Reception and inclusion of people with refugee status
We support various initiatives to welcome people with refugee status, asylum seekers and people fleeing their own Country.
We invite students, academic staff and professional staff to promote discussion and deeper understanding of migration, rescue and the reception of people with a history of migration, in order to bring the debate back to a climate of reasonableness and foster full respect for human rights, a value at the heart of the university and civil society.
If you are a refugee and have applied for asylum/international protection, and therefore hold a residence permit for asylum application, you may enrol in Unipd degree programmes (Bachelor's Degree Programme, Master's Degree Programme, single-cycle degree programme).
Your enrolment and the award of your degree are, however, conditional on actually obtaining refugee status or subsidiary protection, and therefore on obtaining a residence permit for asylum or subsidiary protection. You will therefore need to provide a copy of your residence permit (or of the decision of the Territorial Commission recognising refugee status) before completing your studies.
Students with refugee status or subsidiary protection status recognised as such by the Italian Government may apply for the CIMEA Statement of Comparability free of charge.
More information is available on the CIMEA website.
Refugee students with limited or no documentation may apply for the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees, a Council of Europe project.
The Passport is not a formal act of recognition of the qualification but provides a summary and an assessment of the candidate’s level of education, work experience and language skills, evaluated on the basis of the information available and a structured interview. It is a tool that helps the University carry out the assessment of the qualification obtained.
To access the service, interested students must create their profile on the EQPR IT platform (in English).
Further information is available on the Council of Europe website (link in English).
Exemption from tuition fees
Students with refugee status or subsidiary protection status recognised as such by the Italian Government are entitled to a full exemption from the all-inclusive tuition fee, including the pre-enrolment fee; they will only have to pay the stamp duty and the regional tax for the right to higher education.
To benefit from this exemption, students must notify the Financial Benefits Office by the end of the current academic year by sending an email to benefici.studenti@unipd.it (cc: unipd.rescuefund@unipd.it), attaching a document certifying their status.
Two awards, with a deadline of 31 December 2026, reserved for recipients of scholarships funded by the University of Padua (Unipd4Afghanistan, Unipd4Ukraine, Unipd4Myanmar, UNICORE, CRUI – Ministero dell’Interno, Students@Risk) who have obtained a master’s degree/single-cycle master’s degree between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2026
Resources
- Italian Universities for Palestinian Students – IUPALS
- Unipd 4 Myanmar (a.y. 2023/24)
- Unipd 4 Ukraine (a.y. 2022/23)
- Unipd 4 Afghanistan (a.y. 2022/23)
In view of the exhibition "Out of Place" organised in collaboration with the University of Padua and shown between June and July 2025, the Fondazione Imago Mundi has decided to donate 30,000 euro in support of all students receiving Students at Risk, Unipd 4 Myanmar and Unicore scholarships who are currently enrolled at the University of Padua.
