Degree-Seeking Students

All students must comply with Italian immigration law in order to study at JCU. We insist that you provide proof that you may legally study in Italy not only because the law requires us to do so, but also because it is the only way we can assure that your studies will not be jeopardized by problems with the Italian immigration authorities—failure to comply with Italian law can result in deportation and being banned from returning to Italy, among other penalties. For these reasons, and because we know that the procedures involved can be daunting, we do all that we can to support you in this process. If you have any questions that are not answered below, or simply would like to ask for assistance regarding these procedures, do not hesitate to contact our Permit to Stay Officer at ps@johncabot.edu or by phone at tel. +39-06-68191256.

All Degree-Seeking Students (including Freshmen and Transfer Students) fall under one of the following categories. Please click on the one that applies to you: 

Citizens of Non-European Union States
European Union Citizens 
Possessors of Diplomatic IDs (Issued by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) 
Italian Citizens

Degree-Seeking Students—Citizens of States That Are Not European Union Members

Visa
Permit To Stay (Permesso di soggiorno) 
Renewing Your Permit To Stay

Student Visas—Citizens of States That Are Not European Union Members

All students who are citizens of states that do not belong to the European Union are required to obtain a Student Visa before entering Italy. Obtaining a student visa is MANDATORY according to Italian law and this visa MUST be obtained BEFORE you come to Italy. It is your responsibility to apply for a student visa. Please take the time to read carefully the following information about this process. After having done so, should you have questions, do not hesitate to contact the Admissions Office at admissions@johncabot.edu or by phone at +39-06-681-9121 (Ask for Admissions).

For information about applying for a student visa beyond that contained on this page, including the address of the Consulate where you should file your application, check the website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministero degli Affari Esteri - Visti). When using this link, choose the following options: duration of stay is more than 90 days and Reason for Visit is Study and Application to Italian Universities.

Be sure to apply for your visa as soon as is possible as it will take at least one month and perhaps longer to obtain it. Also, be aware that at the time of your application for a visa, you must give your passport to the Italian Consulate to which you are applying.

If you are not 18 years old when applying for your Student Visa, you may not be able to obtain one unless you have a person residing in Italy who can function as your legal guardian. Please contact the Admissions Office at admissions@johncabot.edu or by phone at +39-06-681-9121 (Ask for Admissions) and your local Italian Consulate for further information.

The Ten (10) Documents You Will Need To Apply For A Student Visa
We have listed below the 10 documents that are usually needed to apply for a student visa. However, please be aware that Italian Consulates do not all follow identical procedures. For this reason, while we will be happy to provide the guidance and assistance we can, ultimately it is your responsibility to contact your local Italian Consulate in the geographic area of your legal home address to confirm what documentation you need to submit with your request for a student visa, and to complete the Consulate’s application to apply for your student visa. This is a very important part of the application process.

Please prepare to attend your appointment at the appropriate Italian Consulate Visa Office with the original copy of each of the items listed below, as well as at least one photocopy:

1) Visa application form—each Consulate Visa Office has their own form, on their own web site—you must log on to the respective web site, download their student visa application, complete it, and sign it. In some cases it must be notarized.

2) Recent passport-style photos (at least 6)

3) Passport or travel document valid for at least three months after the visa’s projected date of expiration.

4) Proof of means of support in Italy of not less than $1,000 per month of the academic year (about $12,000 for degree students; about $6,000 for semester visiting students). You must demonstrate having an adequate level of support by providing documents identifying personal or family resources. It is required that you obtain a letter from a bank official, on the Bank’s letterhead, sign by a Bank official, indicating your account balance for at least the amounts noted above. You may also submit official guarantees of financial resources from accredited Italian institutions/agencies, local governments, or foreign institutions or agencies considered trustworthy by the Italian Diplomatic Representation in your country.

If you have been awarded financial aid from John Cabot University, or are taking out any loans, then it is helpful to bring copies with you of these documents. Visiting students may also add to this documentation by securing confirmation of financial aid received through their home institution.

5) Evidence that you have the funds necessary to return to your home country. They will require you to show a return airline ticket for this purpose. You may want to purchase an airline ticket which will allow for flexibility of the return flight, with no penalty charges.

