WHAT IS AIRE AND WHY SHOULD I REGISTER?
Registration with the Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (AIRE) is a duty of Italian citizens who reside, or intend to reside, permanently abroad. It is a FREE administrative procedure that, for example, 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;
- report changes in civil status that have occurred abroad relating to Italians residing abroad (birth, marriage, divorce, change of name and surname, and death).
The AIRE is managed by local municipal authorities “Comuni” based on data and information provided by consular offices abroad.
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.
The administrative fine penalties provided for by Law No. 213/2023 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 permanently, 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;
- foreign missions of State employees who are notified in accordance with the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations and Consular Relations, including their cohabiting and dependent family members.
- military missions at NATO offices and facilities located abroad, including their cohabiting and dependent family members.
- to carry out the duties of school managers, teachers and administrative staff who are not currently employed in their usual roles and who are sent abroad as part of school activities outside the national territory.
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 (Foreign nationals living with the applicant must be included in the application if they are related to the applicant: parent, spouse, child) by submitting a SINGLE application to the Consulate exclusively and free of charge via the Fast It portal. Exceptionally, those who have objective and justified difficulties in using the Fast It portal may send the AIRE registration form (the registration form, to be drawn up along the lines of the form available on Fast It, will be published on the website) by email to: consolare.johannesburg@esteri.it
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 Italian and English.
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;
- 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 provided. Alternatively, click on “user activation link” in the email received. N.B.: Registration is not necessary if the citizen accesses the portal via SPID. - 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 or CIE;
- 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 (for details, read HOW TO APPLY FOR AIRE REGISTRATION) and submit the application with all the required documentation;
- You will see an automatic message confirming that your ‘Request has been sent successfully’ and that the ‘Current status of the request is: Submitted’, along with 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.
TO APPLY FOR REGISTRATION WITH A.I.R.E.
It should be noted that the A.I.R.E. registration procedure offered by ‘Fast-It’ does not involve automatic registration with A.I.R.E., but is an automated process that minimises typing errors or the submission of incomplete applications.
The option ‘request registration’ 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.
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 in accordance with South African practice (flat number, followed by house 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 uploaded with ALL its pages to the FAST IT portal.
- Copy of the pages of identity documents issued by the Italian authorities, if available, or foreign authorities showing the personal details of the applicant 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 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.
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.: è FONDAMENTALE inserire i dati personali di ciascun componente del nucleo familiare – nome, cognome e luogo e data di nascita – ESATTAMENTE come sono indicati nel rispettivo passaporto italiano.
Ai fini della richiesta di iscrizione in AIRE, il Portale chiede di confermare il possesso della cittadinanza italiana.
Le richieste che non rispettino i requisiti indicati saranno sospese con richiesta di integrazione della documentazione e la fissazione di un termine di 30 giorni, scaduti i quali la pratica potrà essere rifiutata.
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.
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 or CIE;
- Click on the “Consular Registry and AIRE” button at the top and then on the “Report change of residence” box;
- Enter the data requested by the Portal and upload the attachments listed on the Portal (copy of a valid identity document – local and, if available, Italian – proof of address and application form generated by the Portal, duly completed and signed. Computer-generated signatures are not accepted). Citizens must report the members of their household affected by the change, attaching copies of their valid identity documents. The Portal automatically lists family members residing at the previously declared address. For further information, see TO REQUEST REGISTRATION IN THE A.I.R.E. -> Send the necessary documents
- Submit the change request and view the automatic confirmation message stating “Request sent successfully” and “Current status of the request is: Submitted”, which will include 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 update relating to the applicant and any cohabiting family members 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.
REMPATRIATION
Citizens registered with AIRE who return permanently to Italy must report to the Italian municipality where they have decided to settle to declare their new address of residence within the terms set out in Presidential Decree No. 223 of 30 May 1989. Failure to submit or late submission of the repatriation declaration is punishable by an administrative fine. On the same date, the municipality will cancel the registration with AIRE and simultaneously register the citizen with APR (Resident Population Register). The municipality will be responsible for officially communicating the date of repatriation to the consulate of origin, which will record the repatriation in its consular files.
For information, write to consolare.johannesburg@esteri.it