CILS (Certification of Italian as a Foreign Language) is an officially recognized educational qualification that certifies the degree of linguistic-communicative competence in Italian as L2. The CILS Certification is the first Italian certification to have adopted the system of six levels of linguistic-communicative competence proposed by the Common European Framework of Reference of the Council of Europe and to have created specific certification modules for workers of foreign origin in Italy.
More information: Unistrasi – Centro CILS
The Italian Cultural Institute of Prague is the examination centre for CILS certification and its teachers are administrators licensed by the University for Foreigners of Siena.
CILS exams
The following levels for adults are offered at the Italian Cultural Institute: A1, A2, B1, B1 citizenship, B2, C1, C2.
B1 citizenship
Act n. 132 of December 1st, 2018, conditions the achievement of Italian citizenship to passing of the B1 level in Italian, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2001). The CILS Centre has created an examination of this level, intended specifically for those who seek Italian citizenship. With its specific objectives, the CILS B1 Citizenship exam has a different structure and format from the CILS UNO B1 exam. In particular, the B1 Citizenship describes a much more limited part of competence than the standard B1 and therefore it has a use limited to the purposes of citizenship only. This exam does not cover business, academic or other purposes.
For further information on the other CILS levels see UNISTRASI – Livelli CILS
Exam Dates 2022-2023
- 15 December 2022
- 8 June 2023
- 5 December 2023 (registration open from 1 to 23 October)
Signing up
To register, download, fill in and sign the FORM. Then send it to corsi.iicpraga@esteri.it together with a copy of your valid identity document. Documents are requested to be sent in PDF or JPG format only, with a maximum size of 2MB.
You will receive the payment details in the response email.
Passing the exam
To pass the exam it is necessary to have enough points in each of the 5 parts of the exam. If not enough points are achieved in one or more parts, it is possible to re-sit the exam within 18 months following the exam, paying only the price of the part/ parts not passed.
However, the B1 Citizenship level is an exception. In fact, if you fail in some part, it will not be recovered, but you will have to take the whole exam again in the next sessions.
In order to choose the level, we recommend you take the PRACTICE TEST provided by the University of Siena for this purpose.
Costs
The price of the exams varies according to the level.
Detailed information can be found in the table below:
Exam results
The results of the evaluations will be available within 3 months from the date of the exam on the ONLINE RESULTS page from which candidates can download and print a summary document valid for self-certification purposes.
An exception is the level B1 CEFR Citizenship, for which the results will be available within 40 – 45 days.
The document is valid for the purposes of self-certification while waiting for the final document.
Pay attention! Remember to have the matriculation number you received during the exam, as you will need it to access the results.
Once the Italian Cultural Institute receives the definitive document from Siena, it will contact interested parties to provide information on the withdrawal.
CILS preparation courses
As is the case with any other exam, this rule applies to the CILS exam too: a part of the success depends on prior knowledge of the exam´s structure. Those already familiar with the exam will manage it with greater confidence and much less stress.
This is why our school offers preparatory courses for the CILS certification exams for levels B2 and C1.
The courses have a total of 20 hours of lessons and a price of 4300 CZK, including the study materials.
For those interested in preparing for the exams, we offer private lessons face-to-face or online for all levels, from A1 to C2.
In order to choose the level, we recommend you take the PRACTICE TEST provided by the University of Siena for this purpose.
Enrollments for these courses are currently closed.