Italy visa guideThe Italy Research Visa is for researchers invited by an Italian university or research institute. Short research stays use a Type C visa; longer research positions use a Type D visa.
The central document is the hosting agreement — the Convenzione di Accoglienza — signed between the Italian host institution and the researcher, which sets out the role, the financial support, the duration and the insurance arrangements.
Lifeset Overseas helps you prepare the file around the hosting agreement and your proof of researcher status so the application is straightforward and complete.
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Manually checked by LifesetHistorical observation
Last manually checked: 12 October 2026 at 12:11 PM IST. Availability can change at any time.
- Mumbai
- 7 Dec
- Bengaluru
- No slots open
- Chandigarh
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- New Delhi
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Tourist / short-stay appointments only. A manual observation of the portal at the time above, not a real-time feed. Slots move hour to hour and we never hold or sell them. All Italy centres & earliest dates
Italy research visa: short stay (C) and long stay (D)
Italy issues two research visas, and the Consulate's checklists define who qualifies. The short-stay Research visa (C) "entitles Ph.D. holders or applicants with a higher study title to visit an academic institution in Italy for the purpose of conducting research" for up to 90 days. The long-stay Research visa (D) "allows Ph.D. holders or applicants with an equivalent higher study title to move to Italy in order to conduct research in an academic institution". Files are lodged through VFS Global for the Italian mission with jurisdiction over your state; Punjab falls under the Embassy of Italy in New Delhi. Each mission checks that your passport or residence proof falls within its jurisdiction and may ask for six months of residence evidence when it does not.
The document that decides the category
Both routes require a copy of the host agreement, the "Convenzione di Accoglienza", with the Italian academic institution. For the short-stay visa, "if the host agreement is unavailable, applicants should apply for an alternative visa category". For the long-stay visa, applicants must also "have been granted a research permit (Nulla Osta) by the Italian competent authority (SUI - Sportello Unico Immigrazione)", obtained by the host institution before the visa application.
Passport and form rules
- Passport issued within the last ten years with validity not exceeding ten years; at least two blank pages; for the short-stay visa, at least three months' validity beyond the entire stay.
- "No handwritten passports will be accepted. Passports with manual observations will not be accepted."
- The application form fully completed and signed, with two passport-sized photographs on a white background, not stapled.
- A personal covering letter, proof of the research funding or grant, travel medical insurance for the short-stay visa, and accommodation in Italy.
Official sources
- Embassy of Italy in New Delhi — visas: https://ambnewdelhi.esteri.it/en/servizi-consolari-e-visti/servizi-per-il-cittadino-straniero/visti/
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Visa for Italy (official checker): https://vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home/en
- VFS Global India — Italy: https://visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/ita
Checked against the Consulate General of Italy (Bengaluru) research visa checklists held in our Knowledge Base on 30 September 2026. Fees and rules change; the official page always prevails.
