The IMAT application for a non-EU student can be very confusing to understand and figure out. It’s also completely different from how to apply to the IMAT as an EU student. In this article, we will summarise all of the different steps of the process, go over what documents are needed, and answer some commonly asked questions about the process.
1) Pre-Enrollment & Documents
When the “Pre-enrollment” date of the IMAT is released around April by the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR), the first step to do is go to your local consulate/embassy.
For educational degrees and legalisation: You must contact the embassy that is responsible for the jurisdiction where the certificate was awarded/issued.
For Visa application and processing: You must contact the Embassy responsible for the jurisdiction where you are legally residing.
- If you’re a non-Eu candidate living in your own country, you go to the Italian embassy/consulate in your country.
- If you’re a non-EU candidate residing in a different country than your original one, you must go to the embassy in that country.
- For example: If you’re an American citizen currently residing in Russia, you would go to the Italian embassy located in Russia.
Your local embassy will tell you what documents and papers to prepare, which is important because the paperwork and requirements are different from country to country. We have written a more in-depth article to serve as an overview of documents needed in Italy. Below, however, you can find the ones that are most commonly asked by applicant non-EU students.
DECLARATION OF VALUE (DoV):
This document represents several pieces of information, including: the highest level of education you have completed, the number of years you were in formal schooling at any level, and an academic transcript. It must be translated into Italian, and needs to be certified by a notary to legally ensure that the information provided is true. You must prove that you have completed 12 years of education, and are thus eligible to apply to study medicine in an Italian university. It is issued by the consulate of the country the institution is based in.
Some examples:
- Fatma: I live in Tunisia, went to school to a Tunisian school, so I have a Tunisian high school diploma. I have to get my DoV at the Italian consulate in Tunisia, regardless of where I reside now.
- Eric: I studied IB in Sweden, so my DoV has to be issued by an Italian consulate in Switzerland, as that is where the IB head offices are.
- Aryam: I am Pakistani, but go to an Indian School in Qatar. In order to get my DoV I have to go to the Italian consulate in India.
Form A:
Other:
- Pictures of you
- Copy of Passport
Asking your corresponding embassy is the best way to know exactly what documents you need to provide in order to complete your pre-enrollment. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Some countries will have unique requirements, and you might not be able to fulfil them in time if you are not aware of them in advance. For example, in Tunisia students must complete an Italian Proficiency Certificate of a minimum level to be able to apply for an Italian study visa, whereas others might require an English one. To be safe you should always double check with your local Italian consulate/embassy.
2) Registration for the IMAT test itself
- Make a Universitaly account once the Ministry of Education (MIUR) announces the date for the IMAT registration.
- Pay for the IMAT Exam online through this account which can have different costs depending on the currency. (~£114.00GBP, €130.00EUR, $164.00USD)
- Select one of the available test centres around the world to complete the exam in. If you wish to do the exam in Italy, you must pick your first choice. This is really important.
You will receive two emails that are very important. One of the emails will be sent to the email address you filled out when you created your Universitaly account, and confirms that your registration for the exam has been successful, with the details of the time, place and test centre you have chosen.
You will receive the second email to the email address you provided when paying for the IMAT Exam (email of the card holder), and will confirm that you have successfully paid for the it.
YOU MUST HOLD ON TO BOTH OF THESE.
3) The Day of the Exam
Each test centre has it’s own strict specifications when it comes to the exam day, including what time you are required to be present. Please be aware of this and double check your centre specifications; some students weren’t allowed into the exam because they showed up after the time requested.
For example:
- Some centres (Turin, Bari) asked people to be there 2.5 hours before the exam.
- Qatar test centre asked students to be there 1 hour before the exam.
You must bring the following documents/items with you on the day of the test:
- Both of the confirmation emails that you received during the registration and payment process.
- A photographic form of identification. (It must be the one you used when registering within your UniversItaly account)
- Black pens. (Some centres give you black pens, however it’s always better to have them and not need them than the other way around)
4) After the Exam
After the exam there are a few important events and steps that take place before you receive your personal score, and find out if you have been accepted into a medical school in Italy or not. This ranges from challenging items, to checking your personal answer sheet, to an anonymous list to estimate scores, to receiving your score and finally the dreaded IMAT scrolling.
