The Fundamentals
Who Needs to Complete Pre-Enrolment?
Only non-EU candidates need to complete pre-enrolment. If you are an EU candidate, you do not need to complete this process; HOWEVER, do not confuse pre-enrolment with pre-registration (separate process), which EU candidates may be required to do at some universities.
What is Pre-Enrolment?
It is a fully online application that non-EU students need to complete as part of their visa process. It allows universities to screen your qualifications and send a confirmation to your local Italian embassy that you are conditionally eligible for a visa. This process does NOT guarantee a full-time study visa, it is simply one of many mandatory steps.
Pre-Enrolment vs Pre-Registration
Do NOT confuse pre-enrolment with pre-registration (also called pre-evaluation). Pre-registration is a separate mandatory process for some universities that is carried out on the website of each specific university. This can be mandatory for both EU and non-EU students, or just for non-EU students, depending on the university.
Where is Pre-Enrolment Completed?
Pre-enrolment is done entirely online on the Universitaly platform. You do not need to visit the university or the embassy in person at this stage. Universitaly is run by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) and is also where the IMAT registration will take place.
URGENT: Potential Pre-Enrollment Cap
As you all know, it looks like universities might accept only a limited number of pre-enrollments (up to the available seats + 20%). Once that limit is reached, they may stop accepting more applications for some time. If some students don’t get their visa or don’t enroll, extra spots may open again later.
Right now, we are not sure if this rule will apply to the Medicine program or not, so just wait for the official Call for Applications to confirm this.
When is the Deadline?
There is no single pre-enrolment deadline. Each university sets its own deadline, and these deadlines can be subject to change. Always check with your chosen university and make sure to submit well before the deadline. If you miss the deadline, you will not be able to apply in the current year.
What is the Fee?
There is no pre-enrolment fee to use the Universitaly portal. (However, university-specific pre-evaluations and the IMAT test itself will carry separate fees).
Your Month-by-Month IMAT 2026 Complete Guide
Phase 1: Academics
IMAT 2026 Complete Guide: January — February
To kick off your IMAT 2026 complete guide correctly, it is recommended to start preparation at least 6 months in advance. However, if you have not been exposed to the syllabus content previously, you should allow for 9 months. Since the exam date is usually in September, a 9-month strategy begins now.
The 7+2 Strategy
Whether self-studying or taking a course, split your time into two essential blocks:
Phase 2: Administration
IMAT 2026 Complete Guide: April
For non-EU students, the first administrative step is to pre-enrol at your university of choice on the Universitaly website. This is a critical milestone because you must lock in your university choice now.
IMAT 2026 Complete Guide: May — June
This period is dedicated to document verification and funding. The Ministry usually announces the official exam date in May.
1. Education Verification
Non-EU students must verify they have completed 12 years of education. There are two main pathways:
DOV
Declaration of Value. Submitted to the Italian Embassy in your country. Usually free if required for university application.
CIMEA
Official third-party credential evaluation. Faster but costs approx. €150–300. Accepted by many universities as an alternative.
Note: Some universities require these documents before the IMAT, others accept them after results. While not mandatory to finish in June, early completion is safer.
2. Scholarships (ISEE)
If applying for a scholarship or accommodation, prepare the ISEE Parificato documents. The general submission deadline is around July.
Read Scholarship Guidelines3. Pre-Registration
Some universities require a separate registration on their own websites (distinct from Universitaly). Review visa documents now to prepare in advance.
Check IMAT 2026 Updates4. Visa Preparation (Early Check)
If you’re a non-EU student, review and prepare your visa documents in advance based on the checklist shared by the Italian embassy in your country.
Phase 3: The Final Stretch
IMAT 2026 Complete Guide: August
In August, the Ministry publishes the detailed seat allocation, schedules, and final syllabus. Registration usually opens 2 weeks before the exam date.
High Demand Warning
For non-EU students targeting test centers that fill quickly (e.g., India, Dubai), you must prepare in advance and click the registration button the second it appears.
Visa Strategy: Plan A & Plan B
If you are a non-EU candidate and plan to take the exam abroad, you may need a visa. You can apply for the visa before the test centre is officially confirmed; however, since your preferred location is not guaranteed, it is wise to prepare both a primary option and a backup test centre.
