Press room

2010 - News

17.06.2010

How to take the Italian language test for immigrants explained by a decree

Immigrants who are required to pass the Italian language test to obtain an EC long-term residence permit, as envisaged by the Consolidated Text on Immigration, will find out how to take the test in a ministerial decree of 4th June 2010, published on the Official Gazette dated 11th June. The text is available on this website.

The provisions laid down in the decree, jointly issued by the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Education, University and Research, apply to foreign nationals applying for this kind of permit and their family members. The following are exempted from taking the test: minor children under 14 years of age and those having serious problems with language comprehension certified by a National Health System centre.

The Italian language test is taken at the prefecture having jurisdiction over the territory where the applicant is domiciled. Application for admission must be submitted online. The candidate is called by the prefecture within 60 days of the application date. The test, carried out by means of computer-aided procedure, include the following:
- short stories reading comprehension;
- interaction ability assessment, according to the criteria adopted by the Certification bodies listed in article 4 of the decree. 

The applicant can take the language test without using a computer-aided procedure upon request. The same content, evaluation criteria and time limit as those used for tests carried out by means of computer-aided procedure are applied.

Test results are communicated to the candidate by the prefecture which is also responsible for entering them into the information system of the Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration of the Interior Ministry. Those who fail the test will have a chance of repeating it by submitting a new application.