According to the Latium Regional Administrative Court injunction adopted on June 4th 2021, Circular 2020/2021 of the Ministry of Instruction would be in contrast with the Consolidated act on immigration art. 4, comma 3 and art. 39 comma 3, lett. a, in the definition of economic means to obtain a student visa in Italy.
The issue of economic sponsors
The debate is centered upon the definition of economic sponsors for foreign student visa applicants. While the Circular of the Ministry of Instruction states that “applicants must provide evidence of their personal economic means or be sponsored by their parents to fund their stay in Italy”, the Consolidated act on immigration does not impose any requirements concerning family relations.
As a matter of fact, Art. 39 comma 3, lett. states that a foreigner applying for a student visa may be sponsored by any authority or citizen – holding either the Italian citizenship or an Italian permanent residence permit – whose economic resources are sufficient to support the student’s stay. Circular 2020/2021 would therefore impose further limitations on a State’s act and cannot be applied. We expect that more information on this topic will be published soon.
Studio Arletti & Partners remains at your disposal for further assistance. If you are interested in applying for a student visa in Italy, you may be interested in: how to get an Italian visa.
For more information, do not hesitate to contact us.