6) Health insurance valid in Italy: The JCU Visa Letter states that your private health insurance coverage is valid in Italy or that you will purchase an Italian health insurance policy. If you plan to use health insurance that you already possess and that is valid in Italy to fulfill Italian immigration requirements, you must obtain a written statement from your U.S. insurance company that your coverage is valid in Italy, during the dates you will be in Italy, and bring that statement with you to the Consulate when you apply for your visa (as well as your health card).

Please note that in order to use your U.S. health insurance, it is helpful if you can obtain a certified letter in Italian from the Consulate during your visa appointment, stating that your coverage is valid in Italy. If you do not have this official letter, when applying in Rome for your Permit to Stay, you may have to purchase an Italian insurance policy as the local authorities may not accept a document written in a foreign language (English). Not all Italian Consulates will provide you with this letter in Italian…If your home health policy does not cover you while in Italy, you must purchase an Italian Health Insurance Policy through Eduitalia. Please feel free to contact Mr. Vittorio Careri at v.careri@eduitalia.org or insurance@eduitalia.org The cost for a full semester is approximately $132.00. The cost for a complete year is about $200.00.

7) Appropriate lodgings in Italy: A declaration that you will have access to appropriate lodgings in Italy (included in the JCU Official Visa Request Letter, see below). Note: This means you will or have already secured housing through the JCU Housing Office by submitting your JCU housing reservation form and paying the $1,000 non-refundable housing deposit.

8) Official JCU Visa Request Letter: Once you have paid the Tuition Deposit, we will send you the Official Visa Request Letter, an official document you will need in order to apply for a student visa. This letter is written in Italian and has “Al Consolato Di Competenza” written at the top of the page.

It states the dates you will attend JCU, that you have satisfied all the academic requirements needed to study at JCU; identifies the major you are currently enrolled in; indicates the standard hours of study per week and the planned duration of your academic studies (usually 4 years); and attests that either your private health insurance coverage is valid abroad or you will purchase an Italian Health Insurance policy. It also states that you have a place to live while at JCU secured through the JCU Housing Office; and that you can provide proof of sufficient financial support for your stay in Italy.

The Visa Request Letter is a legal document. Once your visa is granted, the Italian Consulate will return this official letter to you (it will be attached either to your passport or to the other documentation you filed with your visa application). You will need the original JCU Visa Request Letter to obtain a Permit to Stay in Rome upon arrival. Be sure you remember to bring it with you to Italy and to the Mandatory Permit to Stay Workshop during Orientation.

9) JCU acceptance letter: JCU’s Admissions Office sends you the Acceptance Letter, written in English, once you are admitted to the University. Please keep this copy when it arrives at your permanent address! Do not throw it away or lose it!

10) Original birth certificate: You must bring an original copy of this document to the visa appointment.

To expedite the processing and return of your student visa, you may bring a self-addressed copy of a paid express envelope to leave with the Consulate official who interviews you. However, not all officials will take the envelope.

Please note that an acceptance to John Cabot University is not a guarantee that you will obtain the required student visa to attend JCU. The Italian Embassy and its Consulate Offices set their own requirements and it is imperative that you read these requirements on the appropriate web site. To find the Italian Consulate responsible for your permanent home address, please click on the following link:
http://www.ambwashingtondc.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Washington/Menu/Informazioni_e_servizi/Visti/ 


What Kind of Visa Should You Request?

We STRONGLY recommended that as a degree-seeking student who will need to maintain your legal permission to stay over the course of several years, you request a specific type of VISA when you apply. This visa is the multiple entry (MULT) D+C renewable/revolving student visa.

The multiple entry (MULT) D+C renewable/revolving student visa only needs to be requested once, and it will allow you to annually renew your Permit to Stay during your studies. As such, by requesting this visa, you can avoid having to request a new visa every year from your local Consulate. The multiple entry (MULT) D+C renewable/revolving student visa also permits you to spend longer periods in other Schengen Pact countries than other types of Italian student visas. (You should nonetheless keep in mind that even with this kind of visa you cannot stay for more than 90 days per visit and not more than a total of three months per semester in another Schengen Pact country). To obtain the multiple entry (MULT) D+C renewable/revolving student visa, you should clearly and specifically ask for this type of student visa on the visa request form.

