CILS from Uzbekistan: levels, dates, venue and preparation

Which level do you need?

The rule for universities comes from the Italian ministry's circular for 2026-27 and 2027-28: each university tests Italian at at least B2 for Italian-taught degrees, and a B2 certificate from a recognised body exempts you from that test. Sapienza asked for a certificate issued after 1 January 2022 and in hand by the visa deadline (30 June 2026 for the 2026-27 year). Padua asks for one from the last two years.

CILS has no expiry date, but universities can ask for a recent one, so check your university's page.

What the exam looks like

From B1 up, CILS has five parts: listening, reading, analysis of communicative structures (grammar and vocabulary), writing, and speaking. Speaking is a dialogue with the examiner plus a short monologue.

• At B2 you write two texts of 120–140 and 80–100 words; at B1, 100–120 and 50–80.
• If you fail one part, you keep the parts you passed and retake only the failed one (not for B1 Cittadinanza or the integration exams). Ask your venue how long passed parts stay valid; the official documents disagree.
• B1 Cittadinanza has its own shorter, four-part format.

Dates for 2026 and 2027

Plan backwards from your university. Results take about 3 months, so a June exam is too late for a deadline at the end of June. For a September start, sit B2 in December or April before it. Venues can close registration earlier than Siena's deadline.

Where to sit it from Uzbekistan

Siena's list of venues abroad has one venue in Uzbekistan: the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages (Bostonsoroy Street 93). Its contact details are on Siena's Uzbekistan page. Being on the list does not guarantee every session runs there, so call the institute to confirm the session and the fee before you plan.

If Samarkand does not suit you, the nearest venues abroad are in Russia (six cities), Baku, Yerevan, Tbilisi, Istanbul, Izmir and Dubai. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan list no venue.

CILS, CELI (Perugia), PLIDA (Dante Alighieri) and CERT.IT (Roma Tre) are equal at the same level for universities and citizenship. Perugia's current list has no CELI centre in Uzbekistan; the nearest are in Almaty and Ashgabat. Uzbekistan's official list of recognised language certificates (2024) names CILS and CELI for Italian.

How much it costs

Siena's fees at venues in Italy are €90 for B1, €105 for B2, €135 for C1 and €160 for C2; retaking one part costs €22–35. B1 Cittadinanza costs €100 in Italy and abroad. Other venues abroad set their own fee in their agreement with Siena, and the Samarkand fee is not published: ask the institute.

How long preparation takes

There is no official figure for Italian for Russian or Uzbek speakers. As a rough guide, Cambridge estimates about 350–400 guided hours from zero to B1 and 500–600 to B2 (for English). Three 90-minute lessons a week is about 20 hours a month, so B2 from zero is roughly two years of steady study; starting from A2 or B1 shortens it a lot, and daily work on the platform helps.

How LINGUA Italiano prepares you

• Italian from zero with a teacher who lives in Venice, explained in Uzbek or Russian.
• Level A1 is on the platform now: 26 lessons and 2 tests, with real Italian voices and a word trainer; A2 to B2 are planned.
• Your writing is checked with comments in the text, and you speak in every live lesson.
• The same formats and prices as LINGUA Business: groups from 589 000 so'm a month (see prices), and the first lesson is free.

Going to Italy for a degree? Read about the teacher on Mr. Hondamir's page, or start with the LINGUA Italiano course.