Every day, citizens from different regions of Pakistan report the extreme difficulty in obtaining an appointment at the Italian Embassy to submit their visa application for Italy, specifically for study purposes, this is an alarming situation, which amounts to discrimination against citizens of certain nationalities who, unlike others, find their right compromised, at least to dream of, a study career in Italy.
Studying in Italy: a dream beyond university
Studying in Italy is not only an academic step, but represents for many young Pakistanis a true life project. Italy, with its centuries-old cultural and academic tradition, its prestigious universities such as the University of Trieste, that of Pavia or Milano Bicocca, is seen as a destination capable of opening the doors to international careers and a future of personal and professional growth. Unfortunately, this dream too often risks breaking against a bureaucratic obstacle that seems insurmountable, the impossibility of securing an appointment at the Italian Consulate in Pakistan to submit the study visa application.
In recent years, the phrase “appointment not available” has become an invisible but extremely powerful barrier, capable of blocking hundreds of deserving students. Young men and women already admitted to Italian universities, with complete and ready documentation, find themselves paralyzed by a system that does not allow them to take the decisive step. The consequences are devastating: months of exhausting waiting, increasing anxiety and, above all, the real risk of losing the entire academic year. Therefore, it is not just bureaucracy, but the frustration of seeing years of preparation and investment vanish. It is in this context that the assistance of experienced professionals becomes not only useful but indispensable.
Extrajudicial warnings or appeal to the Administrative Court (TAR)?
When a Pakistani student is unable to book an appointment at the Italian Embassy to submit a student visa application, it is natural to wonder what the most effective remedy is to overcome the situation. In practice, many students begin by sending reminders and formal demand letters to the Embassy. These are formal communications requesting the Administration either to allow the booking of an appointment or to provide a response to the ongoing deadlock.
However, it is important to understand the limitations of these instruments. Extrajudicial demand letters have no coercive effect and do not legally compel the Administration to take any action. Furthermore, they are addressed to the very same authority that has not yet resolved the problem. In other words, the request is reviewed by the same Administration responsible for the inactivity, without the involvement of any independent and impartial third party tasked with assessing the legality of its conduct. The Embassy may decide to consider the request, but it may also choose not to respond at all, without the demand letter producing any immediately binding legal consequences.
An appeal before the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (TAR Lazio) to obtain an appointment for a student visa operates on an entirely different level. It is the only legal remedy provided by the Italian legal system to effectively challenge the inactivity of a Public Administration, transferring the matter from the administrative sphere to the judicial one. Through the appeal, the case is no longer submitted to the attention of the office that failed to act, but instead to an independent administrative judge, whose role is to assess the conduct of the Administration and its compliance with the principles of legality, good administration and efficiency. For this reason, an appeal before TAR Lazio represents the most effective form of protection available to a student. The Administration is required to face judicial proceedings and the possibility of an unfavourable decision, including a potential order to pay legal costs. At our law firm, any extrajudicial activity is regarded solely as a preparatory and supportive measure, while the truly effective remedy remains the appeal before the administrative court, which is the only authority empowered to intervene against the inactivity of a Public Administration.
Introducing “PASS”: our solution to obtain the appointment for the study visa
Although no lawyer can guarantee that the Italian Embassy will grant an appointment, since that decision lies exclusively within the authority of the Administration, there is a legal remedy that allows a student to react to administrative inaction and bring the matter before a judge. It is from this need that P.A.S.S. – Press for Appointment Student Service was created, a service developed by our law firm to assist Pakistani students who, despite having been admitted to an Italian university, are unable to obtain an appointment to submit their student visa application.
The PASS service is built around an individual appeal before the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (TAR Lazio), which is the only remedy provided by Italian law against the silence and inaction of a Public Administration. Extrajudicial demand letters, in fact, have no coercive effect and are addressed to the same Administration that has failed to act. For this reason, the truly effective form of protection is the one that transfers the matter before an independent administrative judge.
It is important to clarify a point that often causes confusion. Appeals cannot be filed collectively. In judgment no. 13582/2025 of 15 December 2025, the Fifth Quater Section of TAR Lazio examined a case concerning the failure of the Italian Embassy in Islamabad to schedule appointments for student visa applications and declared inadmissible an appeal brought jointly by multiple students. The Court held that actions against administrative silence must be assessed on the basis of the specific circumstances of each applicant, since every procedure is autonomous and involves different factual elements. Consequently, the mere fact that several students are experiencing the same difficulty does not allow them to bring a single joint appeal.
For this reason, every case is handled individually, and any appeal is prepared and filed separately.
In practical terms, the service is divided into two stages.
In the first stage, after receiving the necessary documentation and the power of attorney for litigation, the Firm reviews the student’s position and prepares the appeal. Before formally serving the appeal, a formal demand letter is sent to the Embassy. This represents the final attempt to obtain the appointment voluntarily without commencing judicial proceedings. The demand letter is not an independent legal remedy, but rather a preliminary step intended to give the Administration an opportunity to act before litigation begins.
If the Embassy fails to respond or does not grant the appointment within the specified deadline, the second stage begins, consisting of the service and filing of an individual appeal before TAR Lazio. From that moment onward, the matter is submitted to an independent administrative judge, who will assess the lawfulness of the Administration’s inaction.