Please note that if you obtain a single entry visa instead of a multiple entry visa, should you travel to non-EU countries during your stay you may experience difficulties returning to Italy. We also advise students who do not have US or EU passports to consult the appropriate consulate should they wish to travel outside of Italy during their studies here (e.g., for travel to Spain, such students should contact the Spanish Consulate) for information regarding visa and other travel document requirements.

Once you have obtained your student visa, we strongly recommend that you make at least three photocopies of both your passport and your visa. Should your passport be lost or stolen, these photocopies can expedite the process of requesting replacements. We advise you to leave at least one copy of these documents in a safe place at home and bring the others, along with the original documents, to Italy. More generally, be sure to bring copies of all of the documentation you submitted to the Italian Consulate for your visa application with you to Italy—you will need many of them when you apply for your Permit to Stay.

For a fee, Eduitalia, a document service company, can assist you in preparing the documentation needed to apply for your student visa. For more information, please go to Eduitalia's website.

For any questions or assistance with this process, please feel free to contact us!

Contact Information:
Rome Admissions Office John Cabot University Via della Lungara 233  00165 Rome, Italy Tel: +(39) 06-681-91270/271 Fax: +(39) 06-589-7429 email: admissions@johncabot.edu	U.S. Admissions Office John Cabot University 14100 Walsingham Road, Suite 36, n.10 Largo, FL 33774 Toll Free Phone Number 1-866-457-6160 email: usoffice@johncabot.edu

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Permit to Stay (Permesso di soggiorno)—Citizens of States That Are Not European Union Members

Upon your arrival with a valid student visa, you will need to apply for a Permit to Stay, or permesso di soggiorno, in order to legally live and study in Italy.

Within 8 working days from your date of entry into Italy, you must report your presence on Italian territory to the local Central Police Station (the Questura) of the province in which you are staying and apply for a Permit to Stay (permesso di soggiorno). Please note that you will be required to be fingerprinted as part of the process of requesting a Permit to Stay.

To facilitate the process of obtaining the Permit to Stay, you must provide the designated JCU Staff member with the following upon your arrival in Italy:

a) 4 identical, passport-sized photos
b) 2 photocopies of your passport (every page, including info and blank pages)
c) 2 photocopies of your visa
d) 2 photocopies of a medical insurance policy* valid in Italy
e) 2 photocopies of your Official JCU Visa Request letter stamped by the Italian Consulate
f) 2 photocopies of a credit card, bank statement or other documents demonstrating adequate means of support

Please bring these items with you to the Mandatory Permit to Stay Workshop at JCU during orientation. We will help you prepare the application for your Permit to Stay during that Workshop, but in order for us to do so you will need to bring all of the materials needed for the application.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this process, please contact our Permit to Stay Officer in the Student Services Office at ps@johncabot.edu or by phone at tel. +39-06-68191256.

*SPECIAL NOTE ON HEALTH INSURANCE

The Italian authorities will accept private U.S. or other non-Italian medical insurance only if the Insurance company issues a letter summarizing the conditions of the policy and stating that there are no restrictions on the validity of the policy and that it is valid in Italy (see the discussion of health insurance under Student Visa). If your health insurance is not valid in Italy then you may purchase an Italian health insurance policy (INA) through Platform3000 (contact Eduitalia for information at insurance@eduitalia.org ). This Italian health insurance provides emergency health care coverage for students in all public hospitals.

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Renewing Your Permit To Stay

The Permit to Stay card is valid for one year and you must renew it every year that you attend John Cabot. The process for renewing the permit to stay is very similar to the process of first requesting one. Please note that even if you have not yet received your Permit To Stay, you should request a renewal at least 30 days before its projected expiration (for assistance in determining that projected expiration contact our Permit to Stay Officer in Student Services at tel. +39-06-68191256 or at ps@johncabot.edu).

