Italy-Visa-Experience
This is my visa experience for Long Term D-Type Employment Visa Process along with Declaration of Value. I later obtained the EU Blue card once I reached Italy through this visa. My nulla osta was for the EU Blue card and in such cases, the long term visa is not very valuable or meaningful.
Application process.
After I had received my offer letter, I was asked to obtain a declaration of value for my Master's degree so that I can get a EU Blue Card by showing exceptional skills. In some cases, you might be asked to include the transcript as well, like if you are a student.
To do this, I had to do the following :
A. Process for Declaration of Value(DOV) - 30 days from beginning to end mostly.
First, I needed to obtain my degree from the college. Then, you need to go to the following link : https://ambnewdelhi.esteri.it/ambasciata_newdelhi/en/informazioni_e_servizi/servizi_consolari/studi/dichiarazioni_di_valore to find out about the documents needed.
1. Get degree attested from MHRD(~ 15 - 30 days).
In order to get attestation from MHRD, you have to look up the procedure for your own respective state. The state from which you can apply for attestation can be either the state of your university or your college. I suggest you choose the state where you can easily get it done faster. After I spent, 15 days in getting attestation from Rajasthan, I realised you can get it from Telangana within two days by paying tatkal fees.
Fees : About 100 - 200 rupees if you don't use bribes. Tatkal might cost a little more.
https://mea.gov.in/apostille.htm.
2. Get degree apostilled from MEA( ~ 24 - 48 hours).
Go to the following link https://mea.gov.in/apostille.htm and find the list of outsourcing agencies that you can use to get apostillation. You have to submit the degree along with a copy of your passport.
Fees : 50 rupees per document.
3. Italian Translation of Degree(Depends on Translator).
You need to obtain the italian translation of the apostilled version of Degree which means that even the apostillation certificate is translated. Embassy only accepts translations from the official translators mentioned on its website here - https://ambnewdelhi.esteri.it/ambasciata_newdelhi/en/informazioni_e_servizi/servizi_consolari/studi/dichiarazioni_di_valore. More specifically, https://ambnewdelhi.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Newdelhi/resource/doc/2019/02/traduttori_di_riferimento_-__october_2018.docx.
Fees : 1200 - 1600 rupees per page.
4. Submitting everything to embassy for DOV.
Once you have all the documents, you need to go online and book an appointment from "Prenota Online" portal for your DOV. Once you get the appointment, go the embassy about 15 - 20 mins earlier and they will let you in early as long as it is after 10 AM.
Fees(Important) : The embassy does not charge students for obtaining a DOV. But for work permit related DOVs, you need to pay about 5000 rupees but it increases if you increase the number of pages in your documents. There are two fixed charges and one charge(790 rupees) which is levied per page and adds up quickly. When I got there, they have me until 12 noon to hurry up and get a demand draft with the specific amount for me to apply for DOV.
Time taken : The embassy might take a little bit longer but it gave me an appointment for next week and I was able to get my DOV pretty fast. There was a name-related error/discrepancy which made my process last 12 days but you can get it as soon as 7 days.
B. Obtaining Nulla Osta through employer.
You need to submit the DOV to your employer, who can then submit to the SUI or the Police Headquarters. They will give you a 2 - page document called Nulla Osta or an Authorization. You might receive both depending on your case. Check that your name is properly written on the nulla osta.
Important : You need to submit this document to VFS and they will forward it to the embassy for it to be updated in the embassy records. Alternatively, the employer can forward this to the embassy directly for updation. Without this updation, you will not be given an appointment by the VFS. It will take about 3 - 5 business days.
C. Submitting the Visa Application.
Look at the VFS website and carefully follow the instructions for applying to the embassy. You will have specific requirements for photos. You will also need the employer's ID's copy for this process. Make sure the Nulla osta is stamped and signed by the SUI.
Time taken : If you are applying for an EU Blue card, and your nulla osta is for your EU Blue Card as well, your visa will be issued very fast. Mine was issued in less than 48 hours.
Exceptional cases.
If embassy ever asks you to submit a non-educational document quickly and they need apostillation for it, do not go for the state MHRD attestation because it can take time. Instead ask the apostillation agency to get attestation from Delhi's SDM - Sub Divisional Magistrate. This is a backhand procedure and the document will get both attestation and apostillation in this manner. Without SDM or MHRD attestation, MEA does not apostille a document and so, this SDM method helps cut time and get it done quickly. It takes the same 2 days and you can submit it to the embassy. The documents that can be treated like this are letters, declaration, sponsorship letters, scholarship documents, etc.