Quick Read
- India is a confirmed IMAT 2026 testing country under the decree.
- The 2026 decree lists testing countries, not Indian city names.
- In 2025, India hosted centres in New Delhi and Chennai.
- Your test centre choice does not affect your ranking.
- Registration opens 26 August 2026 on the Universitaly portal.
- Exact venue addresses come in a later ministry notice.
Are there IMAT Test Centres in India in 2026?
Yes. India is listed as an official testing country for the 2026 exam in the annexe to the Italian ministry’s decree.
The rules for this cycle come from Decreto Ministeriale n. 1005 of 6 August 2026, issued by Italy’s Ministry of University and Research (MUR). Attached to it is Tabella A, the list of places where the exam is held. India appears on that list alongside 24 other countries outside Italy: Albania, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kenya, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, the UK and the USA. Kenya and Tunisia are new additions compared with 2025.
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Here is the part that almost every other page gets wrong. Tabella A names countries, not cities. The only rows carrying a city name are the seventeen Italian university venues, plus one exception where the UAE entry reads "Dubai." The India row says India and nothing else.
So if you are reading a page that states with confidence that your 2026 IMAT exam center India options are New Delhi and Chennai, that page is describing last year's arrangement, not this year's published one.
If you are still working out what this exam is and how it fits an Indian application, start with our explainer on what is IMAT exam and then the IMAT exam 2026 dates and pattern.
Counsellor insight: Treat any 2026 city claim you read online as precedent, not confirmation. Precedent is genuinely useful for planning flights and leave from coaching. It is not something to argue with an invigilator about.
Which Cities Host the IMAT Test Centres in India?
The honest answer has three layers, and you need all three.
Layer one, what the decree confirms. India is a testing country. No Indian city is named.
Layer two, what actually happened in 2025. CINECA, the ministry's in-house consortium that now runs the exam, appointed Recrytera to manage and supervise overseas venues. Recrytera's published 2025 centre list gives the real addresses:
- New Delhi - Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Paschim Vihar
- Chennai - Ramada Plaza Chennai
India was one of only three countries with two overseas cities that year, alongside Turkey and the UK. Across all overseas venues, 6,848 candidates sat the 2025 paper at 27 locations in 23 countries.
Layer three, where 2026 gets confirmed. Two places. The selectable city appears inside the Universitaly registration form when the window opens. The full address and room number come later, in a separate ministry notice. Article 2, paragraph 5 of the decree says exactly that: the addresses of both Italian and foreign venues, with rooms indicated, are published in a subsequent Avviso on the MUR website and on university websites.
| 2025 (confirmed) | 2026 (status today) | Where it gets confirmed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| India as testing country | Yes | Yes, Tabella A of DM 1005 | Already published on mur.gov.it |
| Indian cities | New Delhi, Chennai | Not named in the decree | Universitaly, when registration opens |
| Venue addresses | Radisson Blu Paschim Vihar; Ramada Plaza Chennai | Not published | Later MUR Avviso, before the test |
| Local start time | Set by venue, not a straight conversion | Not published | Venue notice and MUR Avviso |
One correction worth making, because it circulates widely on Indian sites: the British Council does not run the IMAT. Cambridge Assessment was involved until 2023. Since then MUR and CINECA run it entirely. Advice telling you to phone the British Council if something goes wrong on exam day will not help you in Delhi or Chennai.
Counsellor insight: Students book non-refundable Delhi flights in August based on last year's hotel, then find the room assignment differs. Book refundable or flexible fares until the Avviso is out. The difference in fare is far smaller than the cost of losing the sitting.
How to Select your IMAT Test Centres in India on Universitaly
Centre selection happens inside registration, and registration happens in one place only.
The window is 26 August to 9 September 2026, closing at 15:00 GMT+2 on the final day. The decree calls this deadline non-negotiable. Everything runs through the Universitaly portal. There is no parallel application through individual universities and no offline route.
The rule splits depending on where you sit:
- Sitting abroad, including in India: you choose a foreign venue from Tabella A. You are free to pick any country on that list, regardless of which Italian university you are applying to.
- Sitting in Italy: your first-preference university automatically becomes your exam venue. The decree states no exceptions are permitted.
Your choices become irrevocable at 15:00 GMT+2 on 9 September 2026. That single moment locks both your test centre and your university preference order.
