna, ISEE up to €27,000€157.04
How to apply for English-taught medicine: the route
Check eligibility early — you need at least 12 years of school education. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Egypt generally have 12-year systems. If your country has a compulsory national university entrance exam, the university can ask for its result.
Prepare your English certificate — the consulate requires at least B2 in all four skills; each university sets its own minimum IELTS or TOEFL score.
Choose one university — compare non-EU quotas and fees, because you can list only one program on Universitaly.
Submit pre-enrollment on Universitaly — the official portal is free. Each university sets its own window, so there is no single national opening date. A university can validate only up to its foreign-student quota plus 20%, after which the portal blocks new validations. Apply as early as the window allows.
Register for and sit the admission test — follow the dates in the ministry's note for the next intake once it is published.
Documents: school certificate, CIMEA or DOV, apostille
For the visa, your school certificate must come with either two CIMEA certificates (comparability and authenticity verification) or a Declaration of Value (DOV) from the Italian embassy. A DOV covers comparability only, unless it also confirms authenticity. The documents needed for enrollment itself are decided by the university.
CIMEA fees are approximately €150 for a statement of comparability and about €65 for authenticity verification, with a standard processing time of about 60 working days. If your country is a party to the Lisbon Recognition Convention, the comparability statement can be downloaded free from the ARDI database.
How your documents are legalized depends on your country:
Apostille or consular legalization
- Apostille: Pakistan (since 9 March 2023), India, Bangladesh (since 30 March 2025), Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain.
- Consular legalization at the Italian embassy: Nigeria, Egypt, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait.
- Translations into Italian are usually required alongside the legalized documents. Check the checklist of your consulate.
What to know before you apply
The process is slow and strict. These points catch applicants out most often.
Risks and how to handle them
- Bureaucracy runs on long timelines. Universitaly pre-enrollment, CIMEA or DOV, the consulate and then the permesso di soggiorno each take weeks. A university's validation does not guarantee a visa appointment or a visa. Start document work at least a year before the intake; we build the calendar with you. See our Universitaly admission guide.
- The financial minimum is higher than many agents say. The consulate requires €10,179.85 per academic year, plus money for a return ticket. Funds must be legal and traceable, ideally in your own account; relatives up to the fourth degree can sponsor you. Cash and a one-off large deposit just before the visa do not count as proof.
Visa, arrival and staying on track
The study visa (type D) requires the funds above, accommodation proof, health insurance with no cap on emergency hospitalization, and fingerprints. If your entrance exam is still ahead when you apply, the consulate can issue a conditional D visa for 100 days. Full details are on our student visa page.
After arrival, apply for the residence permit within 8 working days. The first permit for up to one year costs €116.46 in fees. Voluntary registration with the national health service (SSN) costs €700 per calendar year.
Your permit is renewed only if you progress: at least one exam in the first year and at least two in each following year. If you are not enrolled by 31 January of the academic year, the visa is canceled.
IELTS: the score you need and where you can skip it
Checked thresholds at universities across nine destinations, accepted alternatives, and the cases where no certificate is needed.
- A table of thresholds at 20 universities: bachelor's, master's, medicine
- Where the university's own English exam replaces IELTS
- TOEFL, PTE, Duolingo, MUET: what counts
- Five mistakes that force a retake
Planning to apply for medicine in Italy? Book a free consultation with AcademGo. We will check your school certificate against the 12-year rule, compare non-EU quotas and fees across universities, and build your calendar for CIMEA, Universitaly and the visa. Write to us through the form, WhatsApp or Telegram on our contacts page.
