Path of a Non-EU Citizen Student in Bologna University

This story is full of experiences gained by a non-EU citizen who is currently a student at Bologna University. I was born in another country that also has a Mediterranean shore. No, not West it’s in the East. We are currently known for our soap operas and may you have already had seen ‘Magnificent Süleyman’. Do you have any guesses? Yes, I am coming from Turkey. Not belong East not belong West so we are not part of the European Union. Because nobody knows who we are, including us!

 I applied to Unibo during the Global Health crisis. I still remember the day I received my acceptance letter and how happy I was that day. Because I got the acceptance from Europe’s oldest university! It was like a dream turned real! 

If you are talented and good at your area, Unibo is the right place for you. Because Unibo is looking at people like you and wants you to become a student of the University of Bologna. But before you become an official Unibo student, you have to prepare yourself for all the boring and stressful documentation and Italian bureaucracy. 

If you are also coming from a non-EU country, like me, this article is about you and will help you. Don’t feel overwhelmed, just relax and everything will be solved in a bit!

 I am starting to tell you how to be a student in Unibo if you are coming outside of the EU.

1. Moving to

Visa

If you are coming out of the EU, you have to hold a valid visa. Your first step should be applying nearest Italian consulate for an İtalian entry visa. You have to apply for D type visa which is also known as a ‘national visa’. Before going to the Italian consulate for your student visa application, bring some important documents with you:

• You have to fill out the pre-enrollment form on the Universitaly website and indicate your qualifications.
• You have to present the original copy of your diploma. If you just graduated, as I was at that time,  first you should indicate on the pre-enrollment form you have only a diploma supplement and, instead of the original diploma, you can submit your diploma supplement. 
• You have at least covered your 2-weeks stay in İtaly Educational purpose Health İnsurance. This is very important!
• You have to present documentation of your bank account showing that you have sufficient money to sustain your period in Italy. It depends on years and inflation rates, but should it be around 6.000 Euros per year

Other necessary documents can be requested or added by the İtalian consulates in your country or even by the town.  But these are essential documents for the D-type student Italian entry visa. 
 

Scholarship

If you are coming to the Emilia-Romagna region you are lucky, because here there is a regional internship called ER.GO and the Er.Go scholarship program is supporting your studies no matter if you are an İtalian or an international student! Just so you know it, you need to prove your economical status. If it is under the determined income level, you don’t need to pay any fee and, as a bonus, you can get the scholarship from Er.Go! 

But there are some procedures you need to go through because Er.Go demands some documents and those expected from non-EU citizens are quite a lot. Don’t worry about that! Every document depends on your family nucleus and the assets you or your family have. While collecting your Er.Go documents you need to be careful because each country or even each municipality in the same country might have a different documentation request. Therefore, first of all, determine which documents you need for the application. Then you need to send them an Apostille. If your country is a member of the 1961 Hague Convention, you are lucky! You just need to go to your local governor's office and ask them to apostille your documents! When you complete all these steps, you need your economic status documents translated. Finally, when you hand in your translated documents you can upload and send them Er.Go! Don’t worry, it’s just an online sending so it takes you just a few minutes. But don’t forget to upload original language documents and translated ones together on your dossier studente.

If do you have any questions about this application process Er.Go is ready to help you. Just go to your dossier studente and in the session ‘scrivici’ you can write your questions. 

If they reply a bit late don’t worry, it will take a little but in the end you will get your info!

2. Living in

  Congratulations! You made it, you are a student at Bologna University! 

But, the thing is where are you staying? Accommodation can be an issue in Bologna because lots of international students are also dreaming of studying in this Europe’s prestigious University. So let’s face a new challenge!

 Finding accommodation 

Finding accommodation in Bologna is challenging! 

You should be careful about scammers! To avoid them, Unibo and Er.Go will support you in finding accommodation.

 On Facebook there are some groups for housing in Bologna but you should be careful because demand is so high! İnstead of that, according to my personal experience, I recommend you to contact the Unibo housing department. In particular, the SAIS office has been crucial to me for finding accommodation in Bologna. SAIS is a non-profit organization. If you encounter any problem with your landlord they are the mediator of any conflict. Also, SAIS provides some student residences known as ‘Camplus’. Therefore, ıf you want to find safe housing in Bologna, you should take a look first at SAİS and at Bologna University’s housing opportunities.

If you are a student in one of the Bologna University Campus - Forlì, Cesena, Ravenna, Rimini - just check the specific link.

 Permesso di Soggiorno

  Another challenging chapter in your student life in İtaly. To get this very important document you need to be patient...  Take into consideration the fact that you are studying at a very big university where many international students apply for the residence permit. 

There are two possibilities to get this document: 

• ACLİ Bologna: ask to the UNIBO International Desk to set an appointment for you. They will help you in filling in the kit and then you can go to the Post Office to get it sent. This service is very convenient since you just spend 10 minutes there and they will do everything on your behalf and for free!
• the Postal Office: just go there (there are many all around the town but you need to check if the one you choose is currently offering this specific service) and ask for the permesso di soggiorno kit.  If you take your kit from the postal office you have to fill the long and in Italian form by yourself, so be careful!!! When you go to the postal office for submitting your residence permit application kit, they will give you an appointment day in Questura. 

My procedure takes a long time, like 5 months… But it depends on how many people apply at the same time as you. 

Getting involved in university life

 We all need money of course but as a student how do you sustain your life? 

The scholarship is one of the options for that but it’s not enough. Thinking about the rents, Unibo can support you! For example, go and check your Calls section in your studentionline account. You can find there the open calls for students known as ‘150 ore’ collaboration. If you got accepted, you will work at a library, maybe the one in your department or university’s other organizations, and get paid.

Also, you can take advantage of yearly discount bus tickets, free Almabike and free Italian language courses which are provided by Bologna University. Keep in mind that you should hurry to register to the Italian language course, because seats can be full so be quick!

  You did it! Just enjoy your stay in Bologna! 

Extra Tips

• Just be calm and have a little patience… the procedures will take some time but eventually, you will make it!
• Find your community on FB, WhatsApp, or Telegram! If you are an international, people who speak the same language as you will help you. Because they also faced the same issues as you. Facebook is crucial for that since is the most suitable place for this type of communication.
• Ask, Ask, Ask! Always ask related departments and be persistent!