IMAT 2026 Complete Guide: September
Visa & Travel
If you need a visa to travel to the test center and haven't obtained it yet, finalize it immediately. Travel to your location.
Exam Day
Take the test.
Anonymous Results
Released approx. about 2 weeks later. You can check your score using the label code you attached to your exam paper.
IMAT 2026 Complete Guide: October
The final steps of the journey occur rapidly:
- 3 weeks post-exam: Personal results are published (names revealed).
- 1 week later: Final national ranking is released.
- Admission: The enrollment email is sent as soon as you are admitted.
Once admitted, your immediate focus shifts to finalizing your Study Visa and securing accommodation. Completing this IMAT 2026 complete guide means you have successfully navigated one of the most competitive medical entrance processes in Europe.
Pre-Enrollment Documents: Deep Dive
What documents are exactly required for pre-enrolment? We highly advise preparing these months in advance. The IMAT application for a non-EU student can be very confusing, but asking your corresponding embassy is the best way to know exactly what documents you need to provide in order to complete your pre-enrollment. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Some countries will have unique requirements.
- A valid non-EU passportWe recommend that this passport is valid up until at least the end of the year, so that the same passport is used throughout all the stages of your application to medical or dental school.
- A valid passport-style photoMake sure this photo is not too old.
- Final High School DiplomaEnglish or Italian language are accepted. If your diploma is in another language, it will need to be translated. In this case, both originals and translations need to be provided.
- Final High School TranscriptEnglish or Italian language is accepted. If your transcript is in another language, it will need to be translated.
- English Language Proficiency CertificateWhile not always required, we recommend having this ready. You can check what certificates are accepted by your target university. For example, in Tunisia students must complete an Italian Proficiency Certificate to be able to apply for an Italian study visa, whereas others might require an English one.
- Form AThis form is to complete your registration in your first choice university, and will have all of your details, as well as a summary of all of the documents you are providing. You need to fill out this form with your first choice university and sign it. If you don’t know how to fill it out, just ask the person who is handling your case in the embassy.
Going to your Local Embassy
- For educational degrees and legalisation: You must contact the embassy that is responsible for the jurisdiction where the certificate was awarded/issued.
- For Visa application and processing: You must contact the Embassy responsible for the jurisdiction where you are legally residing.
If you’re a non-Eu candidate living in your own country, you go to the Italian embassy/consulate in your country.
If you’re a non-EU candidate residing in a different country than your original one, you must go to the embassy in that country.
For example: If you’re an American citizen currently residing in Russia, you would go to the Italian embassy located in Russia.
DoV or CIMEA Certificate Needed?
DECLARATION OF VALUE (DoV): This document represents several pieces of information, including: the highest level of education you have completed, the number of years you were in formal schooling at any level, and an academic transcript. It must be translated into Italian, and needs to be certified by a notary to legally ensure that the information provided is true. You must prove that you have completed 12 years of education. It is issued by the consulate of the country the institution is based in.
Some examples of Jurisdiction:
Fatma: I live in Tunisia, went to school to a Tunisian school, so I have a Tunisian high school diploma. I have to get my DoV at the Italian consulate in Tunisia, regardless of where I reside now.
Eric: I studied IB in Sweden, so my DoV has to be issued by an Italian consulate in Switzerland, as that is where the IB head offices are.
Aryam: I am Pakistani, but go to an Indian School in Qatar. In order to get my DoV I have to go to the Italian consulate in India.
While not usually asked for initially during Pre-enrollment, the university can request one of these to validate your application. If you submit the pre-enrolment application without either document, and the university asks for one, they can put your pre-enrolment on hold. Take a look at an email a student received where this was requested:
From: International Admissions Office
Subject: Integration required for Universitaly Pre-enrollment
Dear Candidate,
Your pre-enrollment application on Universitaly has been evaluated. In order to proceed with the validation, it is mandatory to upload either a Declaration of Value (DoV) issued by the competent Italian Diplomatic Authority, or a Statement of Comparability issued by CIMEA.
