Study visa and study residence permit
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Visto e permesso di soggiorno per motivi di studio as of 2026-08-04[2][11] |
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| Official name (English) | Study visa and study residence permit as of 2026-08-04[1][2] Translation; Italian sources use 'visto per studio' and 'permesso di soggiorno per studio'. |
| Legal basis | D.Lgs. 286/1998 (TU immigrazione) artt. 39 and 39-bis (transposing Directive (EU) 2016/801), art. 5(3)(c); post-study job-search permit under art. 39-bis.1; DPR 394/1999 art. 14 as of 2026-08-04[11][12][13] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU as of 2026-08-04[10][11] The study entry rules apply to third-country nationals; TU art. 39(5-quinquies)(c) excludes family members of Union citizens exercising free movement and persons enjoying equivalent free-movement rights from the intra-EU study mobility provisions. Blocs are not otherwise named. |
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Permit terms
| Initial duration | Not applicable TU art. 5(3)(c): the study permit may not be shorter than the period of attendance of the course, including where that is multi-year, subject to an annual assessment of academic progress. No fixed statutory term – see initial_duration_basis. For traineeships the permit lasts as stated in the training agreement (art. 39-bis(1-quater)); for school exchanges and minors it may not exceed one year or the length of the programme if shorter. |
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| How the initial term is set | matches the course |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-08-04[10][13] TU art. 39(3)(b): the implementing regulation governs renewal of the study permit, including for continuing studies on a different course; art. 5(3)(c) subjects continuation to the annual assessment of academic progress. |
| Maximum total duration | Not established from a qualifying source Not fixed. The permit runs for the course period and may be extended by a further twelve months beyond the end of the completed programme under TU art. 5(3)(c) and art. 39-bis.1. |
| Work rights | hours capped as of 2026-08-04[5][10] DPR 394/1999 art. 14(4): a study or training permit allows subordinate work for no more than 20 hours per week, which may be accumulated over 52 weeks subject to an annual ceiling of 1,040 hours. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
Requirements
| Enrolment status required | admitted as of 2026-08-04[2][11] TU art. 39-bis(1)(a)-(b): entry is allowed to foreigners 'ammessi a frequentare' the relevant courses; university applicants complete pre-enrolment before the visa is issued and matriculate after arrival. |
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| Means requirement | EUR 10,179.85 per year as of 2026-08-05[1][2] RESOLVED 2026-08-05 (dispute dissolved): both the Embassy in Tunis and the Consulate General in Paris now state EUR 10,179.85 annually for academic year 2026/2027. Tunis computes it as EUR 783.06/month x 13 instalments, citing TU art. 4(3) and Annex A point 17 of D.I. 850/2011 (published 2026-06-01); Paris quotes the annual figure directly ('euro 10.179,85 annuali'). At research time (2026-08-04) Paris instead showed EUR 534.41/month = EUR 6,947.33/year, which equalled thirteen instalments of the 2024 assegno sociale and was evidently stale. The 13-instalment annualisation of the underlying reference figure remains B1/A2 territory. |
| Work-hours cap | 20 as of 2026-08-04[5][10] Hours per week (DPR 394/1999 art. 14(4)), accumulable over 52 weeks within an annual ceiling of 1,040 hours. |
| Post-study route exists | Yes as of 2026-08-04[12][13] TU art. 39-bis.1: a graduate of an Italian doctorate, university master, three-year or specialist degree, first- or second-level academic diploma or higher technical diploma may, at the expiry of the study permit, declare immediate availability for work to the employment services and request a permit to look for a job or start a business consistent with the completed programme; it may be converted into a work permit where the conditions are met. |
| Post-study permit duration | 12 months as of 2026-08-04[12][13] TU art. 39-bis.1(1): a permit of not less than nine and not more than twelve months; art. 5(3)(c) frames it as an extension of up to twelve months beyond the end of the completed programme. Issue is also conditional on the healthcare-registration obligation of art. 34(3); the income condition is recorded separately at post_study_income_requirement. |
| Post-study income requirement | 1 × social allowance (annualised total) per year as of 2026-08-04[8][12] TU art. 39-bis.1: issue of the post-study job-search/business permit is conditional on the income requirement of art. 29(3)(b) – for an applicant with no family members, one times the annual assegno sociale (13 monthly instalments; see it-assegno-sociale.annualisation_factor). |
Process
