Guidance

Italy: Knowledge Base profile

Published 12 March 2024

About: Italy

This document contains useful information about Italy which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

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Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 2.0
• published for Home Office staff on 7 March 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Italy: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Italy.

There is a set way for names to appear on documents.

Forenames

Children can be given a maximum of 3 forenames. The forenames will be separated by a comma on the birth certificate where the name is not double barrelled or hyphenated. For example: Anna, Marie will be known as Anna, but Anna Marie (without the comma) will be known as Anna Marie. In official documents such as a passport or identity document the comma determines how the forename was shown.

For documents issued:

• before 2000 the first name must be used in all documents and any additional forenames (separated by a coma) were optional
• after 1 January 2013 only the first forename will appear on official documents there is no option to add the other names

The name format cannot be amended in an Italy passport. The customer’s source document (such as their birth or marriage certificate) must agree.

Surnames

Children born to Italy citizens are given their father’s surname automatically. Double barrelled surnames are allowed when both parents are foreign nationals. If the father is Italian and the mother British, the child will take the father’s surname and not the double-barrelled surname.

Double barrelled surnames are normally not hyphenated. If the double-barrelled surname is not given at the time of the registration, parents can apply to have the surname of the child changed at the local Prefecture. There is no guarantee that the change will be approved.

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in certain circumstances, for example, surnames that may reveal parental origin. Only Italy citizens can apply for a name change in Italy. A change of name, surname or any other details of a person changing their gender, can only be authorised by the Italian court in their own province.

Following a change of name, a marginal note will be entered on the entry in the birth register (copia integrale dell’atto di nascita). Court papers will also show the change of name.

It is possible to reinstate the surname of applicants born abroad with surnames of both parents on the birth certificate.

Where a birth certificate is amended to show a change of gender, the name must also be changed to match the gender. Once the details are amended, a new passport and Identity card may be issued.

Name alignment

Italian women cannot change their name in their passport or identity documents when they marry.

Italian women who have changed their surname to their married surname under British law may get a letter of proof from the Consulate General of Italy. This is called a Certificato Di Concordanza Angrafica, which confirms married women do not change their surname to that of their husband’s. The husband’s surname can be added on page 4 of their Italy passport.

Italy: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Italy.

Italy has allowed dual citizenship since 15 August 1992.

A person can renounce their Italian citizenship once they are no longer considered a minor if they have the citizenship of another country.

Italy: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Italy.

Legitimacy

Before 7 February 2014 Italy recognised a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child will be considered:

• legitimate if:
  • the parents were married at the time of birth
  • the parents subsequently marry after birth
  • a Judge issues an order to the fact
• illegitimate if:
  • the parents never marry; or
  • there is order issued by a court

If a child was born on or after 7 February 2014 they will be considered legitimate. Italy after this date do not recognise a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births whether the parents are married or not.

Certificates of family composition/residency certificates (certificate di stato di famiglia) are not proof of legitimacy. It only confirms the names stated on the certificate are living at the same address.

Parental responsibility

In Italy parental responsibility is held by both parents if:

• they are married at the time of birth
• they are not married, and both parents either:
  • acknowledge the child
  • get married

If only one parent acknowledges the child they will have sole parental responsibility. If the other parent acknowledges the child later they can only do this with the consent of the other parent.

If parents divorce they do not lose parental responsibility.

Italy: adoptions

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoptions in Italy.

Adoption is legal in Italy. It is illegal for a same sex couple or a single person to adopt.

Italy: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Italy.

Surrogacy is illegal in Italy.

Italy: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Italy.

Transgender citizens are recognised in Italy.

Birth certificates can be amended to show a change of gender. If a person changed their gender in another country, the Italian authorities will recognise the change.

Italy: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Italy.

Since 29 July 2016 Italy has allowed civil partnerships in Italy:

• between 2 Italian citizens
• where one of the couple is Italian and the other person is not

Where neither of the couple is an Italian citizen Italy only recognises civil partnerships that have taken place outside of Italy.

The information will be added to the Provisional Register for Civil Partnerships in the town where they are resident.

Both religious and civil marriage ceremonies are recognised in Italy.

Italy: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents from Italy.

In Italy, birth, marriage and death certificates do not have a set standard and can vary from town to town. There is no central registration system. Multilingual documents are also issued.

Following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, HM Passport Office cannot accept Multilingual Standard Forms (MSFs) issued by member states. An MSF will:

• contain a reference to the convention signed at Vienna on September 8 1976, this may be on the reverse of the document
• be marked as a Formul A (birth certificate), normally in the top right corner on the front of the document in the language of the country where the document was issued
  • there will also be marriage certificates and death certificates that will have a different Formul version that is also not acceptable

These documents are an extract of a civil registration record translated into the language needed and not a full, original certificate.

Digital documents

Town Halls can issue certificates in electronic format, sent to the customer by certified e-mail (posta certificate). These certificates have a barcode and have legal validity in Italy. Physical copies are available. Electronic certificates are not acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes.

Birth certificates

All births in Italy must be registered within ten days at the registry office (Ufficio di Stato Civile) of the town (commune) where the child is born or where the family is resident. Birth certificates are issued to everyone by the town hall, a certificate containing the parents’ details can take up to 15 days to issue.

If a child is born at home the parents must register the birth at their local registry office. If a child is born in hospital they will register the birth and provide the parents with a registration certificate. A registration certificate is not acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes and the parents must provide a birth certificate issued by the town hall.

There are 2 types of birth certificate issued in Italy and both are acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes:

• ‘Certificado Di Nascia’ (Birth Certificate)
• ‘Copia Integrale Atti Di Nascita’ (Acts of Birth)

If there is an error identified on the original certificate a new certificate will be issued with a marginal note on it.

Birth certificates can be amended to show a change in gender. The gender on a birth certificate can only be changed by a court order in Italy.

Marriage certificate

Only certificates issued by the town hall are acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes. Civil ceremonies are registered during the ceremony, religious ceremonies must be registered at the town hall within 5 days of the wedding.

Identity documents

For non-Italy nationals who live in Italy permanently there is a voluntary Identity icard. There are different types of identity cards issued by the local authorities in Italy. There are two types of identity card in circulation, including a:

• common identity card
• carta di identità elettronica, (CIE) card that has the size of credit card and has a biometric chip

Once gender is amended on the birth certificate, a new passport and identity card may be issued.