Italy Visa Documents to Notarise From Australia

For an Italian national (long-stay) visa, a notary in Australia helps with only part of the pack. Most Australian certificates go to DFAT for an apostille directly. A notary is needed mainly for copies of degrees, sworn declarations and private documents. Translation into Italian, and the consulate's own rules on it, usually cause more trouble than the notary step.

Key takeaways

• Australians do not need a visa for a short stay in Italy. This page is about national visas: study, family, work and elective residence.
• Each Italian consulate in Australia covers certain states and publishes its own lists. Use the lists of the post that covers you.
• Registry certificates can usually go to DFAT directly for an apostille, without a notary.
• If the apostille must be translated too, translate after the apostille, not before.
• Study applicants may need a dichiarazione di valore or a CIMEA statement. Ask your university which before you start.

Which Italian visa are you applying for?

Australians do not need a visa for a short stay in Italy. Check the current Schengen short-stay rules for how long that covers. People searching for this page are usually applying for a national visa, for a longer stay. The main types are study, family reunification, work, self-employment and elective residence, for people who will live on their own income.

Each type has its own list, and the lists differ in which documents must be formal. A study visa turns on your qualifications. A family visa turns on relationship certificates. An elective residence visa turns on financial evidence. The notary's part is different in each.

This page covers the visa pack. The DFAT step, citizenship by descent and powers of attorney for Italy are covered on our page on the Italy apostille.

What do Italian consulates look for?

Across the visa types, Italian consulates care about three things. A notary can help with only one of them, and only in part.

An apostille on Australian public documents. Birth, marriage and similar certificates used for an Italian visa are generally expected to carry a DFAT apostille. An apostille is DFAT's certificate confirming the signature and seal on a document. It does not confirm what the document says. Italy is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, in force for Italy since 11 February 1978 as of our last check. Check the HCCH status table on the day.

A translation into Italian. Documents not in Italian generally need an Italian translation. Consulates are specific about what kind.

Consistent names and dates. Italian authorities compare documents closely. A surname spelt differently on two certificates, or a missing middle name, can stall an application. Resolve discrepancies before you start the chain. That usually means an amended certificate from the registry. Where that is not possible, a declaration explaining the difference may be accepted. Ask the consulate what it accepts. See name mismatches across documents.

Which consulate covers you?

Italian consular jurisdiction in Australia is geographic. The embassy and each consulate cover particular states and territories, and you apply to the post that covers where you live. Each post publishes its own document lists and translation rules, and they do not always match.

That has a practical effect. A friend's list from another city may be out of date, or from a different post. Download the current list from your own post for your visa type, and work from that. If something is unclear, ask that post in writing. The consulate is the receiving authority for your visa, and its answer is the one that matters.

How should translation be ordered?

Ask the consulate three questions before you pay for any translation:

• Will you accept a translation done in Australia, and by whom?
• Must the translation be certified as conforming by the consulate itself?
• Must the apostille be translated too, or only the document?

The order matters. If the apostille must be translated, the translation comes after the apostille. Translating first and apostilling second is the most common way to pay for translation twice.

1. Get the consulate's current list for your visa type, from your own post.
2. Order fresh registry certificates where yours are old, laminated or damaged.
3. Have a notary deal with copies and declarations that DFAT cannot apostille directly.
4. Send everything to DFAT for an apostille.
5. Translate into Italian, including the apostille if the consulate asks.
6. Have the translation certified by the consulate if its rules require it.

A NAATI-certified translator in Australia is a common choice, but the consulate decides whose translation it accepts. See document translation.

What is the dichiarazione di valore?

Applying to study at an Italian university from Australia usually begins with pre-enrolment through Italy's central portal, Universitaly. The study visa is issued after that.

Your Australian qualifications may need to be formally evaluated. The traditional document is the dichiarazione di valore, or declaration of value. The Italian consulate in the country where the qualification was awarded issues it. It describes what your Australian degree or school certificate is, and what level it represents in the Italian system. To issue one, the consulate generally wants the original qualification or a certified copy with an apostille, plus an Italian translation.