Please integrate these documents into your Universitaly portal as soon as possible.
As such, it is recommended to have either your DoV or CIMEA certificate ready before the pre-enrolment deadline. You only need to submit one or the other, there is no need to supply both. Many times, these documents are not required for pre-enrolment initially, so if you do not have them yet, you can still apply. However, as seen above, it is possible that these can be requested, so do not delay obtaining them. The DoV is obtained from your local Italian embassy or consulate. The CIMEA certificate can be obtained online.
Step-by-Step Pre-Enrolment Tutorial
Below are the steps required on the Universitaly Platform. Please note that these are just general steps, and your situation may involve some deviation from the steps listed. This tutorial involves a hypothetical candidate entering their details. These details are purely illustrative.
Can I Edit My Information?
Yes. You can edit your profile on Universitaly if there are any errors or if you need to submit more documents later on.
Can I Pre-Enrol at Multiple Universities?
No. You can only pre-enrol at one university. This is why non-EU candidates only have one choice of university when taking the IMAT.
Can I Cancel and Redo My Pre-Enrolment?
Yes. You can cancel your pre-enrolment, but this is done by your chosen university and you will thus need to contact them. To avoid unnecessary stress and hassles, we recommend you perform the application with the utmost care to avoid any last-minute stress associated with delays. Certain Italian universities can be hard to contact or take a very long to reply to requests, which can cause severe stress if you need to cancel a pre-enrolment urgently.
Create a Profile
Visit Universitaly and create a profile if you do not already have one. If you have one, skip this step. You will be asked to fill out your personal details such as name, address, date of birth, passport number, among other requested information.
Email Domain Warning
Once completed you will receive an email with login details. Login to your new Universitaly account.
Start Application & Personal Details
At the Universitaly homepage, go to "Pre-Enroll Now...". Click on the pre-enrollment application button. Your details will be automatically filled. If there are any missing details, add them now. Make sure to select the current academic year at the top (e.g., 2026/2027). Once done, press go to step B...
Visa & Course Information
You will now need to fill in some details. Upload both your passport and a recent passport-sized photo of yourself.
For the Visa Application Section:
- Country: select your country of current official residence.
- Where will you apply for a visa: select the embassy/consulate responsible for your region. If your country has multiple options, make sure to check what consulate or embassy handles your jurisdiction!
- Specify the reason for the visa application: select "I want to enroll in a study course".
For the Course Information Section:
- Institution: Select Universita
- Institution name: Select the university you wish to study at (Your ONE choice).
- Type of university system: Select Laurea Magistrale a Ciclo Unico.
- Language: Select English Language.
- Course Name: Medicine and Surgery (if you wish to study medicine, that is).
The details of your university and degree will now be listed. Make sure it is correct. You can enter your ID at your chosen university if you have one. Now, click Go to Step C.
Upload Qualifications
Here you will provide your qualifications. You may need to upload multiple files. For each qualification, you will have 3 things to do: 1) Upload the file, 2) Select which qualification it is, 3) Provide the name of the qualification.
You generally do not need to upload all the listed options that you will find in the menu. Typically, the following are required:
- Final Diploma
- Transcripts
- Translations (if the above two are not in English or Italian)
- Declaration of Value OR Cimea certificates (not always required for pre-enrolment but recommended if you have it)
- Certificate of English Language Proficiency (not always required for pre-enrolment, but recommended if you have it)
Press upload. Do the same for all qualifications you need to provide. You can now press Summary.
Summary & Submission
You will now be given a summary of all you have entered. Review it carefully and make sure there are no mistakes. Once you are certain of your decision to apply to your university, you can Apply for Pre-enrollment.
Final Warning
After Pre-Enrollment: The IMAT Registration
Is Pre-Enrolment Required to Apply for the IMAT?
Technically no. Pre-enrolment is not required to sit the IMAT, however, many universities have pre-enrolment deadlines before the IMAT registration date. Thus, for many universities, you will need to pre-enrol before registering for the test. In either case, we recommend you pre-enroll as early as possible provided you know where you want to study.