On payment, the decree is blunt: a payment not accompanied by the online registration receipt gives no right to sit the exam. Paying is not registering. Finish the full flow, download the receipt, and re-open your account the next day to confirm the status still reads as registered.
The 2026 fee amount is published on Universitaly when registration opens. For budgeting, the 2025 contribution was €130, roughly Rs.14,560. Confirm the actual 2026 figure on Universitaly yourself from 26 August. The guide to IMAT exam fees covers the wider cost picture, and the step-by-step is in our IMAT exam registration guide.
Exchange rate used: Rs.112 per euro. Verify the current rate before finalising your budget.
Counsellor insight: Have three things ready before the window opens, not during it: a working Universitaly login, your passport in hand, and a card enabled for international transactions with headroom on the limit. Bank declines during the rush are the most common reason Indian students lose their preferred centre.
What If the IMAT Test Centres in India Are Full?
Overseas seats are allotted first come, first served, and Indian capacity has historically been small relative to Indian demand. If the Indian option shows as unavailable when you reach the centre-selection step, you have not lost the exam. You have lost the convenient venue.
Your realistic fallbacks:
- Dubai. The most practical option for most Indian students. Frequent flights from every metro, a straightforward visa, and the venue in 2025 was Dubai World Trade Centre. Budget roughly Rs.35,000 to Rs.60,000 for return flights and two nights, depending on the city and how early you book.
- Other listed countries. Any Tabella A country is open to you. Check the visa requirement before you commit, because a seat you cannot travel to is worse than no seat.
- Italy. Available, but it carries a consequence: sitting in Italy locks your venue to your first-preference university's city. That is a strategic decision, not just a travel one.
If you are a Class 12 student in Bengaluru finishing boards in March 2026 and your parents can support one international trip, treat Dubai as your genuine plan B from day one. Decide it now, before the window opens, so you are not making a Rs.50,000 decision at midnight under pressure.
If you are a drop-year NEET aspirant in Kolkata on a tight budget, register in the first hour on 26 August and take whichever Indian centre appears. Delhi and Chennai are both roughly a Rs.6,000 to Rs.12,000 flight from Kolkata. Do not hold out for the "closer" one.
If you are in Delhi NCR and can be at your laptop when the window opens, your only real job is speed. Have the form pre-planned, including your full university preference order, so you are clicking and not thinking.
Counsellor insight: A Dubai seat booked calmly on day one beats a Delhi seat chased in panic on day four. Every year some students refresh the portal for days hoping an Indian slot reopens, and end up with no seat anywhere.
IMAT Test Centre Exam-Day Rules for Indian Candidates
The exam is on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, starting at 13:30 Italian time in Italy, with overseas venues adjusting to their local time zone.
Do not convert that to IST yourself. The decree says foreign venues adjust to the local time zone, and in practice the operator sets a start time that has not matched a straight arithmetic conversion. Your confirmed local reporting and start time comes from the venue notice and the MUR Avviso. Read that email when it arrives and set your alarm by it, not by a calculator.
Recrytera's standing instruction for overseas venues in 2025 was to arrive at least three hours before the start. Plan around that, not around a comfortable 30-minute buffer.
| What to bring or know | Rule | India-specific detail |
|---|---|---|
| Valid photo ID | Mandatory, must be current | Use the passport you registered with; check it is not expiring before 29 September |
| Pen | Only the black pen supplied by the venue | Your own pens and pencils are prohibited, including in the answer-submission queue |
| Phone, smartwatch, tablet | Prohibited in the hall | Smartwatches catch out more Indian candidates than phones; leave it at the hotel |
| Earphones, webcams, similar devices | Prohibited | Includes anything worn |
| Notes, books, loose sheets | Prohibited, even partial photocopies | Rough work is on the two sheets inside your sealed packet |
| Arrival time | At least three hours early (2025 advisory) | Delhi and Chennai traffic on a weekday afternoon; leave earlier than feels sensible |
| Answer marking | X in the box, one correction permitted per question | Fill the abandoned box in completely before marking the new one |
Five things cancel your paper outright: sitting in a room you are not listed for without authorisation, bringing or using prohibited devices or materials, signing or marking the answer sheet, interacting with or copying from another candidate, and using any writing implement during the submission process.
Counsellor insight: The smartwatch is the one. Students remember to surrender the phone and forget the thing on their wrist. Take it off in the taxi.
