Congratulations on your Italian citizenship! Now that you are an Italian citizen, you may be wondering what documents you need to apply for a passport, register in AIRE, or vote in Italian elections. In this blog post, I will discuss the most important documents that you will need, as well as where to get them.
I will also discuss the FAST.IT portal, which is a great resource for Italian citizens residing abroad. FAST.IT allows you to self-certify that you are an Italian citizen, submit identification documents and proof of residency, and update your AIRE registration.
Certificate of Citizenship If you applied for Italian citizenship through a foreign consulate, you can request the Certificate of Citizenship through that consulate. If your citizenship was recognized through the courts or through residency in an Italian comune, you will need to request the Certificate of Citizenship from the comune where your vital records are recorded.
The Certificate of Citizenship is a document that proves your Italian citizenship. You will need it to apply for a passport and to register in AIRE.
If you applied through a consulate, and apply for your first Italian passport through the same consulate, you may not ever need one of these. The consulate may accept your recognition email as proof of citizenship, since they have all the documentation from your application. However, if you need to apply for your first Italian passport at a different consulate, or if you are a 1948 case or "apply in Italy" situation, you will want to get this for sure.
AIRE
AIRE is the Anagrafe degli Italiani Residenti all'Estero (Registry of Italians Residing Abroad). Every Italian citizen residing outside of Italy for six months or more is required to register in AIRE. There is a penalty for not doing so and you will not be able to access consular services except in an emergency. You are also required to update your AIRE registration in the case of a change of address, whether it is within the same consular district, or in the service area of a different consulate.
Certificate of Registration in AIRE
This is a document that proves your registration in AIRE. You will need it to apply for a passport and to vote in Italian elections.
FAST.IT
FAST.IT is a portal where Italian citizens residing abroad can request consular services, including updates to their AIRE registration. You can create an account on FAST.IT to self-certify that you are an Italian citizen and to submit identification documents and proof of residency. You will need to do this in order to fully activate your FAST.IT account and to access all of its features.
Birth Certificate
The comune keeps a record of the birth of all Italian citizens, regardless of their place of birth. This is why your foreign (non-Italian) birth record needed to be translated and apostilled - it will be sent to the comune for transcription. The official Italian birth record - atto di nascita - only exists in the archives of the comune, and unlike an American birth certificate which (unless in the case of a legal change to name or gender, or correction) remains the same throughout your life, annotations may be added to the Italian birth record to reflect significant life events. The document issued to you is a snapshot of the birth record at that moment in time. As such, it has a limited period of validity, so if you were ever to need the Italian birth record for identity purposes, you would need to request a new one.
Passports Most consulates require that your request for AIRE registration has been submitted prior to making a passport appointment. Some consulates request that you wait a certain period of time after the request is submitted, and still others require that the entire process - including the comune's end of the deal - is complete. Check your consulate's web page for details.
Other documents In addition to the Certificate of Citizenship and the Certificate of Registration in AIRE, there are a few other documents that you may need to apply for a passport or to vote in Italian elections. These include:
Your Italian birth certificate
Your passport from your country of citizenship
A valid visa or residence permit for the country where you reside
A utility bill or other proof of address
I hope this helps!