The Tribunal of Turin has condemned Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) for indirect discrimination after thousands of pre-admitted Iranian students were unable to secure study-visa appointments last summer. The judgment, deposited on 12 June and reported on 15 June, found that the ministry kept its Visametric online calendar open for only eight days – without prior notice – effectively blocking over 3,400 Iranian nationals from meeting tight university enrolment deadlines. Evidence presented by the Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI) showed that applicants of other nationalities could book by phone or in person with no time limit, whereas Iranians had a single, unannounced digital window. The court ruled this violated Article 39 of Italy’s Consolidated Immigration Act, which guarantees equal access to education, and ordered MAECI to pay €7,500 in damages to ASGI and implement non-discriminatory booking procedures.
![Italian court rules Foreign Ministry discriminated against Iranian students in visa-appointment system]()
For applicants who still need to navigate the Italian study-visa process, VisaHQ can provide an extra layer of support: its Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers real-time monitoring of appointment availability, step-by-step document guidance and personalised assistance that can help students secure slots the moment they open.
Why this matters: Iran supplies the largest cohort of non-EU students to Italian universities – more than 3,000 each academic year. Engineering faculties in Turin, Milan and Bologna rely on these enrolments to fill specialised master’s courses. The ruling therefore pushes the government to overhaul its heavily centralised visa-IT system ahead of the 2026/27 intake. Practical implications for global-mobility teams include advising sponsored students to monitor the re-opening of appointment slots, expected in July, and preparing contingency plans (e.g. enrolling remotely) should technical issues persist. Universities hosting exchange researchers under Corporate R&D programmes are equally urged to seek institutional support from MAECI’s new Higher-Education Visa Desk, announced earlier this spring. The case is also a reminder that digitalisation, while efficient, can inadvertently create barriers if not paired with transparent notice periods and alternative access channels. Mobility managers should audit their own appointment outsourcing vendors to ensure SLA parity across nationalities – a point likely to surface in upcoming EU discussions on the external-service-provider directive.
For applicants who still need to navigate the Italian study-visa process, VisaHQ can provide an extra layer of support: its Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers real-time monitoring of appointment availability, step-by-step document guidance and personalised assistance that can help students secure slots the moment they open.
Why this matters: Iran supplies the largest cohort of non-EU students to Italian universities – more than 3,000 each academic year. Engineering faculties in Turin, Milan and Bologna rely on these enrolments to fill specialised master’s courses. The ruling therefore pushes the government to overhaul its heavily centralised visa-IT system ahead of the 2026/27 intake. Practical implications for global-mobility teams include advising sponsored students to monitor the re-opening of appointment slots, expected in July, and preparing contingency plans (e.g. enrolling remotely) should technical issues persist. Universities hosting exchange researchers under Corporate R&D programmes are equally urged to seek institutional support from MAECI’s new Higher-Education Visa Desk, announced earlier this spring. The case is also a reminder that digitalisation, while efficient, can inadvertently create barriers if not paired with transparent notice periods and alternative access channels. Mobility managers should audit their own appointment outsourcing vendors to ensure SLA parity across nationalities – a point likely to surface in upcoming EU discussions on the external-service-provider directive.
