Skip to main content

Italy - Visa Procedure - Uttar Pradesh


These are the following processes to be done to come to Italy for studies.

1. Legalisation/attestation of your degree/provisional certificate
2. Pre-enrolment
3. Declaration of Value (DOV)
4. Visa Application
5. EDISU scholarship document preparation

The processes have to be done in the same sequence as mentioned above.


1. Legalisation/attestation of your degree/provisional certificate:

Your degree or provisional certificate (only in case you are in the final year of studies and haven’t received your degree certificate yet) has to be attested at three levels as mentioned below:
I. University level
II. State government level
III. Central government level

I. & II. : First you need to get the HRD attestation for your degree certificate. This is done at the Secretariat in Lucknow.

Documents Required:
  • One colour photograph (preferably passport size and take glue with you).
  • Appointment letter from a company abroad (original and a photocopy)  OR  Letter of acceptance from a foreign university (original and a photocopy).
  • Original passport and a photocopy.
  • Highest degree (or)  one on the basis of which you were selected for the job or  for higher foreign education) in original and 1 photocopy.
  • An Affidavit (will be made in Lucknow).

The photocopies can be self attested. Remember that original documents are mandatory! Don't go without the original documents.

Location & Getting there:
Suppose if you land at the Lucknow railway station called "Charbagh", you can take an auto (can also be shared), ask the auto driver to drop  at "Vidhan sabha, Gate 9".  Shared auto would be around 6 per passenger, private auto costs around 40-50. There's also  mini buses which goes towards the VidhanSabha, but auto is convenient. VidhanSabha is about 3 km from Charbagh.

Unfortunately if the auto driver doesn't know Gate  9, tell him to take you to VidhanSabha. Get down at VidhanSabha, you'll have to walk a bit in a circle around the VidhanSabha. Ask anyone around there for Gate 9. The gates are marked with numbers, so it would not be a problem to locate.

Timings:

Try to be there early as 10 AM, this is the best time. Although there's a notice pasted there that the timings are from 12 PM to 2:30 PM (submission time) and 5:30-6:30 PM  (receiving time). From the station it hardly takes 10-12 mins, then another 10 mins for a first timer to find the Gate  9. The form will be available at around 10 AM  at Counter 5, which is just beside the Counter 6.

HRD attestation counter is the Counter No. 6. The counters are located adjacent to the Gate 9, NOT inside, so you don't have to enter the Gate. 

Procedure:

Take the form at counter 5 which is in tough Hindi!,you can fill it in English. Phew! Paste the photo and fill out the columns, mentioning the Name, Father's Name, Destination(Country) , the
reason for travel, are you still a student?, etc. and finally sign the declaration.

Now, get to the Main road again, ask a rickshaw to take you to the Family Court (the smaller court) near the "Jay Bharat" Cinema (you'll pass by Novelty cinema, its a landmark). 5 per passenger. Get down at the Family court. Go to any advocate and ask that you need an affidavit for the HRD attestation. The advocate would say that he'll get the whole procedure done for you. But beware!! DON'T do that! I heard students that they charge even 500!. The procedure is really easy you could do it by yourself. Mention that you need ONLY the affidavit.

Try to negotiate the price, you can make it to 70. They'll already have the format with them. He'll look at your passport and fill out the necessary details. Mention the Country of Study, it'll be written on the affidavit. He'll take a print-out and stamp some seals and signatures.Take the affidavit and your documents back with you  back to VidhanSabha Gate 9.

The person at the Counter 5 can help you with the procedure. He'll  check whether the documents are in-order, but he can’t submit them.

Now you can take all the documents and put them with the original passport and hand it over to the officer at the Counter 6.

Documents that you should submit at Counter 6:

I. Original passport
II. Original degree
III. Affidavit
IV. Copy of Passport
V. Copy of Degree
VI. Copy of Call Letter

The Officer at Counter 6 would check whether all the documents are in place and keep the documents with him.The procedure hardly takes an hour. Anyways, your documents should be submitted around 1:30 PM. Now the Counter 6 returns your documents from 5:30 PM up to 6:30 PM. Until then, from about 1:30 PM to 5 PM, you can visit places in Lucknow or have lunch, etc. But be sure to be at Counter 6 by 5:30 PM. Just tell your name and other details  when the officer asks, he'll return your passport and the attested degree.

Your Degree is attested by the Ministry of HRD, U.P.

Remember that you can do MEA only in the state where you did your studies or MEA, New Delhi. You cannot do MEA in any other states . HRD can only be done in the state where you did your studies. 
Read this link for info regarding Apostille: http://mea.gov.in/apostille.htm

Note: You can start this attestation activities only with your University admit letter.


2. Pre-enrolment:

Pre-enrolment process takes place at the Italian Consulate general in New Delhi. It is to confirm the number of candidates willing to take up studies in Italy from the big list of all those who got admit letters. https://ambnewdelhi.esteri.it/ambasciata_newdelhi/it/

Go through the above link as they are very important in preparing the documents for your pre-enrolment.
The mandatory documents required for pre enrolment are as per following:

A) Declaration of Value (if already obtained) OR Original University Degree completed with Apostille (for the students who completed graduation or HSC in the years before 2018) (See link http://www.vfsattestation.com/attestation.asp) Or Provisional 2018 with Apostille (previous years provisional will not be accepted).

