Additional Information for International Students 1

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1 Additional Information for International Students 1 Visa EU students: Nationals of European Union member states and of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are not only visa-exempt, but are legally entitled to enter and reside in each other's countries. Non-EU students: Non-EU citizens intending to enter Italy must submit their visa application and other relevant documents to the corresponding Italian diplomatic representation in their own country. The visa procedure might slightly change depending on the Embassy/Consulate. They all require, however, the reason and duration of your stay, as well as the proof of adequate economic means and accommodation. *The letter of acceptance to the MEIS program testifies to the reason the student is applying for an Italian visa. For more information please visit: Health Insurance EU students: All EU students in possession of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) are granted stateprovided medical services during their temporary stay in any of the 28 EU countries, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The EHIC is issued free of cost by your national health insurance provider. Non-EU students: All non-eu students must be in possession of valid health insurance coverage during their stay in Italy. Additionally, valid health insurance coverage is a requirement for all students seeking to apply for an Italian residence permit. Accepted forms of coverage include: Private health insurance Italian health insurance Health insurance agreement between Italy and the student s home country 1 Under article 26, Act No. 189/2002 regarding access to university courses the following categories of non-eu candidates are considered under equal conditions to Italian students: EU nationals, non-italian nationals who hold residence permits (granted on the basis of: being employed or self-employed in Italy, family reasons, political asylum, humanitarian asylum, or religious reasons) or non-italian nationals who have had official residence for at least one year and have obtained a high school diploma in Italy, in addition to non-italian citizens resident elsewhere who have obtained a high school diploma from an Italian school located in another country or from a foreign or international high school, located in Italy or elsewhere, which has a bilateral agreement or is governed by other norms which grant full recognition of the high school diploma and which meets all other requirements for access to higher education.

2 Private Italian health insurance: Ina Assitalia Non-EU students can register for the Italian National Health System and benefit from the same services Italian citizens receive at a cost of Coverage includes emergency hospitalization and surgery free of charge, in addition to lower costs for medical examinations, tests and treatments. This form of insurance is valid from January to December regardless of the month it was paid for and obtained. For more information please visit: Codice Fiscale Italiano - Personal Tax Code All international students will require a personal tax code issued by Italian Agenzia delle Entrate (Inland Revenue/IRS) in order to register for the National Health Service, open a bank account, pay rent for accommodation, purchase a mobile sim card, etc. The Welcome Office provides support to international students in obtaining a tax code upon arrival. It can also be obtained by applying personally at Trento s Agenzia delle Entrate. For more information, including where to find the Agenzia delle Entrate, please visit: Accommodation Opera Universitaria provides accommodation services for eligible international students in several apartments across town and in the San Bartolomeo student dormitory. Even though all international students accepted in the MEIS are granted housing their first year in Trento, only the recipients of the Opera Universitaria scholarship are granted accommodation for the entire duration of their studies. Accommodation costs vary in accordance to the student s economic condition and the bracket assigned by Opera Universitaria following the submission of required documents. Students not receiving Opera s benefits must pay full rent, while recipients of the scholarship pay a discounted fee. In addition, students may choose between a single or double room and, therefore, pay different rates of rent accordingly. The current costs of accommodation are as follows: STUDENT CATEGORY DOUBLE-ROOM SINGLE-ROOM Students with Opera Universitaria benefits Students without Opera Universitaria benefits In order to request an accommodation with Opera Universitaria students must submit their petition with a 30 days notice through an online booking form. The Welcome Office will send all necessary information as soon as the student is accepted. Upon arrival at Trento, students must make a payment of 300 as a cautionary deposit and submit the receipt to Opera Universitaria s