Our experience shows that the commencement of judicial proceedings often provides a strong incentive for the Administration to take charge of the case. During 2025, the appeals filed by our Firm in similar matters were concluded with a declaration that the dispute had become moot, because the students had already obtained their appointments before the hearing date. While this does not constitute a guarantee of success in future cases, it demonstrates how judicial review can be a particularly effective tool for overcoming administrative deadlock.
The professional engagement is formalized through a special power of attorney for litigation in a bilingual format, Italian and English, prepared directly by our Firm. The document must be signed before a Notary Public in Pakistan and subsequently apostilled pursuant to the Hague Convention of 1961 in order to be valid before Italian courts.
In practice, the client sends us by email a scanned copy of the power of attorney signed before the Notary Public, together with proof of payment of the legal fees. This allows us to begin preparing the case immediately without waiting for the apostille procedure to be completed. The client must then send the original apostilled document to our office in Rome by international courier.
The operational stages of the PASS program are therefore the following:
- Submission of the required documentation, including passport copy, university admission letter, BLS portal final summary, any communications with the university or the Embassy, screenshots of unsuccessful booking attempts, and documentation relating to university enrolment deadlines.
- Delivery to the client of the special power of attorney for litigation and the legal services agreement. The client returns the signed agreement by email.
- Execution of the power of attorney before a Notary Public in Pakistan and transmission of a digital copy to the Firm.
- Review of the case, preparation of the appeal, and service of the formal demand letter to the Embassy as a final attempt to avoid judicial proceedings.
- Delivery to the Firm of the original apostilled power of attorney.
- In the absence of a satisfactory response from the Embassy, service and filing of the individual appeal before TAR Lazio.
A final clarification is essential. The PASS service concerns exclusively the obtaining of the appointment required to submit a student visa application. The appeal does not seek the issuance of the visa itself and does not affect the Embassy’s authority to assess the application on its merits. The Administration retains full discretion to examine the supporting documentation and decide whether to grant or refuse the visa. Assistance relating to the subsequent consular procedure, the preparation of the visa application, or the challenge of a visa refusal is not included in the PASS service and requires a separate professional engagement.l fee, at any time during the assignment. Trust us. Dozens of students have already done so and have obtained their appointment as a result.
Why rely on an experienced legal team
It is essential to understand the stakes involved. Every mistake, every delay, and every improvised decision can jeopardize this project. Relying on chance or attempting a do-it-yourself solution creates a real risk of losing valuable time and missing what may be a life-changing opportunity. It is precisely within this vulnerable phase of the process that qualified legal and organizational support becomes crucial.
In a context where bureaucracy can slow down or even completely block an individual’s plans, the difference lies in working with professionals who thoroughly understand the procedures and know how to intervene in a targeted and effective manner. ItalyVisaInvestments, the specialized division of Boschetti International Law Firm, was created specifically to address international mobility matters. Our expertise in immigration law, built over nearly twenty years of practice, has enabled us to develop practical strategies for overcoming complex situations, including the difficulty of obtaining appointments at the Italian Embassy in Pakistan. We are not speaking in theoretical terms, but about concrete results achieved for numerous students who, thanks to our intervention, were able to begin their academic journey in Italy without further delays.
The PASS method is clear, structured, and built around the legal remedies that are actually available under Italian law.
1. Individual appeals and personalized protection
Each case is assessed individually, and any appeal is prepared on the basis of the student’s specific circumstances. This approach is not merely an organizational choice of our Firm, but a consequence of the position adopted by TAR Lazio, according to which disputes concerning administrative silence in appointment booking procedures must be handled individually, since every applicant’s situation involves different facts and supporting documentation.
2. Formal demand letter before litigation
Before commencing judicial proceedings, the Firm sends a formal demand letter to the Italian Embassy. This represents a final attempt to obtain the appointment voluntarily and avoid litigation. The demand letter has no coercive effect and does not legally compel the Administration to act, but it formally presents the student’s position and notifies the Embassy of the imminent filing of proceedings before TAR Lazio.
3. Proceedings before TAR Lazio
If the Embassy does not grant the appointment within the deadline specified in the demand letter, the Firm proceeds with an individual appeal before TAR Lazio. This is the core element of the PASS method. At that stage, the dispute is no longer submitted to the same Administration that failed to act, but instead is brought before an independent administrative judge, the only authority empowered under Italian law to review and assess the inactivity of a Public Administration.
Experience shows that the prospect of a judicial decision often provides a strong incentive for the Administration to take charge of the case and resolve it before the hearing takes place.
4. Exclusive focus on obtaining the appointment
The PASS service is designed exclusively for situations in which a student is unable to access the visa application procedure because it is impossible to obtain an appointment at the Embassy. The appeal is intended to protect the student’s right to submit a visa application, particularly when university deadlines are approaching, the booking system is inaccessible, or the Administration fails to provide any response.
It is important to emphasize that PASS does not concern the merits of the visa application itself. The Embassy retains full authority to assess the documentation submitted and to approve or refuse the visa application in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.
In summary, PASS is a legal service built around the only effective remedy provided by Italian law against administrative inaction: an individual appeal before TAR Lazio, preceded by a formal demand letter intended to give the Administration an opportunity to act voluntarily before judicial proceedings are commenced.
