u/OrganizationSad3498

I have been selected into the EMJM MATHS-DISC program for 2026/2027 intake, and will be starting at the University of Verona in September this year. I’m an Indian citizen, but I have done my bachelor’s from the USA, and have been residing in the USA for past 4.5 years on F-1 visa. My USA visa is about to expire in December, so I need to apply for Italy Student visa from my home country India. I just have a few questions:

1. How can I satisfy “Proof of Education” requirements? From my university in the USA, I have official diploma and official transcript. If I get CIMEA, do I still need additional apostille/attest?
2. Since I have resided in the USA for last 4.5 years, do I need additional documents other than the visa checklist to assist my application?

Please help!

I have been selected into the EMJM MATHS-DISC program for 2026/2027 intake, and will be starting at University of Verona in September this year. I’m an Indian citizen, but I have done my bachelor’s from the USA, and have been residing in the USA for past 4.5 years on F-1 visa. My USA visa is about to expire in December, so I need to apply for Italy Student visa from my home country India. I just have a few questions:

1. How can I satisfy “Proof of Education” requirements? From my university in the USA, I have official diploma and official transcript. If I get CIMEA, do I still need additional apostille/attest?

2. Since I have resided in the USA for last 4.5 years, do I need additional documents other than the visa checklist to assist my application?

Please help!

I’m an international student in the US. I’m going to do Masters in Portugal. I had my appointment for Portugal D4 Study Visa on June 26, 2026 at 3pm (Address: 642, Harrison Street, Suite 200). I reached at the VFS Visa Application Center at 2:30pm. The gate is locked and you have to dial a number on the keypad (right hand side of the gate) to open the gate. VFS center is on the second floor of the building.

I was just carrying a folder with all of my documents and a clear plastic water bottle. Once you go through the security check, the person at the front desk sees your VFS appointment confirmation and gives you a token, as well as a form for courier information for FedEx label. Since I was early, he gave me the courier form to fill out and asked me to come back at 2:58pm to get the token.

I had to wait quite a while, and my token number was called around 3:45pm. As soon as I sat down, the lady at the counter asked for my appointment confirmation and courier form. Here are all the documents I showed:

- Visa appointment confirmation
- Visa application form (https://vistos.mne.gov.pt/en/national-visas/general-information/forms)
- D4 Visa checklist form (https://visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/prt/visa-type#4.studentvisa)
- Portuguese background check authorization (https://vistos.mne.gov.pt/images/schengen/formularios/aut_consulta_rc.pdf)
- Notarized passport copy
- Notarized visa copy
- I-20 (signed and dated)
- I-94
- Driver’s license copy
- Lease contract
- Health/Travel insurance (My university will cover, so I just showed them a letter)
- Admissions Letter
- Flight confirmation and email (My university will book the flight as well, again showed them a letter)
- Hotel reservation for 15 days (mentioned in the personal statement that I’ll find a lease after checking apartment in-person)
- Apostilled FBI background check (Carry a photocopy with you as well)
- Personal Motivation Letter

For financial proof, I showed the following:
- Dad’s passport photocopy
- Dad’s bank statements (last 3 months)
- Dad’s Proof of Employment
- Dad’s payslips (last 3 months)
- Dad’s support of affidavit (notarized)

Proof of Bachelor’s graduation:
- Official Transcript copy
- Official Diploma copy

Additional documents that the VFS lady asked:
- My personal bank statements of last 3 months (she printed it out, I sent her an email they provide there)

Overall Experience:
It was a tiring process, as you have to wait a lot, and the chairs are the worst. After getting called, my whole process, including the photograph being taken, took around 45 mins.
A few notes:
- Make sure you carry every possible document and all the relevant emails printed. Do not miss anything. Better to carry more.
- Hand over all the documents at once rather than one by one, they’ll sort it and ask for any doubts they may have.
- Make sure you know everything about your program, as they are not aware of every specific details about your program and university.
- The services that VFS offers like printing, photograph, and SMS may seem like a cash grab (and they prolly are), but they will be very useful once you are there in-person. So you can pay for them while booking the appointment.
- I carried a money order for Visa Application fees based on the July rate (check the attached link), but they asked for the June one. Thankfully, they DO accept credit card payments (tap pay, including apple pay). I would recommend not taking the money order and paying there directly.
IMPORTANT: They DO NOT take Discover or AMEX credit cards. I think only Visa and Mastercard works.