Italy

Nine to twelve months before the intake if you want scholarship options and a realistic choice of universities. Three to four months is possible for some destinations but narrows what is available, and for anything requiring an entrance examination or a competitive visa appointment it is usually too late. Start by talking to us, not by choosing a university.

For a first assessment we only need your academic transcripts and certificates, and your English test result if you have one. Passport, financial evidence and references come later, once we have agreed a shortlist. Do not send passports or bank statements through a website form.

Not to begin. We can assess your profile and build a shortlist without it, and many universities will issue a conditional offer that you meet later. What the score needs to be depends on the university and the programme, and some institutions accept their own internal test or a pathway route instead.

Most study destinations allow international students to work a limited number of hours during term, but the rules differ by country and are revised regularly. Ask us for the current position for your destination rather than relying on what a friend did two years ago.

Every destination sets its own financial requirement, and it usually covers first-year tuition plus a set living cost figure. The amount, how long it must have been in the account, and whose account it can be in all vary. We prepare this to your embassy's exact current requirements as part of the visa service.

We tell you the likely reason and whether an appeal or a fresh application is the better route. Most refusals we see come from financial evidence that was technically correct but presented the wrong way, which is preventable. Universities will often defer an offer to the next intake rather than withdraw it.

This is decided by the authorities in the country where you intend to work, not by the university and not by us. For regulated professions such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and engineering it determines whether you can register and practise at all. We check the position for the specific institution and programme before you apply, and it is free.

Many are, but not all, and it varies by faculty within the same university. Some institutions teach a degree in English at master's level and in the local language at undergraduate level. We confirm the language of instruction for the exact programme before you apply.