Many Italian universities also accept a statement of comparability issued by CIMEA, the Italian centre for academic recognition. Ask your university which it wants before starting on either. They are different processes, and doing the wrong one wastes time.

Where does a notary fit for degrees and transcripts?

DFAT can apostille an original Australian degree or transcript once the university has verified it. If you would rather keep the original unmarked, a notary can prepare a notarised copy. The notary's certificate must state that the original record was verified with the issuing institution. A plain "true copy" certificate is not enough for DFAT. DFAT then apostilles the notary's signature.

A Justice of the Peace cannot do this job. A JP certification is for Australian use, and DFAT cannot apostille it. See apostilling an academic transcript and DFAT's page on documents it can legalise.

How does family reunification work?

Joining a family member who lives legally in Italy usually starts in Italy. The family member applies to the local immigration office for an authorisation, the nulla osta. The visa is then issued in Australia. The documents proving the relationship, such as marriage and birth certificates, are presented at the consulate.

Australian registry certificates usually need an apostille and an Italian translation. They can generally go to DFAT without a notary. If your relationship documents were issued outside Australia, they are authenticated in the country that issued them, not here. An Australian notary cannot vouch for a foreign registry's certificate. See marriage certificates for overseas use.

What about work and elective residence?

Work visas generally follow an authorisation obtained in Italy by the employer. Self-employment and elective residence visas are assessed on the documents the consulate lists. These include financial evidence, accommodation and, for some categories, qualifications or professional registration.

Much of this evidence, such as bank statements, pension statements and leases, consists of copies. Where the consulate wants something formally certified or sworn, ask whether a notarised document with an apostille is acceptable. Some posts want certain declarations sworn before a consular officer instead. See bank statements for overseas use.

Why is a certified copy for Italy different from one for Home Affairs?

Many applicants have certified copies left over from an Australian visa or citizenship application. Those copies were made for the Department of Home Affairs. For Home Affairs, a copy certified by an authorised person, such as a Justice of the Peace, is usually enough.

An Italian consulate is a different receiving authority. It wants a document it can rely on abroad, which usually means an apostille. DFAT can apostille a notary's signature. It cannot apostille a JP's or a pharmacist's. So an old certified copy from your Australian visa file will not usually work for Italy.

If a notary prepares a copy for you, bring the original and your original photo identification. The notary must sight the original, not a scan or an earlier copy. Where you need several documents, one appointment can usually cover them all, and each copy then goes to DFAT for its own apostille. See document notarisation.

Which documents usually need what?

Document	Usual route	Notary?
Birth or marriage certificate	DFAT apostille, then translation	Usually not
Degree or transcript	Verified original, or notarised copy	Only for the copy route
Name difference declaration	Sworn, then apostille	Yes, if the consulate accepts one
Bank and pension statements	Plain copies, usually	Only if the list asks
Police check	AFP check, then DFAT apostille	Usually not

Is citizenship by descent the same process?

No. Many Australians of Italian descent are not applying for a visa at all, but for recognition of Italian citizenship. That uses many of the same documents: apostilled Australian certificates, Italian translations and naturalisation records. Italy changed its rules on citizenship by descent in 2025. Check the current law with the consulate before ordering documents, because older advice may no longer apply. See Italian citizenship by descent.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A graduate in Melbourne is accepted to a master's program in Bologna. Her university asks for a CIMEA statement, not a declaration of value. She has her university verify her degree record and orders a notarised copy stating that verification. DFAT apostilles the copy. Her birth certificate goes to DFAT directly. She has both translated after the apostilles, following her consulate's list.

In short

Work from your own consulate's list for your visa type. Registry certificates go to DFAT directly. A notary is mainly for degree copies, declarations and private documents. Translate after the apostille. For study, ask your university whether it wants a declaration of value or a CIMEA statement. More on the DFAT step is at apostille and authentication.

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Applying for an Italian national visa? Send us your consulate's list, and we will explain each step before you book.