5 Things I Screwed Up During the Italian Student Visa Process

I drove to Philadelphia a few days ago, during an early morning blizzard, intending to return the following day with a stamped slip of paper authorizing me to study History and Classics in IES Abroad’s Rome program.  I was prepared for the worst, having heard horror stories of Italian government bureaucracy and my several experiences trying to accomplish things in Philadelphia, a city in which unexpected and absurd obstacles always seem to present themselves at the least opportune times. Based on this, I expected the Consolato Generale d’Italia a Filadelfia to embody the worst of these respective societal spheres.  

My paranoia was, for the most part, unfounded, but the process was arduous, and there is quite a lot I wished I had known before renting a car and flying down Interstate 95 with a folder of forms and my passport. For some reason, this paranoia did not inspire me to prepare diligently for the visa interview, I guess because it was the holidays and I was too busy goofing off with my family and friends. So here are all the things I screwed up, and how I would avoid screwing them up if I had to get a student visa ever again. Fortunately, the people at the Consulate were pretty nice and they gave me a visa anyways. Read through this if you're applying for a student visa to study abroad, and maybe my mistakes will help you.

1. I booked too late. 

   I booked the appointment for the Philadelphia consulate in late November, but the earliest appointment was for January 5th. I planned to leave on the 20th, leaving a somewhat tight turnaround time for the visa to be mailed back to me in Boston.  It’s better to leave a month or two in between your appointment and your flight out of the USA. So if you’re planning to leave in January, book the appointment in October, if you can.

2.  I didn’t bring a money order with me.  

   The Philadelphia Consulate only accepts money orders, which is very strange to me as a Gen-Zer.  The only time I’ve ever heard of doing a money order is when you have to send money to someone in a faraway country or you’re buying something illegal. But the Philadelphia consulate insists on this form of payment.  When I showed up for the appointment, the older gentleman asked for my money order, and when I looked at him with confusion, he said “No money order, no visa!” I could tell he was joking, but I didn’t say anything, so he frowned and said “I’m just making a joke,” and sent me downstairs to find an ATM.  This delayed my appointment by an hour or so, because when I came back he was helping some Italian Venezuelans who were understandably trying to get an Italian passport very quickly.

3.  I didn’t print out the IES Abroad Letters.  

   IES Abroad sends emails you some letters that explain to the consulate that you are studying in Italy and you have a place to live and so on and so forth. The whole visa application basically hinges on these letters, but I didn’t print these out because I confused them with the letter from my home school that authorized my departure. The consulate people originally told me to get lost and come back the next day with the letters, but I pleaded with them and told them I was just in Philadelphia for the day. They agreed to let me email the letters.

4.  I didn’t book at the consulate near to me.  

   This seems like an obvious mistake, but I thought it would be easier to prove my residence in Philadelphia, where I have lived full-time for the past few years. Furthermore, there were no available appointments in Boston, where I was home for the holidays. My friend told me had just called the consulate and they had let him book an appointment.  I wish I had thought of this instead of driving all the way down to Philly.

5. You are supposed to either bring a current paper bank statement or a notarized, signed document from your parents promising that they will support you abroad. 

   The consulate asks that you have about 1,000 dollars for each month you plan to live in Italy.  I brought in a screenshot of my checking account balance, which did not support this claim.  Fortunately, they didn’t ask for proof of my financial means and granted the visa based on my study abroad letters.

I did remember to bring my passport (good for me) and a prepaid USPS envelope to mail the visa and passport back to me in Boston.  They gave me the visa that day, I think because they were getting ready to close and they just wanted to get rid of me.  So now I have my visa, and a prepaid envelope that I didn’t do anything with.  

Hopefully when you apply you can learn from my mistakes and be a little more careful- it will definitely pay off.

Safe travels,

Chris