If you are applying through the group process, then you must submit your documents to our office. We will then go directly to the Consulate with all of the applications and they will be processed as one batch. Most importantly, we cannot guarantee the return of your passports more than three days before the start of the program. This means you must not book your ticket earlier than that date. If you are planning on leaving early for Rome, you must process your visa individually.
You must submit the following forms to our office:
• Visa application form (Complete, sign and have NOTARIZED with one passport-sized photograph). You can obtain the visa application form from the New York Italian Embassy's web site. For Trinity students, there is a notary in the Office of International Programs.
• A passport valid for at least six months past the planned stay in Italy. The passport will be kept and then returned with the visa.
• A photocopy of your round trip flight itinerary
• A notarized photocopy of your student ID.
• For VISITING STUDENTS ONLY: A letter from your home school confirming your enrollment status, stating you are fully enrolled in the current academic year or enrolled for the following semester, anticipated graduation date, and major. This document must include the university seal. For an example, click here: 
Acceptance Ltr.doc (we will supply this for Trinity students).
• For VISITING STUDENTS ONLY: A photocopy of your Driver’s License
• You will provide a notarized Affidavit of Support from your parents, in two copies (original plus one copy), stating they will assume full financial responsibility for your stay in Italy. Click here to print the necessary form: 
Affidavit of Support.pdf .
If you are self-supporting (that is, if the Affidavit of Support is not to be signed by your parents or guardian), then you need to prepare and sign the Affidavit of Support yourself and have your bank substantiate your financial stability. If you are a recipient of financial aid, you may also wish to request your home college’s Financial Aid Office to prepare a statement of your financial aid award for your term of study with TC/RC. That statement should be notarized and then included by you with your visa application as a supplement to the statement your parent or guardian provides (or that you provide yourself if you are self-supporting).
• You will provide a letter in two copies (original plus one copy) from the parents’ bank, on the bank’s letterhead, signed by a bank official, indicating account balance. Bank statements cannot be accepted. A minimum of $5,000 must be shown. Bank letters should have a recent date. Click here for an example: BankstatementParents .pdf.
This requirement often raises a number of questions or objections from our participants and their parents. We do not have more specific information on this requirement, nor do we have the authority to waive this (or any other) requirement set by the Italian consulates. Without this form, a visa to participate in the program will not be granted.
Most consulates may be satisfied with a notarized statement that simply indicates that the student or the student’s parents are able to offer a minimum of $5,000 financial support during the period of time abroad. Other consulates specifically ask in their instructions for a notarized statement that shows available funds. You should contact your particular consulate and follow the specific requirements concerning the funds issue. If your consulate requires that you indicate exact available bank funds and you strongly object to providing a letter that discloses the amount of funds available in your savings (or other) bank account, you can try providing the consulate with a more general letter that states, for example, “the parents of “name of student” have funds in excess of $5,000.” In the end, the acceptability of such a statement is at the discretion of the particular consulate, and we regret that our Hartford Office cannot offer any help or advice beyond what is mentioned here. If your visa application is rejected for failure to provide this information, you will jeopardize your opportunity to go to Rome.
• You will provide us with a trackable, pre-paid mailer, such as Federal Express, UPS, USPS, etc., that will be used to return your passport with visa, ID, and documents you will need to obtain your Permesso di Soggiorno. If your documents are returned through regular mail and lost, there will be no way to find them, and you will be unable to be admitted to Italy.