The Test Centre Strategy
If you wish to do the exam in Italy, you must pick your first choice. This is really important. For non-EU students targeting international test centers that fill quickly (e.g., India, Dubai), you must prepare in advance and click the registration button the second it appears in August.
- Make a Universitaly account once the Ministry of Education (MIUR) announces the date for the IMAT registration.
- Pay for the IMAT Exam online through this account which can have different costs depending on the currency. (~£114.00GBP, €130.00EUR, $164.00USD)
You will receive two emails that are very important.
- Email 1: Sent to the email address you filled out when you created your Universitaly account, and confirms that your registration for the exam has been successful, with the details of the time, place and test centre you have chosen.
- Email 2: Sent to the email address you provided when paying for the IMAT Exam (email of the card holder), and will confirm that you have successfully paid for the it.
YOU MUST HOLD ON TO BOTH OF THESE.
3The Day of the Exam
Each test centre has it’s own strict specifications when it comes to the exam day, including what time you are required to be present. Please be aware of this and double check your centre specifications; some students weren’t allowed into the exam because they showed up after the time requested.
Italy (Turin, Bari)
Some centres asked people to be there 2.5 hours before the exam.
Qatar Test Centre
Qatar test centre asked students to be there 1 hour before the exam. (Note: The Dubai test centre usually asks students to be there 1 to 1.5 hours before).
You must bring the following documents/items with you on the day of the test:
- Both of the confirmation emails that you received during the registration and payment process.
- A photographic form of identification. (It must be the one you used when registering within your UniversItaly account)
- Black pens. (Some centres give you black pens, however it’s always better to have them and not need them than the other way around)
4After the Exam
After the exam there are a few important events and steps that take place before you receive your personal score, and find out if you have been accepted into a medical school in Italy or not. This ranges from challenging items, to checking your personal answer sheet, to an anonymous list to estimate scores, to receiving your score and finally the dreaded IMAT scrolling.
Day of the exam:
The question paper and answers are published on the MIUR website. IMAT Candidates can now estimate their score based on what they remember answering correctly or incorrectly. Students have five days from the date they were published to submit ‘item challenges’ which may be disagreements with questions etc.
Two weeks after:
The anonymous results are published on the Universitaly website, which is a ranking list with the scores of EVERY test taker. However there are no names, so technically there is no way to know what your results are, and the list is not ordered by score. You can check your score using the label code you attached to your exam paper.
Three weeks after:
You will receive your personal score on the reserved area of the Universitaly website (names revealed). You will see a breakdown of your score and how you did on each section, as well as check your answer sheet to the question paper you received to make sure the testing company didn’t make any mistakes. However, you will still not be able to see if you have received an offer from a medical school, only a rough idea based on comparing the top scores of the anonymous ranking to your personal score.
4 weeks after the exam:
The official IMAT ranking is released (1 week after personal scores), and if you’re an EU candidate the ranking will be published within the reserved area of Universitaly. If you are a non-EU candidate the ranking is published by the universities; you have to check with your first choice university as they will publish their own ranking.
5Enrollment & Visa
After the results are out and you have scored high enough, your first choice university will send you an email informing you that you have been accepted into their English Medical Programme. The enrollment email is sent as soon as you are admitted. You will need to follow their instructions closely as the process will change from university to university. However, it usually goes along the lines of scanning certain documents (passport/Dov etc). They might ask for other Italy specific documents, but that’s usually what the pre-enrollment is for (Gathering all of your documents so you can enroll faster and complete your visa application with no more issues).
You then pay the fees of that university online and will officially be enrolled into an Italian Medical School, congratulations! 🎉
You will then go to officially apply for your student visa at your embassy/consulate, while keeping your university updated on the process. Once admitted, your immediate focus shifts to finalizing your Study Visa and securing accommodation. It’s recommended that even after you pay your fees you contact them and inform them, that in order to get your visa you will need a period of time. The universities are quite understanding about non-EU applicants and the time frames required for visa applications. (Unlike EU candidates who have to be at the University within 3-4 days after being offered a seat).
Frequently Asked Questions About IMAT Pre-Enrolment
Interactive Campus Map
Explore medical excellence across the Italian peninsula.