B) Certificate issued by the University certifying the Exams passed (academic transcript in case you have your degree certificate / consolidated mark sheet in case you are in your final year of studies)*

C) Two passport-size photographs (white background) for the Photo Authentication*

D) Two original Pre-enrolment forms* (available in the below link)

E)  Original Passport along with two photocopies (first and last page)*

F) Apostille Degree/Provisional certificate translated into Italian language. (Original copy, NOT photocopy).

First, your degree/provisional certificate has to be translated in Italian by an authorised translator like the one below:

The Indo Italian Chamber Of Commerce,
50-E, Chandragupta Marg, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi 110021.

Provide a photocopy of the Apostille degree/Provisional Certificate and have your certificate translated in Italian Language with the seal of the Agency.

While you are the getting the docs ready, monitor the Consulate General of Italy, New Delhi website for any updates on the publication of dates for pre-enrolment. Pre-enrolment can be done only on the dates mentioned in the website. The sooner you arrange your documents, the earlier you can complete your pre-enrolment and the earlier you can apply and receive your study visa. Thus the  you can come to Italy earlier and apply for EDISU/ DSU scholarships. There may be cases when you have done everything well in advance but delays are caused by VFS, Consulate, University etc. Just make sure you complete your works as soon as possible to prevent any delays in arrival.

On the day of pre-enrolment, there will be a huge crowd outside the Consulate in New Delhi. It is going to be a very hectic day/process but there is no other option but to complete your pre-enrolment that day. Take the necessary documents as mentioned in the website https://ambnewdelhi.esteri.it/ambasciata_newdelhi/it/

The pre-enrolment will happen as a visa interview about why you chose to study in Italy, the motivations of choosing a particular course, the source of funds, etc.,. Be positive and answer confidently. It is not as complicated as it sounds. Once your pre-enrolment is completed, you will get a document authorising your photograph and your identity. With this, the pre-enrolment process at the Consulate is completed and these documents must be given with the other documents while applying for visa. 



3. Declaration of Value (DOV) preparation

Declaration of Value (DOV) is a document made in Italian language which certifies that your degree/provisional certificate is legitimate. This is done by The Consulate General of Italy in New Delhi.

Italy Visa Application Centre,
VFS Global Services Pvt. Ltd,
Shivaji Stadium Metro Station,
Mezzanine Level Baba Kharak Singh Marg,
Connaught Place New Delhi – 110001


For this, take the already translated document(Degree Certificate and Consolidated Mark Sheet) along with your original certificates to VFS Italy,New Delhi. Before taking the application for DOV, you should do a  verification of your document at VFS which will cost 2000/-. You  can now pay for your document verification and apply for DOV at VFS Italy. They say it takes 15 working days to get DOV but it may take even as long as a month or more. It's advised to apply at the earliest as it is a mandatory document for visa application. Note that you should submit your original degree/provisional certificate while applying for DOV and you won’t get degree/provisional certificate until you get the DOV. 

The status of your DOV application can be tracked through the link: http://www.vfs-italy.co.in/delhi/index.html



4. Visa Application

The next step is to apply for study visa. You will be applying for a Long Term “D” type Study Visa. Check out the following link for more information. http://www.vfs-italy.co.in/delhi/index.html

DOV is a mandatory document to apply for visa and if your DOV is delayed, you may not have even your degree/provisional certificate to apply for visa. You may or may not have your DOV and provisional certificate while going for pre-enrolment due to delay from VFS/Consulate. In such a situation, you have to mail the Incoming Mobility Office/International Admissions for polito students (international.admission@polito.it) seeking permission to apply for visa without DOV explaining them your situation. Only if they send you a mail stating you may proceed with applying for visa without DOV, VFS will accept your visa application. Take a printout of that mail and attach it with your documents for visa application and submit at VFS.

Remember that, the International Admissions office doesn’t send that mail that easily and they have a cut-off date after only which they will be ready to send the mail to everyone who request for it. Wait for 15 working days from DOV application as mentioned in the website, track your application once from VFS chat support, know the status and then send the University a mail with Consulate and VFS email in cc. Send them emails once every four days so that your request will not be missed when they prepare to send the permission mails to everyone.

You need to take overseas medical insurance for a period of one year as a part of your application documents for visa. Make sure the insurance validity starts from the day you are travelling to Europe (the day of your flight from India). 

Visa application requires a prior appointment at VFS. Use the below link to register and create an appointment. Take a printout of the appointment while going. Like mentioned earlier, it’s better to take an early appointment, may be the first on that day to avoid delays. Appointment is only to let you inside VFS office. 

Now that you have finished the visa application, all you have to do is to track your visa application at the link in VFS website or through VFS chat support.



5. EDISU Scholarship application

Please click here to have a look into the detailed information on Scholarship. 

Courtesy: Special Thanks - Mr. Sawan Singh [ M.Sc. Electronics Engg, Politecnico di Torino - 2017 ]

Comments