- Day of the exam: The question paper and answers are published on the MIUR website. IMAT Candidates can now estimate their score based on what they remember answering correctly or incorrectly. Students have five days from the date they were published to submit ‘item challenges’ which may be disagreements with questions etc.
- Two weeks after: The anonymous results are published on the Universitaly website, which is a ranking list with the scores of EVERY test taker. However there are no names, so technically there is no way to know what your results are, and the list is not ordered by score.
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Three weeks after: You will receive your personal score on the reserved area of the Universitaly website. You will see a breakdown of your score and how you did on each section, as well as check your answer sheet to the question paper you received to make sure the testing company didn’t make any mistakes. However, you will still not be able to see if you have received an offer from a medical school, only a rough idea based on comparing the top scores of the anonymous ranking to your personal score.
- 4 weeks after the exam: the official IMAT ranking is released, and if you’re an EU candidate the ranking will be published within the reserved area of Universitaly. If you are a non-EU candidate the ranking is published by the universities; you have to check with your first choice university as they will publish their own ranking.
5) Enrollment & Visa
After the results are out and you have scored high enough, your first choice university will send you an email informing you that you have been accepted into their English Medical Programme. You will need to follow their instructions closely as the process will change from university to university. However, it usually goes along the lines of scanning certain documents (passport/Dov etc). They might ask for other Italy specific documents, but that’s usually what the pre-enrollment is for (Gathering all of your documents so you can enroll faster and complete your visa application with no more issues).
You then pay the fees of that university online and will officially be enrolled into an Italian Medical School, congratulations!
You will then go to officially apply for your student visa at your embassy/consulate, while keeping your university updated on the process. It’s recommended that even after you pay your fees you contact them and inform them, that in order to get your visa you will need a period of time. The universities are quite understanding about non-EU applicants and the time frames required for visa applications. (Unlike EU candidates who have to be at the University within 3-4 days after being offered a seat).
44 thoughts on “How to Apply to the IMAT as a Non-EU Student”
Hey, should i do the steps solo or with a company that charges ? Please reply
I have never heard of a student being satisfied with going through a consultancy
Hey! I’m currently in IBDP1 (11th grade) and I wanted to know whether I can take my IMAT this September (2024) for the 2025 medicine entry or would I have to take my IMAT in 2025?
You would do it in 2025 🙂
Hi serra, when is the pre enrollment deadline for 2024 session?
The deadline isn’t usually until mid summer
Hi, if i want to enter next year, i have to apply this year, right ?
If you want to start in October 2024 you apply in 2024, if you want to start in October 2025 you apply in 2025!
How.do I take the exams in Nigeria
If there is no test centre there, you unfortunately cannot and will need to go to a nearby country that has an exam centre.
Hi! I completed A levels in Pakistan so I would get DoV from pakistani embassy right? And can I get DoV process started before pre-enrollment is announced?
In some cases the DoV is a part of the enrollment process. As always it’s the best idea to get information directly from the source to make sure everything is official. I would try to contact them to ask the timeline of the process to be 100%. In Ireland I couldn’t do a DoV until I got accepted into the university. It changes from place to place.
Hi Serra, I’m Turkish and non-eu. I graduated from high school in 2023 and I’m enrolled in a university in Turkey but I didn’t attend any of the classes since I decided I wanna go to Italy. So do you have any idea what I should do when applying? Should I include the transcripts from my first year at university, despite not attending any classes? Or should I provide only my high school diploma and transcripts also my university exam result? Or both? Also are the grades and credits important for the admission process? Because I don’t have any credits or grades from my university since I did not attend those classes, altough I have an excellent high school transcript. Your guidance on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Considering a lot of students are applying straight out of high school I would be highly surprised if your university transcript was cared about at all. From an admission standpoint the university doesn’t care about your grades and credits, only about your IMAT score. For visa purposes however the issue is a bit more complicated. I would recommend contacting your closest consulate to make sure, but I think just high school transcript should be fine. Again it’s just your IMAT score that really matters.
Good morning Serra,
Please what is the test center nearest to Nigeria since there is none in Nigeria according to your response here ? Thanks.
You would need to wait and see the test centres announced for the year. You could check out this article for last years test centres, to see which one might be the closest.
Hey Serra, I am 18 and wanna pursue my mbbs through Italian universities.
