Legalization of documents

The legalization of documents differs from country to country and falls into 3 main areas, listed below:

A) Countries whose documents are exempted from legalization

Legalization is not required for documents issued by countries that are signatories and have ratified the Brussels Convention of 25 May 1987, (Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ireland and Latvia), as well as for the countries that have signed bilateral agreements with the Italian government (Germany and Hungary).

B) Countries whose documents are exempted from the consular/diplomatic stamp of the Italian Embassy, but requires an Apostille stamp

Documents that are issued by local authorities of one of these countries, based on the 1961 Hague Convention, are exempted from legalization at the Italian Embassy (even in that kind of legalization is still possible) but must be stamped with the "Apostille' as provided for in Article 6 of the aforementioned Convention. 

C) All other countries

All other countries that do not fall under groups A or B require legalization through the Italian Embassy or Consulate in the country of origin. All students belonging to countries not listed in the previous points must have the documents issued in their country of origin and legalized through the Italian Embassy or Consulate in their country of origin.