Official guidance checked on 8 October 2026
Many Sri Lankans in Italy want to use their school certificates, diplomas or degrees. For example, they may want to study at an Italian university or apply for a better job.
There is no single procedure for this. The correct procedure depends on two things: what your qualification is, and what you want to use it for.
University admission, recognition of a degree, working in a regulated profession and applying for a public job are all different procedures. They are decided by different offices.
A Dichiarazione di Valore (Declaration of Value) can help an Italian office assess your qualification. It does not automatically turn a Sri Lankan certificate into an Italian qualification. The Italian institution or authority that receives it makes the decision, not the Embassy.[1]
What a Declaration of Value is
A Declaration of Value is an official document issued by the Italian Embassy. It describes your qualification inside the Sri Lankan education system.
It can explain the status of the school or university that issued it, the entry requirements, the length of the course, the grading system and what the qualification allows you to do in Sri Lanka.
It is useful because an Italian office can trust the information in it. But "official" does not mean "equal to an Italian qualification". The receiving office still decides if your qualification meets its requirements.[1]
Which route applies to you
| What you want to do | Who assesses your qualification |
|---|---|
| Enrol at a university or in further studies | The university checks if your qualification meets its entry requirements. It may ask for a Declaration of Value as supporting evidence. |
| Get the matching Italian academic qualification | An Italian university compares your foreign qualification with one of its own programmes. |
| Work in a regulated profession (a job that needs a legal licence, such as nurse) | The authority responsible for that profession checks your professional qualification and any extra requirements. |
| Apply for a concorso pubblico (public recruitment competition) | The official equivalence procedure and the competition notice decide how your qualification is accepted. |
| Apply for an ordinary job that needs no legal licence | The employer looks at your qualification and skills. Formal recognition is usually not needed. |
Do not mix up these routes. CIMEA, Italy's official information centre for qualification recognition, explains that each purpose has a different decision maker.[2][3]
Example: a recognised Sri Lankan computing degree can help you apply for further studies or a software job. A nursing qualification, however, must go through professional recognition before you can work as a nurse in Italy.[3]
How to get a Declaration of Value in Sri Lanka
The Italian Embassy in Colombo issues Declarations of Value for qualifications recognised in the Sri Lankan education system. Its published steps are:
- Get a letter or request from the Italian university or public office explaining why it needs the declaration.
- Have your original certificate, or a certified copy, attested by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Fill in and sign the Embassy's application form.
- Book an appointment on Prenot@Mi (the online booking system of Italian embassies and consulates).
- Hand in the form, the attested certificates and the proof of purpose at the Consular Office. You can go yourself or send an authorised representative.
The fee is the amount in Sri Lankan rupees equal to €50. The declaration is free if you show documents proving it is for study.[4]
The application form also asks for a copy of your identity document and two copies of your certificates. Prepare these and check the final list of documents before your appointment.[5]
Translation and legalisation
Legalisation is an official stamp that confirms a document's signature and seal are genuine.
Check the rules for your own case. The Embassy's main instructions say that translation and Italian legalisation are not needed just to issue the declaration, unless the receiving office asks for them. However, its visa page and its application form also mention legalised certificates. Ask the Embassy which instructions apply to you.[4][5]
For legalisation, the Embassy currently sends applicants to the Italian Legalization Application Centre run by VFS Global: 5th Floor, No. 675, Dr. Danister De Silva Mawatha, Colombo 09, Sri Lanka.
Original documents must first be attested by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sri Lanka has not joined the Hague Apostille Convention (an international agreement that simplifies document checks), so the Embassy uses consular legalisation instead.[6]
VFS can also translate documents for an extra fee. Checks on whether documents are genuine can make the process longer.[6]
Translation rules are different at each institution. For example, the University of Bologna accepts some academic documents in English without translation. Do not assume every certificate must be translated into Italian.[7]
If you are applying for a study visa
University admission and the visa are two separate decisions.
The Colombo Embassy's study-visa checklist asks for a Declaration of Value with the relevant legalised certificates, or a CIMEA certificate, even if the university did not ask for one. Follow both the visa checklist and the university's requirements.[8]
Which Sri Lankan qualifications can be assessed
There is no list of certificates that Italy automatically "converts". What matters is whether your qualification is officially recognised, what level it is, and whether it meets the requirements of the Italian procedure.