Not only whether it is a better option or not but also i want to know all the challenges as well as benefits that i might get in throughout the journey.
It’s a cheap and reliable option; there will be a lot of challenges. However you’ll be European educated with a European degree recognised worldwide.
Hello Serra, I graduated high school in 2021 and got into a dental program in a medical college in Ethiopia but unfortunately due to some personal reasons I had to withdraw in October 2023 will I still be able to apply and if yes what document should I provide please and thank you!
You would apply in the exact same way as if you didn’t go to university. You can include credits you’ve acquired in your degree to see if you can get exemptions when you start medschool, but it makes no difference.
hey serra, i have a question, i graduate secondary school this december, is there a way i could take the imat this year? I’ve read on other blogs that I can but im not quite sure. Also, do all schools start in october? Lastly, universities start in march in my country, would you recommend to apply to a national university, take the imat, and if i get accepted withdraw and go to italy? Or should I not apply and just study for the imat.
Thank you! nice blog
It depends on how much of a risk taker you are. If you would like a safety option, then you should apply, but if you want to really focus on the IMAT and nothing else, then you should not 🙂
Hi Serra, do you know when pre-enrollment starts this year?
Need to wait for MIUR, it’s usually around April 🙂
Hi. Serra
plz do let me know how I’ll appear IMAT for Italy… How and when.? my A level will complete in June 2025. Plz guide
You need to wait until 2025 to do the pre-enrollment. Register for the exam in June, and do it in September!
HEY SERRA
I had completed my higher schools from Pakistan. I am in Italy having residency card not the nationality. Do i need the pre-enrollment for Imat?
If you have a valid permesso di soggiorno for at least 1 year, you should be considered EU and therefor don’t need pre-enrollment )
Hey , how will I get to know that pre enrollement for IMAT has started for 2024 ?
It has started, I recommend signing up to the newsletter because we only send actual news 🙂
Hello serra! I am Pakistani citizen studying medicine in hungary almost completing my 2nd year of MD. I want to know that should i apply for pre-enrolment and i have to go to Italian consulate in Hungary for that? And i want to transfer into 3rd year of Medicine program in Italy. Do you have any idea about it? Thankyou! Waiting for your response
If you have a valid living permit for at least one year, you can be considered EU. As far as transferring goes, every university has it’s own procedure so it’s best to ask the universities you’re considering directly for how to proceed.
HI SERA, I AM FROM PAKISTAN AND I WANT TO APPLY THIS YEAR TO THE UNIVERSITY OF AMCONA FOR THE MBBS PROGRAMME BUT I DO NOT HAVE MY 12TH RESULT IN HAND TO PRE-ENROLL. SO, CAN I APPLY BASED ON THE 12TH HOPE CERTIFICATE AND I SHALL PROVIDE THE ORIGINAL RESULT BY THE END OF AUGUST 2024? PLEASE DO REPLY ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE I AM QUITE ANXIOUS ABOUT IT.
Yes this should be possible.
Hy serra, I’m done with my Als this may and I’m a non EU candidate but live in italy. i went to an international school in here and my school principal said that he’ll give the 12 years of studying certificate from the school so i wanna know do i need to translate it to italian from the embassy in here and still valid as the DOV document?
You need to apply for the DoV in the Italian consulate of the country the school is associated to. So if the international school is british, in England etc.
Hello, I have a query regarding eligibility and pre-enrollment. I’m currently awaiting the results of my 12th class exams. Could you please confirm if I am still eligible to apply? Additionally, I would like to know when the pre-enrollment process is scheduled to begin. Thank you.
Pre-enrollment has opened for non-eu. You can complete it with a “predicted results” sheet, or with a letter from the president of your school confirming that the results are not yet out but will be soon.
Hello there, I am vinuja. From srilanka. I heard that, Italian medical Universities often give the opportunity for the students to pay as they can, depending on their financial situation. I need to know, if this is true or not and if it is true how should I apply.
If you qualify then yes, you can get a scholarship based on your financial situation.
Also I need one important advice. I am doing my advanced levels in June 2024, so, when should I apply for the imats…and also should I apply for pre enrollment, this year April or 2025… please I need info on this.
You will apply in 2024 then.
hi im currenlty in 12th garde my exams will be held in may so can i appear for imat 2024 in september or will it be 2025?
2024