What to do When Things Go Wrong
Indian centres show as sold out. Pick Dubai or another accessible Tabella A country immediately. Do not wait and refresh. Seats do not reliably reopen.
Your card is declined during the rush. Try a second card straight away. If both fail, complete the registration steps first and resolve payment within the window rather than restarting the whole form.
You picked the wrong centre. Once registration closes on 9 September you cannot change it. Within the window, the practical route is cancelling and re-registering completely, which puts you back into whatever availability remains. Get it right the first time.
Your passport is lost or expiring. A valid photo ID is non-negotiable at the venue. If your passport expires before 29 September, apply for renewal now, not in September. Tatkal exists for a reason.
You cannot sit the exam. The fee is a participation contribution, not a deposit. There is no refund route in the decree, and your score does not carry forward. A retake in 2027 means paying again in full.
You arrive late. There is no provision for late entry. This is why the three-hour advisory exists.
3 Takeaways on IMAT Test Centres in India
The IMAT test centres in India question has a cleaner answer than the internet suggests, once you separate what is confirmed from what is inherited from last year.
Three things to act on:
- Register on 26 August, not later. Indian capacity is small relative to demand, and centre selection sits inside the same form as your university preference order, which locks permanently on 9 September.
- Decide your fallback before the window opens. If Dubai or another listed country is your plan B, price the flights now so the decision costs you seconds rather than days.
- Verify the city and venue on Universitaly and the MUR notice, not on a blog. That includes this one. The decree names India, not an Indian city, and the address arrives only in the later ministry Avviso.
Verified by: LeapScholar's Europe counselling team, with hands-on experience guiding Indian students through IMAT registration, Universitaly pre-enrolment and Italian study visa applications.
Have questions about IMAT test centres in India or studying medicine in Italy? Book a free session with a LeapScholar counsellor.
Frequently Asked Questions on IMAT Test Centres in India
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How many IMAT test centres in India are there?
The 2026 decree confirms India as a testing country without specifying cities or a count. In 2025 there were two Indian centres, one in New Delhi and one in Chennai. The number for 2026 becomes visible when you reach the centre-selection step inside Universitaly registration, which opens on 26 August 2026.
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What happens if I lose my ID before exam day?
A valid photo identity document is mandatory for entry, with no discretionary substitute described in the decree. If your passport is lost or nearing expiry, begin replacement immediately and contact your first-preference university's admissions office in writing to record the situation. Do not assume an Aadhaar card will be accepted at an overseas-administered venue.
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Do I need NEET to register for an IMAT test centre in India?
NEET is not required to register for or sit the exam. It becomes relevant later, because the National Medical Commission requires a NEET qualification for Indian students who intend to return and practise in India. Verify the current requirement at nmc.org.in before you commit to this route.
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Is the IMAT computer-based at Indian centres?
No. It is a paper-based test. You mark answers on an optical sheet using only the black pen supplied at the venue. Your own pens and pencils are prohibited, and using any writing implement during the answer-submission process is grounds for cancelling your paper.
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What time does the IMAT start at Indian test centres?
The Italian start is 13:30 on 29 September 2026, with overseas venues adjusted to local time. The Indian start time is set by the venue operator and has not matched a straight IST conversion in past cycles. Wait for the official venue notice rather than calculating it, and plan to arrive at least three hours early.
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Does taking the exam in India put me at a disadvantage?
No. The paper, the date and the scoring are identical worldwide. As a non-EU candidate resident abroad you are ranked only against other applicants to the single university where you pre-enrolled, and your test centre plays no part in that ranking.
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Can I change my IMAT test centre after paying?
Not after 9 September 2026 at 15:00 GMT+2, when all choices become irrevocable. During the open window, changing means cancelling your registration and re-registering, which exposes you to whatever seats remain. This is why the centre decision should be made before you open the form.
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What is the IMAT exam center India address?
Addresses are not published in the decree. Article 2, paragraph 5 states that venue addresses and room allocations for both Italian and foreign centres appear in a separate ministry notice on mur.gov.it before the exam. In 2025 the venues were Radisson Blu Hotel Paschim Vihar in New Delhi and Ramada Plaza in Chennai.
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Can I take the IMAT exam in Mumbai or Bengaluru?
No Indian city outside the officially designated ones has hosted the exam. Students in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata and elsewhere have had to travel to the designated centre. Budget for a domestic flight and one night's stay when you plan, and confirm the actual city on Universitaly before booking anything.
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