WHAT IS AIRE AND WHY SHOULD I REGISTER?
Registration with the Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (AIRE) is a right and duty of Italian citizens who reside, or intend to reside, abroad for a period exceeding 12 months. It is a FREE administrative procedure that allows you to:
- vote abroad in national (not regional) elections and referendums;
- obtain the issue or renewal of identity and travel documents, as well as certifications;
- communicate updates to your foreign residence address;
- communicate changes in marital status that have occurred abroad (birth, marriage, divorce, change of name and surname, and death).
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T REGISTER?
Law No. 213 of December 30, 2023, in force since January 1, 2024, introduces a new penalty system for Italian citizens residing abroad who are not registered with AIRE, providing for an administrative fine of €200 to €1,000 for each year of non-registration, up to a maximum of five years.
Administrative penalties cannot be retroactive. Therefore, you cannot be penalized for the period prior to January 1, 2024.
All matters relating to the assessment of violations regarding registration and the imposition of penalties remain the exclusive responsibility of the municipalities.
DO I HAVE TO REGISTER OR NOT?
The law requires Italian citizens to register with AIRE if they:
- move abroad for periods longer than 12 months;
- already reside abroad, either because they were born abroad or because they subsequently acquired Italian citizenship for any reason.
The law does NOT require Italian citizens to register with AIRE if they move abroad for:
- a period of less than one year;
- seasonal work;
- official assignments of state employees in diplomatic and consular service abroad, including their cohabiting and dependent family members;
- military assignments in NATO offices and facilities located abroad, including their cohabiting and dependent family members.
WHEN DO I HAVE TO REGISTER?
Registration is an administrative requirement that must be completed within 90 days of moving abroad and NOT after 12 months of residence abroad. It is possible to apply for AIRE registration at a later date, but it cannot be backdated.
HOW DO I REGISTER?
Italian citizens who are NOT yet registered with AIRE can request the transfer of residence from an Italian municipality abroad for themselves and any cohabiting family members (Italian or non-Italian) by submitting a SINGLE application to the Consulate exclusively and free of charge via the Fast It portal, available in Italian and other languages. The procedure is carried out entirely online and involves the following steps.
“Fast-It” is the online consular services portal that allows you to:
- register with AIRE;
- view your registry personal file;
- notify a change of address.
The Portal, accessible on Serviziconsolari.esteri.it, is available in multiple languages: Italian, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and German.
Practical Instructions
REGISTRATION WITH FAST IT AND ACTIVATION OF FAST IT ACCOUNT
-> Applicant:
- Access the Fast It portal and click on the “Registration” button to create your own account;
- Enter an email address and personal details (SURNAME(S), first name(s), place and date of birth) exactly as they appear on the documents issued by the Italian authorities, avoiding additions and omissions of any surnames, first names, accents, and apostrophes, otherwise the application will be rejected;
- Select South Africa and your place of residence abroad as indicated in the correspondence received to identify the relevant Consulate;
- Click on the link received at the email address provided to activate your new Fast It account;
- Log back into the Fast It portal using the credentials of the newly created account or via SPID;
- Click on the “Consular Registry and AIRE” button at the top and then on the “Request registration in the Registry of Italians Resident Abroad” box;
- Complete all the steps in the procedure and submit the application with all the required documentation;
- View the automatic confirmation message “Request sent successfully” and “current status of the request is: Submitted,” which includes a file identification number.
-> Consulate:
- Verifies that the personal details entered in the application match those on the identification documents;
- Verifies that the foreign address entered matches the proof of address sent and checks that the required documentation is complete;
- Registers the applicant and any cohabiting family members (Italian and non-Italian) included in the application in the consular file;
- It forwards the application to the Italian municipality of last residence and sends a copy of the communication to the email address provided by the applicant.
->Municipality:
- Updates its registry and electoral records by simultaneously removing all members of the household (Italian and non-Italian) from its Registry of Resident Population (APR) and simultaneously registering the Italian citizen and any cohabiting Italian family members in its Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (AIRE);
- As a matter of practice, it sends a notification of AIRE registration to the email address provided by the applicant.
- You must create a user profile associated with an email address and choose a password. N.B.: At this stage, it is ESSENTIAL to enter your personal details – name, surname, place and date of birth – EXACTLY as they appear on your Italian passport or, for those who have not yet had their birth certificate transcribed, as they appear on the birth certificate that will be presented for transcription in Italy.
- Select LOGIN and enter the activation code that was sent to the email address you provided. Alternatively, click on ‘user activation link’ in the email you received. Please note: Registration is not necessary if you access the portal via SPID.
TO APPLY FOR REGISTRATION WITH A.I.R.E.
Please note that the A.I.R.E. registration procedure offered by “Fast-It” is not registration with A.I.R.E., but rather an automated process that minimizes typing errors or the submission of incomplete applications.
The “request registration” option is reserved for those arriving from Italy or another consular office and reporting their presence in the consular district of Johannesburg for the first time.
