Treatment in Italy: entry, the medical visa and asseverated translation

For which conditions do patients go to Italy?

Italy's National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, SSN) is run by the regions, so hospital organisation, waiting lists and the practice of accepting foreign patients vary from one region to another. Patients from Georgia most often consider Italy when they need highly specialised surgery or treatment linked to a research centre:

• cardiac surgery and cardiology, including treatment of congenital heart defects in children and adults;
• paediatrics, especially paediatric oncology, haematology and complex surgery;
• oncology and neurology, where treatment is often linked to clinical trials;
• orthopaedics and rehabilitation, including long recovery programmes after surgery.

In these fields, an important pointer is IRCCS status (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico). Under the legislation, an IRCCS is an institution of national importance that combines biomedical research and highly specialised clinical treatment in a recognised thematic field; the status is confirmed and periodically reviewed by the Ministry of Health. The status does not mean that such a centre is necessarily the best for your particular diagnosis, but it does indicate that research and treatment go hand in hand in its field.

The final decision on the country and method of treatment rests with your treating doctor. Our task is to describe the practical route: entry, documents, language and finances. If you are still comparing countries, see the Spain and France guides as well.

Visa-free entry: 90 days and the declaration of presence

Italy is part of the Schengen area. With a biometric passport, a Georgian citizen can stay there without a visa for 90 days in any 180-day period, including days spent in other countries of the area. This regime covers visits and does not allow work, and at border control you may be asked for a return ticket, proof of accommodation, insurance and proof of funds. For a patient, the hospital letter and the preventivo, that is, the preliminary cost estimate, are added to this.

dichiarazione di presenza: an Italian peculiarity

Italian law requires a foreigner on a short-term visit to make a declaration of presence (dichiarazione di presenza). According to the local police headquarters (Questura), if you arrive in Italy from another Schengen country, you must submit the declaration within eight days of arrival, because a border stamp from another Schengen country does not replace it. If you arrive directly from a non-Schengen country, the obligation is fulfilled at the border. If you stay in a hotel or other official accommodation, the guest registration made by the accommodation serves as the declaration.

For a patient, this is a practical matter: if after treatment you stay in a rented flat or with relatives and you arrived in Italy from, say, Austria or France, you must submit the declaration yourself. The new electronic Entry/Exit System (EES) has replaced passport stamping, so if you plan to stay in a flat, check the current rule with the local Questura in advance.

As for the EU decision of March 2026, it affected only holders of Georgian diplomatic, service and official passports; visa-free travel with an ordinary passport remains in force. The EU announces the start date of the planned travel authorisation (ETIAS) separately, so check both points before you travel.

When do you need an Italian medical visa (cure mediche)?

If treatment and recovery last more than 90 days, the visa-free regime is no longer enough. Article 36 of Italy's Immigration Code (Legislative Decree 286/1998) specifically provides for an entry visa and residence permit for medical treatment, both for the patient and for an accompanying person. Under the article, the application must be accompanied by:

• a declaration from the chosen Italian medical institution stating the type of treatment, its start date and expected duration;
• proof that a guarantee deposit has been paid in line with the expected cost of treatment. Information sheets from Italian embassies ask for proof of advance payment of at least 30 percent of the cost of treatment;
• a document confirming board and accommodation in Italy for the accompanying person and for the recovery period after hospital stay;
• proof of sufficient financial means to cover the remaining cost.

Under the law, this residence permit is issued for the duration of the therapeutic need and extended where a documented need exists. Submit the application to the Italian diplomatic mission well before departure, because the hospital declaration and the guarantee payment have to be sorted out first. We cover the general visa package, insurance and financial documents on the medical visa service page.

How to choose a hospital: public, IRCCS or private?

For a foreign patient in Italy, the difference between public and private institutions shows less in price than in procedure and communication. The table below will help you understand what each type means and what to ask in your first letter.

If you need a medical visa, factor this in when choosing an institution: according to the embassies, a medical visa is issued for treatment at a public or accredited private institution. Before you pay a deposit, make sure the chosen institution meets this condition and will issue the declaration the embassy requires.

Correspondence with an Italian public hospital is often slow and conducted in Italian. So approach several institutions in parallel and set a deadline for replies in advance. We do this work as part of our clinic search service, and the specifics of oncology cases are described on the oncology treatment page.

