Registering for the IMAT as an EU student is, thankfully, slightly easier than our fellow non-EU students registering for the exam. You are considered to be an EU student if you are a resident or citizen of any of the countries affiliated with the European Union, including the EECA countries that technically are not part of the EU. If you are a non-EU citizen, but reside in a European country, or have a residency permit for Italy you are also considered an EU applicant.
While the non-EU students need to go through lengthy processes, such as the pre-enrollment, the EU students should mainly worry about not missing the deadline to register for the IMAT exam.
Around April, the MIUR, or the Ministry of Education in Italy, will release the “call to applicants” (BANDO in Italian) which specifies all the details about studying medicine in Italy in English. This can include the date of the exam, the syllabus, and the registration period, but also specifics about the universities themselves like how many seats are allocated to each.
The registration period is usually only open for 3 weeks, starting in late June and ending in July! Once registrations are open the instructions to actually register for the exam and pay for it are identical for both EU and non EU students; once again, however, non-EU students must complete pre-enrollment to be allowed to pay for the exam.
Registration for the IMAT Exam
- 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.
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.
- The 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).
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.
Enrollment
Once you are successful in the IMAT Ranking & Scrolling, the Italian medical school you have been accepted into will send you an email informing you that you have been accepted into their English Medical Programme. You will need to follow their instructions as the process will be different for each university. However it is generally along the lines of scanning certain documents (passport/DoV etc). Be aware that generally EU students are expected to show up within a few days of confirming their offer.
You then pay the fees of that university online and will officially be enrolled into an Italian Medical School, congratulations!
28 thoughts on “How to Apply to the IMAT as an EU Student”
Sorry but just to clarify, I’m a non eu citizen studying in Georgia 🇬🇪, will I be considered an EU candidate for the IMAT?
Also if I’m considered EU, do I register with my residency card or my passport. Thank you in advance
Georgia is not in the EU so no you will not be considered EU I’m afraid.
I have a confusion. I am currently studying in italy as a non eu student. If I give imat in italy will I be consider eu applicant?
If you’ve held a permesso for 1 year, you will be considered EU for all universities. If it’s been a shorter time, then some universities will consider EU and some not.
Hii! I am a non-EU citizen but living in Germany for 1/5 years! Do I count as EU seat?
I am currently studying in italy but I am a non eu student. If I give imat exam in italy will I be considered eu applicant?
Hi Serra, I have a question, I am going to take prep course in Italy in 2024. What if at the time I take the IMAT but I still not receive permesso and I only have ricevuta? Am I considered to be EU status?
I can be accepted as EU applicant if only I have permesso, right?
I am really appreciate your help 🙏 Thank you so much!!!
Hi Hyun, could you send the details of your prep course to [email protected] out of curiosity? Some universities might consider you EU, but it’s definitely not all. You would need to email the responsible office in each to find out which require you to have a permesso for 12 months, vs just having one, vs just having the ricevuta.
Please clear my confusion. I am currently studying In Italy but I am a non eu student. If I give imat exam in italy will I be consider eu applicant?
It’s not about giving the exam in Italy, but more so your residency status
Hi as a Non-Eu residing in Italy and having been registered under a commune and gotten an identity card who has also applied for the permesso late year November and now has the reciept with my appointment date set in October 2024 can I apply as an EU candidate or not ?
Unfortunately you’ll need to double check with your top choice universities as it’s at their discretion! However as long as you have the permesso you should be considered EU, not sure if they count the application/receipt as being EU.
Hi Sarra, when do I have to apply scholarships ? Before the IMAT exam or after ? Because most scholarships deadlines are in September where IMAT not even starts yet . Do they give scholarships without the score ?
You apply before the IMAT as almost all of the regional scholarships are based on income, and then keeping a certain average to keep the scholarship. Some universities separately offer lower fees based on IMAT score.
Hi Serra,
I’m a Turkish citizen and last year, I was accepted to a Bulgarian Med School named Plovdiv Medical University. This year I started to study to the university and I have obtained a Bulgarian student residency.
Will I, as a holder of a Student Residency at Bulgaria, be considered an EU candidate if I decide to take the IMAT examination? Or only Bulgarian Permanent Residents and citizens are eligible for that?
You will actually need to check with each university you’re considering individually.
Do EU students also need to get a DoV?
All students who don’t graduate in Italy need to get a DoV
Hey I want to ask that for get admission to italian medical school as eu we just have to register for imat? Or pre enroll ourselves in university as well that we’re thinking of prioritising in imat registeration?
You essentially only need to register for the IMAT 🙂
To not risk not getting enrolled at all : i would like to know if its possible to preenroll to 2 different programs ( business ; and medicine )$
i already have a visa
This is something that needs to be clarified by your local consulate!
Hello , I’m an US citizen and I’m studying last year of my high school in Slovenia. I have student residence permit of Slovenia. Do I consider as EU student on IMAT?
If you have a residency permit (not just a study one) for at least 1 year you should be considered EU, you can always email the universities you’re interested in to clarify!
Can anyone tell how long does residency permit takes to be issued to a student?
It really depends on the city. At the moment it’s taking almost a year in Rome
Hi Serra,
Would you be able to help me clarify my EU or non-EU student status?
I am an Iranian citizen who moved to the UK in 2016 and have been living here for the past almost 8 years. I first did 3 years of A-levels, then 3 years of a bachelor’s degree, and have now been on a Graduate visa for the past almost 2 years.
Thank you for your help!
You are non-EU, as is every applicant from the UK!