The option to register with AIRE must also be chosen by adult descendants of Italian citizens who request the late transcription of their birth certificate.
N.B.: Italian citizens already residing in the consular district of the Consulate General in Johannesburg who have previously used the services of the Consulate should assume that they are already registered in AIRE.
N.B.: Those who move to another foreign country or move to the district of another Italian diplomatic-consular office in South Africa must apply for registration in AIRE directly to the new office.
Enter the data requested by the Portal for each member of the household for whom registration is requested and upload the attachments listed on the portal (a copy of a valid identity document for all members of the household, in a single PDF file, proof of residence address, and the application form generated by the Portal using the appropriate button, duly signed. Computer-generated signatures are not accepted).
An entry visa to the country cannot be accepted as proof of residence.
For citizens born outside Italy: also attach a photocopy of the birth certificate issued by the relevant Italian municipality, or a certificate of citizenship.
N.B.: it is ESSENTIAL to enter the personal details of each member of the family unit – name, surname, place and date of birth – EXACTLY as they appear in their respective Italian passports. In the case of a foreign spouse, even if the law of their country of origin provides otherwise, the maiden name must always be indicated, as Italian law does not require one spouse to adopt the other’s surname or add it to their own at the time of marriage.
For the purposes of applying for registration in AIRE, the Portal asks you to confirm that you have Italian citizenship.
Requests that do not meet the specified requirements will be rejected by the operator.
Applications submitted through “Fast It” can be viewed online, and it is the responsibility of the citizen to log in with their username and password to check the status.
The Italian municipality will therefore notify the interested parties directly of their registration in the A.I.R.E. registers.
REGISTERED USERS
-> Follow the instructions below:
- Enter the applicant’s personal details (SURNAME(S), first name(s), place and date of birth) exactly as they appear on the documents issued by the Italian authorities, avoiding additions and omissions of any surnames, first names, accents, and apostrophes, otherwise the application will be rejected;
- Indicate the correct Italian municipality of last residence and not the province (e.g., Settimo Milanese (MI) and NOT Milan; Marino (RM) and NOT Rome; Portici (NA) and NOT Naples);
- Copy the residential address exactly as it appears on the attached proof and according to South African practice (flat number, followed by street number, town, and postcode in two blocks).
-> Send the necessary documents
- AIRE registration application form generated automatically at the end of the online procedure, which can be signed digitally or printed, signed, scanned, and then ALL pages uploaded to the FAST IT portal.
- Copy of the pages of identity documents issued by Italian or foreign authorities showing the personal details of the declarant and ALL cohabiting family members (Italian and non-Italian).
- Proof of address, i.e., a copy of documentation received at your address proving residence in the consular district of Johannesburg. Proof of address must be recent (if possible, not older than the last 3 months) and must clearly indicate the name of the declarant and their current address.
A non-exhaustive list of accepted proof of address includes:
- Council Tax or rental agreement;
- Bank statement;
- Utility bills (electricity, gas, telephone, etc.);
- SA (Provisional) Driving Licence;
- Letters of registration from a doctor, confirming university attendance;
- Official letter sent by a South African institution
REPORT A CHANGE OF ADDRESS (option reserved for Italian citizens already registered in the Consular Register)
Updating your AIRE registration is an administrative requirement that applies to all AIRE registrants and concerns all events that result in changes to their personal details. These updates are necessary to enable the municipality to keep the AIRE register up to date and to allow Italian citizens to continue to use consular services.
Failure to update AIRE information, particularly regarding changes of address, makes it impossible to contact the citizen. Furthermore, it means that the citizen will not receive the postcard or electoral package in the event of elections, as well as any communications from the Italian authorities and notifications sent by the Consulate. Finally, it could lead to removal from the AIRE registers due to unavailability.
-> Applicant:
- Access the Fast It portal using your Fast It user credentials or via SPID;
- Click on the “Consular Registry and AIRE” button at the top and then on the “Report change of residence” box;
- Complete all the steps in the procedure and submit the application with all the required documentation;
- Enter the data requested by the Portal and upload the attachments listed on the Portal (a copy of your valid identity document, proof of your address of residence, and the application form generated by the Portal using the appropriate button, duly signed. Computer-generated signatures are not accepted). The citizen must report the members of the household affected by the change. The Portal automatically lists family members residing at the previously declared address.
- View the automatic confirmation message “Request sent successfully” and “current status of the request is: Submitted,” which includes a file identification number.
-> Consulate:
- Verify that the foreign address entered in the application matches the proof of address sent and check that the required documentation is complete;
- Record the AIRE update for the applicant and any cohabiting family members (Italian or non-Italian) included in the application in the consular file;
- It forwards the application to the Italian municipality of last residence and sends a copy of the communication to the email address provided by the applicant.
-> Municipality:
- Records the change for the applicant and any Italian family members living with them and updates its Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (AIRE) and its electoral rolls;
- As a matter of practice, sends a notification of the AIRE update to the email address provided by the applicant.
For information, write to consolare.johannesburg@esteri.it