The MAECI Scholarship for Turkish Students: Notes and FAQ

Equivalency and YÖK

For the degree you take in Italy to be recognised in Turkey, you run the YÖK equivalency process separately on your return — entirely independent of the scholarship. On the Italian side, your Turkish degree’s acceptance runs through the Dichiarazione di Valore or the CIMEA comparability statement. Don’t confuse the two processes: DoV/CIMEA on the way into Italy, YÖK equivalency on the way back to Turkey. Planning to work or continue in academia in Turkey after graduating? Read the YÖK equivalency conditions before you go.

Translating the documents from Turkish

Because the diploma, transcript, civil registry extract and the rest are issued in Turkish, Italian authorities require sworn Italian translations. The Ankara and Istanbul missions accept notarised sworn translations produced in Turkey; commissioning a court translator in Italy is both more expensive and impossible before you arrive. The translation’s formal conditions — stamp, signature, apostille order — matter. Upload your documents for an instant price, delivered in the layout the consulate expects; outside Ankara, the process runs identically by courier.

The consulate: Ankara or Istanbul?

Your visa and Dichiarazione di Valore run through the Ankara Embassy or the Istanbul Consulate General, depending on your province of residence. Confirm which mission covers you — applying to the wrong one wastes time. Book appointments early; they crowd badly in summer. The Istanbul Italian Cultural Institute’s scholarship and course information is worth a look besides.

Military service and male students

Study abroad is subject to specific rules for military-service deferment. This is entirely a Turkey-side matter, separate from the scholarship — verify the current position with the relevant official body (the military service office / e-Devlet). Deferment generally requires a student certificate and proof of enrolment; once settled in Italy you may be asked to obtain these and send them to the Turkish side.

Is Italian necessary?

Not compulsory on English-taught programmes — but for daily life, the bank, the residence office (questura) and DSU procedures, basic Italian makes life markedly easier, and English is not always workable at every institution. For the certificates and levels, see our certificates page; even an A2–B1 course before departure pays for itself many times over.

The short roadmap from Turkey

• Eligibility check (age, degree, language)
• Study in Italy application + motivation letter
• Diploma–transcript apostille + sworn translation
• DoV or CIMEA; Ankara or Istanbul by residence
• Visa, residence, bank; the first months’ budget
• Military deferment where needed; YÖK equivalency on return

The first-week list (in Italy)

The first week after arrival lays the ground for everything after. In order of priority: complete the postal kit for the residence application (permesso di soggiorno); obtain the codice fiscale; open a student bank account (needed for the scholarship payment); complete final university enrolment; register your residence with the municipality. The steps are interdependent and some require appointments — no time to lose in the first days. The university’s international office and the student associations (ESN) guide you through, usually in English.

Don’t cut the thread to Turkey

While you study in Italy, some Turkey-side processes continue. For military deferment, keep your student certificate current and send it when required. For the eventual YÖK equivalency, obtain the diploma, the diploma supplement and the course contents in full. For anything running through e-Devlet, keep your Turkish phone number and access alive. These small continuities prevent the bureaucratic jams that otherwise wait on your return — or later.

Why work with us on the sworn translation?

The point where students from Turkey stumble most is the documents — because translation is a matter of form and terminology, not language alone. Getting the layout Italian institutions expect, the apostille order and the format the consulates accept right takes experience. Upload your diploma, transcript, civil registry and income documents for an instant price and turnaround; outside Ankara, courier works at the same speed. Our aim: you focus on the application while we carry the document side, end to end, with confidence.

The mistakes Turkish students make most

In our experience the recurring ones are these: leaving the documents to the last minute and missing the consular appointment; muddling the apostille–translation order and having the file returned; paying for the DoV and CIMEA both, unnecessarily; trusting the English-taught programme and learning no Italian at all, then struggling with daily life; and forgetting to collect the diploma supplement and course contents needed for YÖK equivalency before leaving Italy. Every one of them is easily avoided if known in advance — which is why we’d recommend running the whole process against a checklist from the start.

Frequently asked questions