Education in Italy is a both a right and a responsibility: in fact, it is one's right to gain an education and one's responsibility to go to school up to the age of 16 years. 

Foreign national minors are entitled to enrol in school. Enrolment is carried out by a parent or guardian and the same rules apply as for Italian minors. Enrolment in school can be done at any time during the school year.

Enrolment does not in any way mean that the authorities will be notified if the parents or guardians are not legally resident. 

Compulsory Education

​Minors can only work once they reach the age of 16 years and have fully completed the compulsory education cycle. Compulsory education is the duty, but moreso, the right to frequent an educational institution until the age of 18. This obligation ends when one gains a high school diploma or a professional qualification. 

Minors are obliged to have a school education for ten years. If the student decides to leave school between the ages of 15 and 18, he/she can: participate in an combined study course, attend a professional training course or work as an apprentice