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Corte app. Torino 12.6.2026, est. Comune, XY e ASGI (avv.ti Guariso, Lavanna, Neri e Fierro) c. Ministero Affari Esteri (avv. Stato)
| | | |Equal treatment in access to higher education – Article 39 of the Consolidated Act on Immigration – Iranian students pre-enrolled at Italian universities – organisational arrangements of the Tehran Embassy rendering the timely obtaining of entry visas excessively difficult – discrimination on grounds of nationality – established – standing to sue of an association registered on the list referred to in Article 5 of Legislative Decree No. 215/2003 – established – impossibility of identifying the totality of persons harmed – right to compensation in favour of the association – established
The conduct of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which, through its Embassy in Tehran, prevents Iranian students already pre-enrolled at Italian universities from obtaining an entry visa to Italy — by keeping open the online booking system for visa appointment slots for only eight days — constitutes discrimination on grounds of nationality. Such conduct is incompatible with the obligation of equal treatment between Italian nationals and foreign nationals in access to higher education imposed by Article 39(1) of the Consolidated Act on Immigration, and with the more favourable treatment applied by the Ministry to students of other nationalities who were not subjected to comparably restrictive deadlines for the issuance of visas. Since the totality of the persons harmed cannot be identified, an association registered on the list referred to in Article 5 of Legislative Decree No. 215/2003 has standing to bring proceedings, and such association is entitled to compensation for damages as a body representative of the interests of those who lost an academic year as a result of their inability to obtain the visa.