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Declaration of Value

The document discusses the process of obtaining an Italian Declaration of Value (DOV) for an American education. [1] It describes the DOV as an official document stating that an American education is equivalent to an Italian one. [2] Obtaining a DOV involves multiple steps like translating transcripts, getting apostilles, and submitting applications to the Italian consulate. [3] The process is bureaucratic and frustrating but following the outlined steps should allow one to eventually obtain the necessary DOV document.

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aadi1988
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282 views4 pages

Declaration of Value

The document discusses the process of obtaining an Italian Declaration of Value (DOV) for an American education. [1] It describes the DOV as an official document stating that an American education is equivalent to an Italian one. [2] Obtaining a DOV involves multiple steps like translating transcripts, getting apostilles, and submitting applications to the Italian consulate. [3] The process is bureaucratic and frustrating but following the outlined steps should allow one to eventually obtain the necessary DOV document.

Uploaded by

aadi1988
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Illusive 

Declaration of Value
“Dichiarazione di Valore”: What it is
and how to get one

I talian bureaucracy is probably the most frustrating and pointless

task you’ll ever experience in your entire life. Don’t make the mistake
thinking just because the Declaration of Value (DOV) is obtained in the
US, it will be less of “Italian bureaucracy”. Your experience will be the
typical hair-pulling, nail-biting, one-second-away-from-loosing-your-
mind kind of experience indicative of every kind of Italian bureaucracy.

It is my intention to make this process as easy and as inexpensive as


possible for you to obtain your Declaration of Value, however keep in
mind each consulate has slightly different requirements and they
constantly change from year to year and from person to person
(although they will never admit this). I will outline what the Declaration
of Value is and how to step-by-step obtain this illusive document.

What is the Dichiarazione di Valore or Declaration of Value?


Dichiarazione di Valore or Declaration of Value is an official document
confirming a qualification obtained in an education system different
from the Italian one. Basically, the Declaration of Value states your
education in the US is of the same value as the education in Italy. If you
are applying to graduate schools for a Master’s or PhD degree, then the
University will require this document as well as the visa office for your
Student Visa.

However, although the Declaration of Value is an official government


document, it does not mean that it is perfect. The Italian Council of
State has even declared this in a ruling (No. 4613 of 4/9/07) stating that
the Declaration of Value can not be recognized in a decisive and
discriminating role. “In fact, the P.A. [public administration] has the
obligation to motivate his decisions with regard to the educational
content of the diploma, not simply in relation to extrinsic aspects with
respect to the skills and professional abilities attested by the title, which
formally is the Declaration of Value, but based on a substantial
assessment, through the use (to be assessed case by case by the
person in charge of the proceeding) of all the instruments normally
available…” (Translated from Italian via Ministero dell’Istruzione
dell’Università e della Ricerca (MIUR)) Therefore, keep in mind that the
Declaration of Value is not set in stone nor may easily reflect your
education so make sure you double check everything given to you by
the administrator at the consulate.

How to obtain the Dichiarazione di Valore or Declaration of


Value?
Step 1: Order a transcript from your high school and undergraduate
institution. Most consulates require even your high school transcripts in
addition to your undergrad and Master’s. The transcripts need to be
signed by the registrar and in front of a Notary. In my case, my College,
Mount Holyoke College, could not directly notarize the transcript, so
instead they stuck a sticker on the transcript which was signed and
notarized by the registrar stating the document is official. Some
institutions will charge for releasing an official transcript, for example
Mount Holyoke charges $4 per transcript. However, my high school
gave me the documents free of charge.

Step 2: Translate these transcripts into Italian. The translations do not


need to be technically official (Notarized by the translator) but since the
rules and requirements change from person to person, it is a good idea
to have an official translation of the documents to cover all bases.
Official translators are usually suggested on the website of the
consulate and the translations are then notarized by the official
translator. Make sure the translations visually match the original
document since Italian officials want to spend as little time as possible
looking and figuring them out.

This process will vary in cost depending on the the translation agency
and number of documents, but expect to spend anywhere from a few
hundred dollars to a thousand to have all your documents officially
translated. It is a good idea to ask the consulate if they will require
course descriptions and if those will need to be translated as well since
this will greatly increase your translation cost.
Step 3: The transcripts need to have an Apostille. The Apostille is an
international legalization (HAGUE Convention October 5, 1961) which
will validate the documents you’re sending to Italy. Basically the
Apostille is a Notary of a Notary (silly I know, but must be done). The
Apostille is issued by the Secretary of State by which state the
document was notarized in. Depending on the state, the Apostille will
vary in cost, but usually under $10 per document. The Apostille does
not need to be translated into Italian (save your money!)

Step 4: Make photo copies of your passport. While you’re at it, make
copies of all your documents in your possession. Italy has a tendency to
loose things so its a good idea to have backups of everything!

Step 5: Download and fill out the application form for the Declaration


of Value which can be found on the Consulate’s website. One form has
to be filled out for each academic institution you’re legalizing.

Step 6: Take all documents to your consulate in your jurisdiction. Since


I am a legal resident of New Hampshire, my consulate is in Boston.

The Italian Consulate in Boston

600 Atlantic Avenue, 17th floor, Boston, MA 02210-2206

(617)-722-9201

[email protected]

[email protected]

Consul General: Federica Sereni

Feel free to call or email to make an appointment but most likely you’ll
have to show up in person, possibly multiple times to get this done.

Step 7: Once you’ve obtained the Declaration of Value, the consulate


may send it directly to the university you’re applying to or you might be
required to send it yourself with a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope
(SASE) with stamps for about 40 pages in weight (~$12 to Italy). This can
be done at your nearest post office.

Step 8: You’re done! Throw yourself an awesome party for having


competed this with some of your sanity intact!

*Important* Remember you are dealing with a person at the consulate


who  is not objective. Advocate for yourself! If your degree is not exactly
represented in the DOV for any reason, don’t let it slide! There are more
people than the person reviewing your DOV case you can go to for
amending the document, such as the Consul General. Not every
bureaucrat can understand your education especially if it’s in the
sciences nor can they understand the intricacies of a foreign
educational system.

I hope these steps allowed you to obtain this document in under a few
months of back and forth at the consulate. However, please feel free
to contact me if you have any issues or questions regarding the process
of obtaining the Dichiarazione di Valore (Declaration of Value). Keep in
mind this process will be long, most likely frustrating, and requires
many trips to the consulate, so be patient. Eventually this will all get
done if you follow my steps. In bocca al lupo! (good luck!)

If you need some inspiration to keep you going, check out some of
my Italian adventures. Hopefully, they will inspire you to tolerate some
Italian bureaucracy!

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