Declaration of value, translation, and legalization
Declaration of value
The “dichiarazione di valore” (declaration of value) is an informative document describing the qualification awarded to a given person by an institution belonging to an education system other than the Italian system. It is used by the competent University offices to assess a given qualification for the purpose of admission to a degree programme or for recognition of the foreign qualification.
It is usually issued by the Italian Embassy in the country where the qualification was awarded. It generally contains the following information:
- legal status and type of issuing institution;
- access requirements for the programme resulting in the qualification;
- legal duration of the study programme and/or overall commitment required of the student in terms of credits or hours;
- value of the qualification in the system/country where it was issued, i.e. for academic and/or professional purposes.
The declaration of value can be replaced by:
- a Diploma Supplement, based on the European Commission form, for academic qualifications awarded by institutions in countries in the European Higher Education Area (Bologna Process). Those wishing to enrol in a second cycle degree programme are not required to submit a certificate listing the exams or the syllabus;
- attestations issued by ENIC-NARIC centres that contain all the information usually listed in the declaration of value and necessary for the evaluation of the degree.
A declaration of value is not required for:
- Secondary school diplomas obtained in one of the countries in the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland;
- International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas;
- Advanced Placements (APs).
If the qualification was issued in a country in which the legislation provides for legalization, the Italian Embassy will issue the certificate of equivalence only after the qualification has been legalized by the competent authorities in that country (for further information visit the MIUR website).
If the qualification is issued by a school with a system that differs from that in the candidate’s place of residence (e.g., a Swiss student studying in a British system school in Switzerland) or place of study (e.g. a Swiss student studying in Kenya in a British system school) the certificate of equivalence and legalization must be requested from the Italian Embassy in the country of the system to which the qualification-issuing school adheres (in both of the above cases: the Italian General Consulate in London).
Translation of qualifications and other documents
Qualifications, certificates and syllabi which are not in English, French, German or Spanish must be submitted along with an official Italian translation.
If you are not in Italy yet, the translation must be completed according to the rules set by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).
If you are in Italy you can go to a district court (tribunale) and have your documents translated by a sworn translator, who cannot be the person who holds the qualification or title (traduzione giurata).
Legalization of qualifications and other documents
Qualifications and certificates must be legalized by the Italian Embassy in order to guarantee their authenticity.
If the country where the qualification was obtained is party to the Hague Convention (1961), you must have an Apostille affixed to your documents by the competent authorities, in the place of legalization. Check the list of the competent authorities for each country.
Neither legalization nor the Apostille are required if your qualification was awarded by an institution in Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland or Latvia (Brussels Convention 1987), Germany (Rome Convention 1969), or Austria (Vienna Convention 1975).
Students holding International Baccalaureate (IB) Diplomas which are not legalized and without Apostille must give the University of Cagliari permission to check their results on the International Baccalaureate Organization website.
Students holding AP certificates which are not legalized and without Apostille must request the transmission of results by the College Board to the University of Cagliari.
See also