When should I expect to receive my Italian passport?

We always talk about the time it takes to find an appointment with the Italian Consulate where you will be applying; on average if you book an appointment today, it will be two years out. This is great because it will give you plenty of time to put together your document portfolio; making sure it is complete and with the least number of discrepancies.

But what exactly happens AFTER your appointment? If you pass with flying colors, the Italian Consular officer will tell you that sometime between 12 and 24 months you will receive an official “letter” (most likely by email and possibly in Italian) stating that you are an Italian Dual Citizen by descent and provide you with the next steps.

You are usually advised to request your passport after 60 days from the receipt of your letter: why is that? The Italian Consulate will email the request to the Italian town hall that you selected to register your birth. How long it will take for that town hall to record your birth record in their registers is hard to predict. It could be about 60 days or longer. Once your birth is recorded, the Italian Town Hall will notify the Italian Consulate and that is when you can to get your Italian Passport.

You will also need to register with the AIRE (Anagrafe per I Residenti Italiani all’Estero), the registry of Italians residing abroad. For people of Italian descent pursuing Italian Dual Citizenship jure sanguinis, AIRE’s enrollment is a right and a duty. It provides access to Italian consular services abroad and allows the exercise of some important rights, such as the right to vote and the right to renew IDs and travel documents. Enrollment is free of charge.

REMEMBER: All Italian citizens are obligated to notify their town of registration (through their Italian consular office) of any personal variation regarding identification, residence, vital statistics, citizenship, or family composition. You can now register ONLINE through this Website.

Once the 60 days are up and you have registered with the AIRE, you can finally get your Italian passport. You will need to schedule an appointment through the PRENOT@ MI system with the Italian Consulate where you applied (unless there is a satellite office that has the equipment to issue the passport. More HERE) and go back in person the day of your appointment. The new procedure for the issuance of the biometric passport requires fingerprinting. The timeline to get your appointment for the Italian passport and then receiving it, is usually a few months. The cost is about $145, but please check with your Italian Consulate for their Fee Table which is updated quarterly.

The good news is that the time it takes for you to be able to travel in Europe using your Italian passport is only a few months away from when you receive your official Italian citizenship letter.

PS: Although learning Italian is not required when you apply through “right of blood," we encourage you to learn it; it is a beautiful language, the language of your ancestors and it is a wonderful way to honor them. Check with your Italian Consulate or with your nearest Italian Cultural Institute for more information and resources.

Overwhelmed by the whole process? At My Italian Family, we don’t just give advice, we handle all the purchasing and preparation of your entire portfolio of documents, whether you apply at an Italian Consulate here in the U.S. or you apply in Italy (including 1948 Challenge Courts Cases). Our experience spans the past 20 years, and we have expert knowledge of what each Consulate requires, as well as what the Italian Courts require.TO GET STARTED AND FOR MORE INFORMATION, CLICK HERE.

Questions? You can book your FREE Consultation at your convenience, HERE