| Where to apply from | from abroad only as of 2026-08-04[2][11] The type D study visa is applied for at the Italian consulate; the residence permit is then requested in Italy. TU art. 39(4-bis) and (4-ter) allow holders of a study authorisation issued by another member state to enter and stay for up to 360 days without an Italian visa or permit; DPR 394/1999 art. 14(6) allows conversion of a study permit into a work permit from within Italy, within the quotas. |
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| Fees |
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| Quota |
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Physical presence
| maximum consecutive absence | 6 months · to keep the permit as of 2026-08-04[4] DPR 394/1999 art. 13(4): a residence permit is not renewed or extended after a continuous interruption of stay in Italy of more than six months (more than half the validity period for permits of two years or longer), save serious proven reasons. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-08-04[7][8] TU art. 28(1): the right to family unity covers holders of a residence permit of at least one year issued for study. TU art. 28(1-bis) requires two years of uninterrupted legal residence before reuniting a spouse, a dependent adult child or a parent. |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, minor child, adult dependent child, parent as of 2026-08-04[8] TU art. 29(1): spouse not legally separated and at least 18; unmarried minor children (including those of the spouse or born outside marriage, with the other parent's consent); dependent adult children who cannot provide for themselves because of a state of health entailing total invalidity; dependent parents with no other children in the country of origin, or parents over 65 whose other children cannot support them for documented serious health reasons. |
| Family may apply at the same time | Yes as of 2026-08-04[8] |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2026-08-04[9] |
| Additional means per family member |
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Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 15 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 15 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-08-04 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-05 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Iscriversi alle universita' italiane a.a. 2026/2027: condizioni per la concessione del visto per studio
Ambasciata d'Italia a Tunisi (MAECI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 - [2] Visto di studio / immatricolazione – lauree triennali, magistrali, master e dottorati
Consolato Generale d'Italia a Parigi (MAECI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 - [3] DPCM 2 ottobre 2025 – Programmazione dei flussi d'ingresso 2026-2028 (GU Serie Generale n. 240, 15-10-2025)
Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri (PDF hosted by Ministero dell'Interno) · gazette · Tier 1 · Published 2025-10-15 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy - [4] DPR 394/1999, art. 13 – Rinnovo del permesso di soggiorno (consolidated, in force)
Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy - [5] DPR 394/1999, art. 14 – Conversione del permesso di soggiorno (consolidated, in force)
Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 - [6] Circolare INPS n. 153 del 19-12-2025, Allegato 2 – importi pensioni e assegno sociale 2026
INPS · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-19 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy - [7] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 28 – Diritto all'unita familiare (consolidated, in force)
Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy - [8] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 29 – Ricongiungimento familiare (consolidated, in force)
Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy - [9] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 30 – Permesso di soggiorno per motivi familiari (consolidated, in force)
Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 - [10] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 39 – Accesso ai percorsi di istruzione tecnico superiore e ai percorsi di formazione superiore (consolidated, in force)
Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 - [11] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 39-bis – Soggiorno di studenti, scambio di alunni, tirocinio (consolidated, in force)
Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 - [12] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 39-bis.1 – Permesso di soggiorno per ricerca lavoro o imprenditorialita' degli studenti (consolidated, in force)
Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 - [13] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 5 – Permesso di soggiorno (consolidated, in force)
Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy - [14] D.Lgs. 286/1998, art. 9 – Permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo (consolidated, in force)
Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy - [15] EU long-term residence permit
Welcome Office Friuli Venezia Giulia (Regione Autonoma FVG) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-04 · Archived copy