3 housing office located at the San Bartolomeo dormitory. Subsequently, accommodation will be randomly assigned in accordance to the student s choice for a single or double bedroom. For more information please visit: Opera Universitaria - FAQ What is Opera Universitaria? Opera Universitaria is an organization, founded and supported by the Autonomous Province of Trento which supports students right to study. It is independent from the University of Trento and it is intended to facilitate the academic life of students by providing financial assistance and support services. What services and benefits does it offer? Opera Universitaria provides multiple services intended to support students financially as well as facilitate their stay in Trento. The financial assistance provided by Opera Universitaria includes reduced tuition fees and scholarships granted to eligible students in accordance with their academic merit and economic conditions. Additional services include student accommodation, mobility support, cafeteria discounts, counselling and psychological services and special services for disabled students. Am I eligible to receive the Opera Universitaria s benefits? All students are invited to apply for Opera Universitaria s benefits, yet only students under the age of 35 are eligible to receive financial benefits. Additional services are provided to all students accepted in the MEIS and registered in the UNITN system. *It is important to note that students who already receive any other type of scholarship are excluded from receiving the Opera Universitaria scholarship. PLEASE NOTE THAT REGULATIONS GOVERNING SCHOLARSHIPS CHANGE EACH YEAR AND THE 2015 REGULATIONS ARE NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE What are the income brackets assigned by Opera Universitaria? The amount the financial benefits granted to students is determined by their overall academic merit and economic condition. In order to determine a student s economic condition, several documents must be submitted to Opera Universitaria for consideration. After a careful evaluation of the submitted material, Opera Universitaria places the student in one of thirteen income brackets. The bracket is intended to reflect the student s economic condition and, thus, the rate of tuition to be paid, as well as the amount of financial aid he/she are entitled to receive. Students that do not submit documentation to Opera Universitaria are automatically placed in the highest bracket. As a result, they must pay full tuition and are excluded from receiving any financial assistance in the form of the scholarship. Do I have to be a recipient of the scholarship to request additional services from Opera Universitaria? No. All students accepted in the MEIS and registered as students in the UNITN system can request services from Opera Universitaria. These include: temporary student accommodation (1 year),

4 mobility support, cafeteria discounts, counselling and psychological services and special services for disabled students. How do Opera Universitaria s benefits affect the cost of tuition? According to family income, Non-EU students will be assigned to one of 13 different brackets for the calculation of fees. These brackets range from a minimum of 1, in Bracket 1 to a maximum of 6,000 in Bracket 13. More detailed information with a complete list of Brackets and corresponding fees is available on the Fees page of the University Website NON-EU students living abroad enrolling on a two-year Master s Course in What is the duration of Opera Universitaria s benefits? The benefits offered by Opera Universitaria are awarded for the entire duration of the degree course (as stipulated in the regulations of the School of International Studies) plus one extra semester from the student s initial matriculation date. Accommodation services are also offered for the entire duration of the academic course in addition to one extra subsequent year. What documents must I submit? The documents that must be submitted to Opera Universitaria depend on the nationality of the student. It is important to note, however, that all foreign documentation submitted to Opera Universitaria must be issued by the competent authorities of the country of origin, translated into Italian and authenticated by the corresponding Italian Embassy or Consulate in the country of origin. The official and corresponding Italian representation must certify their compliance with the original documentation. In addition, the translated documents must be accompanied by an Apostille that certifies their authenticity and compliance to the original. *In order to avoid unnecessary problems, it is highly recommended that all translations be made with translators endorsed by the Italian Consulate in the country of origin. *Documents that do not follow the aforementioned criteria will not be processed by Opera Universitaria. For more information about required documentation please see the Opera Universitaria website. Please note that the application regulations are written in Italian. Only a summary of the conditions is available in English. You can find information in English in the following document df. Please note that this is for applications in For applications for 2015, the information regarding scholarships will be published in June and therefore dates and income brackets may differ slightly. When must I submit my documents to Opera Universitaria? For the period , documents for the request of financial aid must be submitted to Opera Universitaria by mid September. Applications for student housing must be completed by mid August in an online booking form (see section on Accommodation for more information more precise dates can be found after publication of the call for applications in June)

5 What is the amount of financial aid granted by the Opera Universitaria s scholarship? The scholarship provided by Opera Universitaria depends on the student s academic merit and economic condition. For , the scholarship can be as high as 5,000 per year for students placed in the lowest income bracket. The amount received by other students varies in accordance to the bracket assigned by Opera Universitaria. When would I receive the scholarship? It is important to note that the Opera Universitaria scholarship is NOT paid immediately after the student s arrival. The first installment is paid at the end of the calendar year. Therefore, students must be able to bear the cost of living without any financial assistance for the three first months of their stay. Each subsequent installment is subject to the completion of a certain number of academic credits and is decided each year by Opera Universitaria. Do I have to apply again during the second year? The scholarship renewal is done each academic year and is subject to the number of academic credits achieved by the student. Students that have not obtained the necessary number of credits within the established deadline will not have access to the renewal of benefits. Under what conditions are Opera Universitaria benefits revoked? The financial benefits offered by Opera Universitaria can be revoked if: - Students enrolled in the first year fail to complete at least 20 academic credits - Students enrolled in the first year then transfer to another academic institution - Students drop out from their studies *Students that have their Opera Universitaria benefits revoked must pay back the financial aid given to them by the 31 st of December In addition, students who have these benefits revoked must pay the balance owing with respect to the discounted tuition fees. Under what condition are Opera Universitaria s accommodation services revoked? Students that fail to abide by the rules prescribed by Opera Universitaria risk paying significant fines and/or losing their accommodation benefits.