A “Dichiarazione di Valore” (DV), which literally translates as statement/declaration of value, is an official document written in Italian and issued by the Italian authority of the country where you have studied. It is required to verify the authenticity of the academic credentials obtained abroad and their correspondence into the Italian educational system. A DV also provides information about the validity of the qualification concerned in the country where the applicant studied, confirms the legal status and nature of the awarding institution and indicates the length of the programme/s concerned.
All students who want to study in Italy and those who need to have their credentials recognized in Italy for any other purpose, must therefore obtain a Dichiarazione di Valore.
If the applicant moves to Italy to continue to study without having obtained a prior diploma, upon request, the Consulate can issue a Consular Declaration (CD) that states both his/her attendance and any credits earned or, depending on the circumstances, the legalization of the school document.
Here follows a suggested step by step guide on how to request it:
1) Find theItalian Consulate under whose territorial jurisdiction your school/university is located;
2) If you need to deal with the Consulate General of Italy in Toronto, download the appropriate form to request the DV, CD or legalization of the school document;
3) Obtain from the school/college/university you have attended the original transcripts and final qualification (secondary school diploma/Bachelor, Master, Ph.D., etc.)
The final qualification and transcript must be legalized (in particular the signature of the registrar/principal) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Global Affairs Canada) in Ottawa or by the relevant Provincial Authentication Service. Click here for more info on how to do it.
4) Check with the Italian school/university to find out if they require the translation of the diploma and transcript. If that is the case, please contact one of the certified translators whose specimen of signature is filed at this Consulate.
5) Find here a list of documentation required for different categories of DV or CD. You will have to make copies. The Consulate does not make photocopies.
6) Once you have gathered all the above documents (i.e. school report/secondary school diploma/Bachelor degree/Master degree /transcript), you can send everything by mail to:
Consulate General of Italy
136 Beverley Street
Toronto, M5T 1Y5, ON
School Office
Make sure to include in your envelope another prepaid and preaddressed envelope as we will return the Declaration of Value by mail with the prepaid envelope.
7) If you have exceptionally lodged your application for a declaration of value in person (based on an agreement with the relevant School Office), you will be contacted when the DV/CD is ready to be picked up. Usually this procedure requires up to one month. If you have sent everything by mail, as mentioned under point 6), we will use your prepaid envelope to ship everything back to you. All original documentation will be returned to the applicant.
9) The procedure is free of charge if the DV/CD requested is to be used for study purposes (please attach documentation to prove the purpose). For any other use (i.e. recognition of academic credentials or working purposes), a consular fee will be applied.
10) If you reside outside of Canada, we recommend you use a courier service such as Canada Expresspost or UPS.
The Consulate will not return the documents unless a pre-paid and self-addressed envelope is provided.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:
The DV/CD provides a short description of a given academic or professional qualification awarded by an institution located in a foreign country with a different educational system compared to the Italian one.
As such, the DV/CD by itself does not give proof of someone’s competence and/or professional skills acquired through the qualification. Although the document is considered by the Italian authorities a reliable and official source of information pertaining to the academic credentials obtained abroad, the presentation of a DV/CD does not pre-empt the right by the receiving institution/office/school to carry out further independent verifications, for instance through a detailed examination of the official transcript.
For information please send an e-mail to: toronto.scuola@esteri.it