Scuola & famiglia

Enrolling at a Rome University as a Foreign Student: The Practical Guide

Universitaly, study visa, Italian language test — everything you need to sort out before classes start at Sapienza, Tor Vergata, Roma Tre, or LUMSA.

12 May 2026·

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In a nutshell

Enrolling at a Rome university as a foreign national is absolutely possible, but it requires planning. If you are a non-EU citizen still living in your home country, the process starts months before you arrive in Italy: pre-registration on the Universitaly portal, a study visa, and only then formal enrolment. If you are already in Italy on a valid residence permit, the procedure is much simpler and works very much like it does for Italian students.

At a glance


Cost	Universitaly pre-registration: free. DiSCo Lazio regional fee: €140/year. Revenue stamp (marca da bollo): €16. Tuition fees: from €0 (full waiver) to approx. €2,900–3,500/year (state universities)
Timeline	Pre-registration: March–July. Enrolment: July–November. Academic year start: October
Where in Rome	Sapienza (Piazzale Aldo Moro 5), Tor Vergata (Via Cracovia 50), Roma Tre (Via Ostiense 159), LUMSA (Via della Traspontina 21)
Documents	Passport, foreign diploma with DV or CIMEA Statement, Codice Fiscale (Italian tax ID), B2 Italian certification (for Italian-taught programmes)

Your starting point determines everything

Italy's Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR) classifies foreign students into four categories. Identifying yours is the first step.

If you are an EU citizen, or a non-EU citizen already in Italy on a valid permesso di soggiorno (residence permit for non-EU citizens) — whether for work, family, long-term residence, asylum, or subsidiary protection — you follow the same procedure as Italian students: pick your programme, register on the university portal, upload your documents. No Universitaly, no visa.

If you are a non-EU citizen still living in your home country, you follow the international route through Universitaly, the official MUR-CINECA portal. This is the category that requires the most time and the most steps.

Italians living abroad (AIRE registrants) with a foreign qualification fall into a fourth category and follow the standard procedure without Universitaly.

The Universitaly route, step by step

This is the path for non-EU students who are outside Italy at the time of application.

Phase 1 — Pre-registration (March–July)

Go to universitaly.it, create an account, and fill in the application: choose your Rome university, your degree programme, and the Italian consulate responsible for your country. Upload your passport, foreign diploma, translations, the Dichiarazione di Valore (DV — an official evaluation of your foreign qualification issued by the Italian consulate) or a CIMEA Statement (the equivalent verification issued by Italy's national qualifications-recognition centre), and any Italian language certification. The application is sent simultaneously to the university, the consulate, and the MUR. The university checks your academic eligibility and records an academic approval on the portal.

Phase 2 — Study visa at the consulate

With the academic approval in hand, book an appointment at the Italian consulate (visa section) via Prenot@Mi. Bring: the Universitaly pre-registration, the academic approval, health insurance, proof of accommodation in Rome, proof of sufficient funds (approx. €6,358/year per the MAECI table), and your travel booking. The consulate issues a national type-D study visa, valid for up to one year.

Phase 3 — Arriving in Italy

Within 8 days of entering Italy you must apply for a study permesso di soggiorno using the yellow postal kit, then present yourself at the Questura (police headquarters — which also handles residence permits) di Roma in Via Patini. Skipping this step means you are undocumented even if you entered legally on a valid visa. The Codice Fiscale (Italian tax ID — your personal 16-character code, used for virtually everything) is usually assigned at the Questura.

Phase 4 — Language test and enrolment

In September you sit the Italian language test — unless you already hold a B2 certification such as CILS, CELI, or PLIDA. Without passing it, enrolment is blocked. If your programme has an admission test (TOLC-I for engineering, TOLC-E for economics, TOLC-MED for medicine) you must sit that in the preceding months. Finally, upload the final documents to the university portal, pay the first tuition instalment, and receive your student registration number.

If you are already in Italy

For EU students or non-EU students already lawfully present:

Find your programme on the university website.
Check whether an admission test is required.
Register on the university's online portal (Infostud for Sapienza, Delphi for Tor Vergata, GOMP for Roma Tre, MyLumsa for LUMSA).
Upload your documents: diploma with DV or CIMEA Statement, ISEE Parificato (the ISEE income-and-wealth indicator calculated for people with foreign-source income) if you have income abroad, and any required certified translations.
Sit the admission test if required.
Pay the first tuition instalment by the deadline (usually October–November).

English-language programmes

Sapienza, Tor Vergata, Roma Tre, and LUMSA all offer degree programmes taught in English. A few examples: Medicine and Surgery and Global Humanities at Sapienza; Global Governance at Tor Vergata; International Studies at Roma Tre; Business Administration at LUMSA. These programmes do not require a B2 Italian certificate, but do require a B2 English certification (IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge). The Universitaly pre-registration is still mandatory for non-EU students residing abroad.

Mistakes to avoid

Skipping Universitaly pre-registration. For non-EU citizens living abroad it is compulsory — without it the consulate will not issue a study visa. Universitaly is free. Do not pay agencies claiming to guarantee enrolment.
Not applying for the permesso di soggiorno within 8 days. Your entry visa is not enough: without a residence permit you are undocumented even if you landed legally.
Arriving without the DV or CIMEA Statement. The university cannot recognise your foreign qualification without one of these documents. Request it months in advance — processing times are long.

Special cases

Restricted-access programmes (Medicine, Architecture, healthcare professions): nationally capped programmes (numero programmato) reserve a separate quota of places for non-EU students residing abroad, with a separate ranking from the Italian students' list. For Medicine, from 2025/26 a "filter semester" (semestre filtro) is in force — always check the latest MUR decree.

Credit recognition from a foreign university: if you have already completed courses abroad, you can ask the teaching secretariat for a course abbreviation. You'll need the original transcript, course syllabi, and certified translations. The decision rests with the Degree Programme Council.

Refugees and people with international protection: they are treated the same as Italian students (category 2). If academic documents are impossible to retrieve due to flight from persecution, the CIMEA Background Paper procedure exists. All Rome universities participate in the UNICORE network for refugees.

Erasmus and double-degree students: no full enrolment or student visa is needed (an entry visa is still required for non-EU nationals). The process is managed by your home university's International Mobility Office under its bilateral agreement with the Rome institution.

Official sources

Legal references: D.Lgs. 25/07/1998 n. 286 art. 39, DPR 31/08/1999 n. 394 art. 39, Legge 30/12/2010 n. 240, Circolare MUR annuale "Procedure per l'ingresso, il soggiorno e l'immatricolazione degli studenti internazionali".

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