The Italian language and asseverated translation: which format, and when?

The main working language in an Italian hospital is Italian. The international department and some doctors will accept correspondence in English, but on the ward, at diagnostics and in the administrative office, communication is mostly in Italian. So for complex treatment it is worth arranging a medical interpreter in advance.

Unlike Spain, Italy has no body of ministry-appointed sworn translators. A translation gains legal force through asseveration (asseverazione): the translator appears in person at a tribunal or a justice of the peace office and, before a court clerk, signs a sworn statement (verbale di giuramento) confirming that the text faithfully renders the original. Before signing, they are warned of criminal liability for false statements. The statement is attached at the end of the translation, bound together with the original or a copy of it, and completed with revenue stamps (marca da bollo).

According to court instructions, the translator may be an expert registered on the tribunal's or chamber of commerce's list, or another qualified person, although for some purposes they must not be related to the person the document concerns. The procedure is carried out in Italy and, as a rule, by appointment.

• For the hospital, the discharge summary and test results must be accurately translated into English or Italian; asseveration is not usually needed at this stage.
• For the embassy and Italian authorities, the receiving body decides the translation format, and public documents issued in Georgia need an apostille, because both countries are parties to the Apostille Convention.

You can find out what a translation costs and how long it takes with the translation calculator, and cases that need notarisation are explained on the notarisation page.

What goes into the document package for an Italian hospital?

A doctor at an Italian hospital makes the first assessment based solely on the documents you send, so the completeness of the package directly determines how accurate the preventivo will be. Prepare:

• the discharge summary from your latest hospital stay or Form 100, with the diagnosis and current prescriptions;
• recent laboratory test results with units of measurement and reference ranges;
• radiology reports and the images themselves in DICOM format, with a download link;
• the histology report and, for an oncology diagnosis, information on where the biopsy blocks are stored;
• for a child's treatment, the developmental history, vaccination card and reports of previous operations;
• a list of medicines with international names and doses, noting any allergies.

If you need a medical visa, the hospital declaration, proof of the guarantee payment, the accommodation document and financial statements are added to this package. The patient's first name and surname must be spelled with the same transliteration in every document, as in the passport: any discrepancy prompts extra questions at the embassy and the hospital administration. General rules for putting the package together are in the guide to documents for treatment abroad. Medical documents are translated by our medical translation service, and how to obtain Form 100 is covered in a separate guide.

The preventivo, the guarantee deposit and settling the bill

The preliminary cost estimate of an Italian hospital is called a preventivo. It is usually prepared after a medical review of the documents and covers hospitalisation, the procedure and standard tests. For a visa, the preventivo is the basis for the amount, part of which you must pay in advance.

When you receive the preventivo, check:

• in whose name the document is issued and whether the bank details match the hospital's official details;
• how many inpatient days are included and what an extra day or intensive care costs;
• whether expensive medicines, implants and genetic tests are charged separately;
• how the rest of the guarantee deposit is refunded if treatment costs less, or how any additional cost is settled;
• whether the hospital issues a final invoice (fattura) and payment receipts, which you will need in Georgia for funding or reporting.

If you are seeking part of the cost in Georgia from a state programme or another source, the preventivo and invoices will need a Georgian translation. Where to apply and in what order is described in the surgery funding guide.

Staying in Italy and the post-treatment stage at home

During long treatment, the type of accommodation also has legal implications: a hotel registers its guests itself, whereas if you live in a rented flat or with relatives, the declaration of presence is your responsibility. A patient who arrives on a visa will usually have to apply for a residence permit shortly after arrival; the Italian diplomatic mission will explain this deadline and procedure when issuing the visa.

On discharge, the hospital issues a discharge letter (lettera di dimissione), usually in Italian. It is the key document of your treatment: in Georgia, your doctor, laboratory and pharmacy will rely on its Georgian translation. In the prescriptions, Italian brand names should be replaced with international non-proprietary names so that the pharmacist can find the right medicine. If a medicine you need is not sold in Georgia, or you need special care at home, contact our post-operative care service.

Agree on the schedule of follow-up visits and the format of remote consultations before discharge: who you send new test results to, in which language, and how quickly they will reply. This is especially important for paediatric and oncology treatment, where monitoring lasts for years.

Frequently asked questions about treatment in Italy