To renew your Permit to Stay, you will need to prepare a new Postal Kit for requesting a Permit to Stay, checking “rinnovo” instead of “rilascio” (as you did in your first request for a Permit to Stay). In doing so, you will need the following:

a) A photocopy of your passport
b) A photocopy of proof of valid health insurance for the year in question
c) A photocopy of an enrollment letter for the academic year (you may request this from the Registrar’s Office)
d) A photocopy of your expired Permit to Stay card
e) A Revenue stamp valued at €14.62 (you may purchase this from Student Services, as well as at most Tabacchi stores and the Post Office).
f) The red and white receipt from the postal order (bollettino) to the Italian Police (the Questura) valued at €28.60
g) €30 to make a payment to the Italian Postal Service for processing your application

Once you have prepared these materials, submit the completed kit along with your passport to the post office.

IMPORTANT! Please note that while the post office and police only retain photocopies of these documents, you need to bring the originals with you for the police to review.

When you complete the process of requesting the renewal of your Permit to Stay at the Post Office, you will receive a receipt that states that you have filed for a renewal. Be sure to keep this receipt (or a photocopy of it) on your person at all times.

For further assistance please contact our Permit to Stay Officer in Student Services at tel. +39-06-68191256 or at ps@johncabot.edu.

Please note that a Permit to Stay for Study purposes can be converted, before its expiration date, into a Permit to Stay for Work. Contact careerservices@johncabot.edu for more information about working in Italy.

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Official Registration of Presence In Italy—European Union Citizens

As an European Union citizen, you do not have to request a Visa or a Permit to Stay. In order to enroll in your courses and start your academic career at JCU, you will simply need to provide a valid EU ID/Passport.

However, all EU students who plan to study in Italy for more than three months are required to notify the Registry Office (Ufficio Anagrafe) of the reason for their stay in Italy and of their local address. Our staff member will make an appointment for you to do this shortly after Registration. You need to complete this process as soon as possible after your arrival. In order to register for courses after your first semester of study at JCU, you must provide proof that you have registered at the Ufficio Anagrafe.

To carry out this official registration you will need the following documents:

a) A valid European Union ID/Passport (please also bring a photocopy with you).

b) Proof of valid health insurance. As an EU citizen you should have received from your National Health Service an Insurance Card that entitles you to medical and hospital assistance throughout the European Union. Be sure to bring it with you to Italy. If you do not have this card and cannot provide documentation from your National Health Service or a private insurance company proving that you are covered by medical insurance valid in Italy you may purchase an Italian health insurance policy (INA) through Platform3000 (contact Eduitalia for information at insurance@eduitalia.org). This Italian health insurance provides emergency health care coverage for students in all public hospitals.

c) A bank statement or other document that demonstrates that you are financially independent. If you do not have an Italian bank account you may fill out a self-certification form in the Registry Office; you may need to support such a self-certification with a copy of a foreign bank statement or other documents demonstrating your financial independence.

d) A letter of enrollment stating you are a full-time student at JCU. This letter is issued by the Registrar. You may request it in person after you register for classes.

Please note that there are several Registry Offices in Rome, and the one that you will need to register your presence at depends on your address in Italy. For assistance in identifying the Registry Office that you should go to and further guidance please contact our Permit to Stay Officer in Student Services at tel. +39-06-68191256 or at ps@johncabot.edu.

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Possessors of a Diplomatic ID (Issued by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

If you have a valid Diplomatic ID card issued by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministero degli Affari Esteri) you do not have to request a visa or a Permit to Stay in order to study in Italy. In order to enroll in your courses and to start your academic career at JCU, you will simply have to provide a copy of your valid Diplomatic ID. (Be sure to check the expiration date of the ID card—if it is expired, you will not be allowed to register until you provide us with an updated one.)

Only Diplomatic IDs issued by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs exempt you from having to request a visa and a permit to stay. Should you be the bearer of a Diplomatic ID issued by any other authority, you must follow the same procedures as other non-European Union citizens or European Union citizens. For those guidelines, click Non-European Union Citizens or European Union Citizens.

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Italian Citizens

If you possess a valid Italian Passport or National Identity Card specifying that you are an Italian citizen, you do not have to request a visa or a Permit to Stay, even if you do not currently live in Italy. In order to enroll in your courses and to become part of the JCU Community, you will simply have to notify our Permit to Stay Officer (ps@johncabot.edu) and show us your original valid Italian ID/Passport when you come to orientation at JCU. In addition, please bring your Italian ID or Passport with you to registration to insure that you are allowed to register for courses.