O Levels and A Levels
School certificates show the education you completed. But do not assume that O Levels or A Levels equal a particular Italian school diploma.
To start a first degree, Italy normally asks for a final secondary-school qualification obtained after at least 12 years of school, which gives access to university in your home country. National exam requirements must also be met. Your real certificates, subjects, results and school history are checked.[9]
Equipollenza (full equivalence of a school diploma) is a separate procedure. It is open only to certain groups, such as Italian, EU/EEA and Swiss citizens and people with refugee or subsidiary-protection status. An ordinary permesso di soggiorno (residence permit) is not enough. This limit applies only to full school-diploma equivalence; university admission has its own assessment.[10]
Bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and doctorates
Official university degrees can be submitted for academic assessment. For full recognition, the university compares the level, content, length and academic rights of your degree with an Italian one.
A positive result is not guaranteed. The University of Bologna says direct full recognition of bachelor's and master's degrees is rare. If there are gaps, you can enrol and ask for recognition of credits instead. Doctorates have a separate procedure.[11]
Being admitted to a master's programme does not mean your earlier degree is fully equal to an Italian degree.
Diplomas, vocational certificates and NVQ
A certificate that uses the word "diploma" is not automatically a university degree. Vocational qualifications are assessed according to their real level and your purpose.
For Sri Lankan vocational training, check the qualification, the training provider and the course accreditation in the records of TVEC (Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission) and NVQ (National Vocational Qualification). These checks are useful, but they do not prove Italian equivalence. Ask the Italian office or professional authority which route is available.[12][2]
Private institutions
Being private does not decide whether a qualification is accepted. What matters is the official status of the institution, the course and the qualification.
An attendance certificate, a short-course certificate or an unrecognised private award does not become an Italian diploma or licence just because it is translated or legalised. It can still show an employer what training you did.[13][3]
Foreign awards studied in Sri Lanka
Check who actually awarded your qualification. For example, a British qualification studied at a Sri Lankan centre may need documents from the Italian office responsible for the British system, not from Colombo. Confirm this before applying.[7]
Can CIMEA replace the Declaration of Value?
Some institutions accept CIMEA Statements of Comparability and Verification instead.
The Comparability statement explains the level and features of your qualification. The Verification statement checks that it was really awarded to you. Neither one gives formal Italian recognition by itself, and the receiving office decides whether to accept them.
The Comparability service covers final university qualifications and upper-secondary qualifications that give access to university. Do not assume it covers every vocational or short-course certificate.[13]
Public recruitment competitions
A Declaration of Value alone is not enough for a concorso pubblico that requires an Italian qualification or a recognised equivalent.
The Department of Public Administration publishes the equivalence procedure. Since 14 May 2025, candidates covered by it can take part provisionally. If they win, they must request recognition within 15 days of the final ranking being published. School-teacher recruitment is not part of this general procedure.[14]
Citizenship or residence-status rules in the competition notice are a separate requirement.[14]
Before you pay for any documents
First identify your exact qualification, who awarded it and what you want to use it for. Then ask the receiving Italian office for its requirements in writing. This tells you whether you need a Declaration of Value, CIMEA statements, legalisation, translation, academic recognition or professional recognition.
Official sources
- Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Recognition and Declaration of Value
- CIMEA — Recognition procedures
- CIMEA — Professional recognition
- Italian Embassy in Colombo — Declaration of Value
- Italian Embassy in Colombo — Application form
- Italian Embassy in Colombo — Translation and legalisation
- University of Bologna — Translation, authenticity and value of foreign qualifications
- Italian Embassy in Colombo — Study visa checklist
- Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Studying in Italy
- Regional School Office — School diploma equivalence
- University of Bologna — Recognition of foreign qualifications
- TVEC — Vocational qualifications and example official NVQ course record
- CIMEA — Comparability and Verification
- Department of Public Administration — Equivalence procedure
This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules can change, so always confirm the requirements with the receiving Italian office and the Italian Embassy in Colombo before you submit documents.