CILS exams at the Italian Institute of Culture – Edinburgh
CILS is a certification of proficiency in Italian as a foreign language offered by the Università per Stranieri di Siena (more info on the CILS website).
The Italian Institute of Culture in Edinburgh is a recognized centre of CILS exams. More information on how to enrol and exam dates are available below.
NEXT EXAM DATE: 3 DECEMBER 2026 (levels A2, B1, B2, C1)
Registration deadline:19 October at 11:00 a.m.
Examination fees
In addition to the examination fees established by the University for Foreigners of Siena, the Italian Institute charges an administration fee to cover the costs associated with organising the examination.
Please note that an examination level will only be opened if the minimum required number of candidates is reached for that level and places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
| Level | Exam enrolment fee |
| A2 | £ 70 |
| B1 | £ 120 |
| B2 | £ 130 |
| C1 | £ 155 |
If you are interested in taking the exam, please get in touch at corsi.iicedimburgo@esteri.it.
Students of Italian, people working with Italy or want to obtain a long-stay permit, people who want to have their competence in Italian assessed can take a CILS certification exam. The CILS Certification tests are not linked to particular methods or types of language courses: each candidate can prepare for the CILS certification exams in the way they consider most appropriate and most suitable.
The CILS certification system covers six levels of linguistic-communicative competence as per the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Each CILS level is autonomous, the levels assess progressively higher linguistic-communicative competence.
Each CILS exam assesses five language skills: listening skills, reading comprehension, written production, oral production, analysis of the structures of communication in Italian. To obtain the certificate it is necessary to reach a sufficiency level in each skill.
It is not necessary to have any particular qualifications to take the CILS exam, but only a knowledge of the Italian language corresponding to the parameters indicated for each CILS level.
Please also note that the Italian Institute does not offer the B1 Cittadinanza examination. We act solely as an examination centre and are therefore unable to provide advice or answer specific questions regarding citizenship requirements. For information about the B1 Cittadinanza certification and its requirements, we recommend consulting the relevant official website and contacting your Consulate directly.
For more information, please email corsi.iicedimburgo@esteri.it.