Italian Visa Overview

Step 1: Italian Visa Application Overview

The Lewis Global Studies Center (LGSC) will facilitate a group visa application process for students studying on the Florence program.

Students must submit a copy of their passport valid six months beyond the end of their studies in Florence with their Smith program application.

Students (U.S. citizens, permanent residents and international students with valid U.S. visas) will submit all the required visa application materials to the LGSC by the stated deadlines. The LGSC will in turn submit the visa application materials to the Italian consulate in Boston approximately 13 weeks in advance of the program start date. Students will be notified by the LGSC when their visa applications have been approved.

Things to Consider

The Italian visa process is complicated and requires the submission of passports to the Italian consulate in Boston for a period of two to four weeks. The specific date of Smith's visa appointment and length of time required depends upon the Italian consulate's availability, and can't be set until late October. Once the consulate issues the visas and returns the passports to Smith, the LGSC will return each student's passport. Thus, students who wish to study in Italy should not make international travel plans from late October until they've received their passports back.  Due to visa regulations, students applying for only the spring semester will be unable to extend their stay in Italy over the summer. This requires you to return to the US (or other permanent residence jurisdiction) to re-apply.

All paperwork should be submitted to the Lewis Global Studies Center.  If you are not on campus, please send your materials via FedEx to:

Angelo Pisano
Lewis Global Studies Center
5 Chapin Drive
Northampton, MA 01063