Italy Student Visa for Tunisian Students

You have been admitted to an Italian university. How do you get the student visa from Tunisia?

After your university validates your Universitaly pre-enrolment, Almaviva (the Embassy's visa centre) emails you an appointment. You bring 15 documents, including proof that EUR 10,179.85 is blocked for you at a bank, pay the fees in cash, and wait up to 90 days. For 2027/28, Bachelor's and Master's students must apply by 31 October 2027.

This is part 5 of our guide to studying in Italy for Tunisian students. The earlier parts cover choosing a university and the Universitaly pre-enrolment, translating and apostilling your documents and the DiSCo scholarship.

1. Which visa do Tunisian students need for Italy?

Tunisian students admitted to an Italian university need a long-stay Visa D “Immatricolazione Università” (study, university enrolment). The Visa D is valid for 365 days. If your university validated your pre-enrolment “con riserva” (with reservations, for example while a document is still being checked), the Visa D is valid for 100 days instead.

The Visa D is tied to the course on your Universitaly pre-enrolment. If you change course, you need a new visa application from Tunisia.

2. How do you get the Almaviva appointment?

You do not book the Almaviva appointment: Almaviva emails it to you once your university validates your Universitaly pre-enrolment. The Italian Embassy's notice of 1 June 2026↗ (opens in a new tab) explains the order:

1. Your university checks your file and validates your pre-enrolment on Universitaly↗ (opens in a new tab). The file then reaches the Italian Embassy in Tunis.
2. Almaviva emails you at the address you used on Universitaly, with your appointment date. Check that inbox and your spam folder every day.
3. The date cannot be changed, so prepare your documents as soon as you are admitted, not after the email arrives.
4. On the day, go to the Almaviva centre with the complete file. Your fingerprints are taken there.

Almaviva (AVS) is at 8 Rue Alphonse Laveran, 1002 Tunis, open Monday to Friday 09:00-17:00 and Saturday 09:00-13:00 (phone +216 70103710 or +216 31303041), as listed on the Embassy's where to apply page↗ (opens in a new tab). The Embassy itself gives no appointments and accepts no visa applications by email.

3. Which documents does the student visa require?

The Italian student visa requires 15 documents, listed on the Italian Embassy in Tunis info sheet of July 2026. Read the info sheet yourself in Italian↗ (opens in a new tab) or in English and French↗ (opens in a new tab), because the info sheet is the reference Almaviva uses.

1. The visa application form, signed.
2. Your passport, valid for more than 15 months.
3. A recent ICAO-standard photo.
4. The Universitaly pre-enrolment summary, in two copies.
5. Your original secondary-school diploma (bac) and a copy, translated, apostilled and with the DOV or CIMEA statement.
6. A motivation letter (optional).
7. The aptitude test result, if your course requires one.
8. A language certificate: Italian B2 or higher, or English for an English-taught course.
9. A return ticket booking.
10. Proof of accommodation for your first period in Italy.
11. Health insurance.
12. Proof of financial means and of who covers them (payslips, 6 months of bank statements, CNSS certificate...).
13. The bank's original “dichiarazione di blocage”, signed and stamped by the branch manager, with your RIB.
14. Your birth extract and family record, apostilled and translated.
15. A statement of your socio-economic situation from the competent Tunisian ministry.

Visa documents in French or Arabic must be translated into Italian and apostilled: the documents guide explains how to legalise and apostille them, who can translate them and whether you need the DOV or CIMEA. Check your passport date first: if it expires within 15 months, renew it before anything else.

4. How does the blocked account work with a Tunisian bank?

The blocked account works in three steps: you open a student file at one Tunisian bank, block the full amount there and put the bank's attestation in your visa file. For 2026/27, the Italian Embassy asks for EUR 10,179.85 per year, that is EUR 783.06 for 13 months. The amount must be blocked irrevocably for a year and released at EUR 783.06 per month. The 2027/28 figure may be updated, so check the new notice. In Tunisia, the transfers abroad are governed by BCT circular 2025-10↗ (opens in a new tab) of 5 September 2025.

Step 1: Open your student file at one bank

Choose one Tunisian bank for the academic year and open your student file there. Bring your CIN, your bac, the boursier or non-boursier attestation from the Ministry of Higher Education, your registration certificate (the pre-registration certificate is accepted at first, if the registration certificate follows within 3 months) and a signed commitment to repatriate the funds.

Step 2: Block the full amount and get the attestation

Block the full amount at your bank in Tunisia. The Tunisian bank then gives you the original dichiarazione di blocage (attestation de blocage), signed and stamped by the branch manager, with your RIB. This original goes in your visa file.

Step 3: After you enrol in Italy, send the papers back

Once you have finalised your enrolment in Rome, send your enrolment papers to the bank in Tunisia. The Tunisian bank can then let your parents transfer money to you each month, within the BCT ceilings in the table below.

The BCT installation allowance is what most students use for their first weeks: see the first-month budget in Rome.

A scholarship can reduce the amount you must block: an Italian-government scholarship of at least the same amount replaces it, and a regional grant such as DiSCo counts only once it is awarded (see when DiSCo pays).

5. Which health insurance and accommodation proof does the visa need?

The Italian student visa needs health insurance that covers medical and hospital care with no limit on urgent hospitalisation, plus proof of where you will stay in your first period in Italy. The Italian Embassy sets no fixed minimum in euros for the insurance and accepts three forms:

• A consular declaration under the Italy-Tunisia agreement.
• A foreign policy with a consular declaration that it is valid in Italy.
• A policy from an Italian insurer.

In my experience, a health insurance policy from your Tunisian bank works for the visa when it comes with the consular declaration that it is valid in Italy, and the same policy can cover you after you arrive instead of the EUR 700 SSN registration.

For accommodation, a hotel booking or a hospitality declaration from someone in Italy works. Applying for a university residence is not valid proof, even if you applied to DiSCo. To plan where you will actually live, see temporary housing for your first weeks in Rome.

6. How much does the Italian student visa cost?

The Italian student visa costs 238.900 TND at the Almaviva centre in Tunis: 170.600 TND for the study visa (EUR 50) plus 68.300 TND for the Almaviva service fee, paid in cash.

Check the Embassy's fees page↗ (opens in a new tab) a few days before your appointment, as the dinar amounts follow the exchange rate.

7. How long does the student visa take, and what is the 2027/28 deadline?

The Italian Embassy in Tunis can take up to 90 days to decide on a student visa, and the Embassy may call you for an interview. For 2027/28, the MUR circular↗ (opens in a new tab) sets the visa deadline for Bachelor's and Master's courses at 31 October 2027. PhD students have no fixed date but must apply before teaching starts. Since each Italian university can only validate a limited number of foreign students, apply early. Once the visa is issued, the next step happens in Italy: how to request the residence permit for study after you arrive.