The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is constantly committed to improving the processes related to the processing of study visas, being aware of the important role of cultural and academic cooperation in strengthening relations between peoples.
Regarding several articles published in various media regarding visa denials to Iranian students and the difficulties students face in scheduling appointments at the Italian Embassy in Tehran, it is important to note that for the 2025-2026 academic year, the Embassy in Iran has already offered 4,500 appointments for students. With the same number of employees, this is approximately a quarter more than the total number of students who applied for visas last year, and nearly 40% of all visa applications currently processed at the Embassy. We should also consider the impact of the temporary forced closure of the Embassy last June, caused by war tensions and the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. That situation required a reduction in the number of Italian staff in the country and a complete suspension of consular activities for several days. Despite this, the Italian Embassy was among the first to reopen to the public and resume issuing visas following the political events that affected the country, giving particular priority to processing student visa applications.
Visa applications for Italy are also affected by the significantly more restrictive policies still adopted by some major Schengen partners regarding student visas, both in terms of requirements and the number of applications accepted. These decisions – such as the introduction of a mandatory minimum grade for first-year students or the exclusive acceptance of applications for Master’s and PHD programs only – have inevitably diverted a large number of applicants to Italy who would otherwise be unable to access the procedure. Moreover, almost all of the 4,500 appointments mentioned above were filled within just eight days of the portal’s launch, a situation never seen before and which confirms an unusual pressure on our consular services.
Furthermore, the Consolidated Law on Immigration, which is the reference legislation for national visas, such as study visas, requires the thorough verification of the documents submitted with the visa application, which entails the necessary processing times. These measures, in fact, are intended to protect national security and the risk of irregular immigration.
Finally, it should be noted that last year our Embassy ranked third among the Schengen countries in terms of number of applications received, processing an amount of requests significantly higher than the Schengen average (9,400 short-stay visas compared to an average of 5,400), confirming its position as one of the foreign Missions with the highest workload in the country.
