Italy – Qualifications Exempt from Assessment

At a glance

For the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC), applicants holding certain Italian academic qualifications do not need to obtain an International Qualifications Assessment (IQA) from NZQA if—and only if—five strict conditions are met [I-italy]. The qualification must be:

1. listed in the Academic Qualifications Table;
2. awarded by an institution in the Awarding Institutions Table;
3. recorded with the exact abbreviation shown in the Awarding Institutions Table;
4. awarded within the year range specified for that institution and abbreviation; and
5. not excluded by the notes below the Academic Qualifications Table [I-italy].

Qualifying qualifications attract points as follows:

• Laurea (L) – Level 7 on the NZQF, 50 points (some specialisations require assessment)
• Laurea di Dottore (LD) – Level 8, 50 points (awarded only up to 2007)
• Laurea Magistrale / Laurea di Dottore Magistrale / Laurea Specialistica (LM) – Level 9, 70 points (certain exceptions require assessment)
• Dottore di Ricerca (D) – Level 10, 70 points

Some Italian master’s-level qualifications (Master Universitario di Primo/Secondo Livello, Doctor Philosophiae) and all honorary degrees are always assessed by NZQA [I-italy].

Definition

This list is a country-specific exemption instrument under the Skilled Migrant Category. It allows immigration officers to recognise listed Italian qualifications at fixed NZQF levels and award points without requiring an applicant to obtain a separate NZQA assessment. The list is maintained in the INZ Operational Manual, and its content is drawn directly from the ‘Italy’ section [I-italy].

Application in decisions

When an applicant claims points for an Italian qualification, the immigration officer must check the following in sequence [I-italy]:

1. Award certificate language – the certificate must be in the original Italian. Translations alone are not sufficient.
2. Institution and qualification matching – consult the Awarding Institutions Table. The institution must appear with the exact name (including historical names and the date ranges during which it awarded the qualification).
3. Abbreviation match – the award certificate must use one of the abbreviations listed for that institution (L, LD, LM, D).
4. Year range – the qualification must have been awarded within the date window shown for that abbreviation.
5. No exclusion – if the qualification is an honorary degree, involved overseas study, contained cross-credited courses, or was awarded after 2017, it must be referred to NZQA for an IQA [I-italy].

If all conditions are satisfied, the officer awards the points specified in the Academic Qualifications Table. If any condition is not met, or if the qualification is of a type that always requires assessment (e.g. Master Universitario, Doctor Philosophiae), the officer must request an NZQA IQA before points can be allocated [I-italy].

Interpretation & edge cases

Post-2017 awards – mandatory assessment
The notes expressly require that all qualifications awarded after 2017 be referred to NZQA for assessment, even if the qualification type, institution, abbreviation, and year range would otherwise match the exemption tables [I-italy]. This effectively means the exemption list applies only to qualifications awarded up to and including 2017.

Laurea exceptions
The Laurea (L) in Scienze della Formazione Primaria and Scienze Motorie must be assessed by NZQA; they do not attract automatic points. Similarly, the Laurea Magistrale/Dottore Magistrale in Scienze della Formazione Primaria requires assessment [I-italy].

Nomenclature on certificates
Every award certificate must carry the words ‘REPUBBLICA ITALIANA’ at the top. The article ‘Dell’ or ‘Della’ may precede the institution name, and ‘La’ may precede the qualification (e.g. ‘La Laurea’). ‘Laurea’ may be followed by ‘triennale’ on some certificates [I-italy]. These variations do not disqualify the qualification if the underlying degree and institution match.

Applicant belief of higher level
If an applicant considers their qualification sits at a higher NZQF level than that specified in the table, they must apply to NZQA for an IQA. An officer cannot award higher points based solely on the applicant’s assertion [I-italy].

Effective date
This exemption schedule applies from 27 August 2018.

Citations

• I-italy — Italy