The Social Assistance Office mainly performs the following functions:
- assistance to Italian nationals who are destitute and in need of subsidies or loans with an undertaking of repayment;
- preparing the necessary documentation in connection with international adoptions;
- consular protection for fellow nationals who are in situations of peril or difficulty;
- assistance with pension matters.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
The Consulate General of Italy can provide limited financial assistance to Italian citizens residing and traveling abroad through subsidies and loans within the limits of the budget provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations.
Subsidies and loans
The consular office may grant a subsidy to an Italian citizen permanently residing in its consular district, registered with AIRE, who is in a situation of proven poverty. The subsidy is granted on an absolutely exceptional basis and consistently with the available funds entered in the budget.
An Italian citizen temporarily abroad and residing in Italy or in another consular district, who is facing unforeseen economic difficulties and cannot avail himself / herself of the help of his / her family members or third parties (for example, through companies enabled to transfer cash), may be granted a loan, which he / she undertakes to repay to the Treasury within 90 days. The loan is granted subject to verifying the Italian national’s condition of economic hardship and the inability of his / her family members required by law to provide for him / her (Art. 433 of the Civil Code).
To obtain a subsidy or a loan, the interested person must present the following documentation:
- application form, fully completed and signed;
- copy of valid Italian passport;
- bank statements for the last 3 months, of the applicant and his/her family members;
- declaration of incapacity to assist from family members and/or other relatives;
- documentation proving the expenditures/needs (invoices, bills, accounts and arrears).
The abovementioned documentation must be sent to: sociale.johannesburg@esteri.it
The applicant will then be contacted for an appointment at the Consulate General, to finalize the submission of the request.
The Consulate General can request further documentation in order to carry out the necessary assessments.
FINAL REPATRIATION TO ITALY
The repatriation paid by the Treasury of compatriots residing abroad may be carried out, under exceptional circumstances, in collaboration with the territorially competent authorities (Police departments, Municipalities, Local Health Institutes, Social Services), only in favour of people in a proven state of poverty, generally having emigrated from Italy a long ago, whose living conditions are extremely precarious and without prospects of improvement in the country of residence.
The applicant must provide a declaration from family members willing to host him/her in Italy and to take the responsibilities connected with the maintenance and assistance of the repatriate through a specific declaration made to the Municipality or Police Department of residence of the family members themselves.
This declaration constitutes the essential requirement to obtain the repatriation paid by the Italian Treasury. In all other cases – of proven exceptional nature – the repatriation takes place after signing a loan with a promise of repayment to the Italian Treasury.
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
Under no circumstances the Consulate can offer legal assistance. The Consulate, in extreme cases and only in cases of proven indigence, can provide help for the payment of legal expenses:
- in the form of a subsidy for Italian nationals residing in the consular district;
- in the form of a loan with a promise of repayment for Italian nationals in transit or temporarily in the country.
Please click here for a list of Italian Attorneys in South Africa.
DETAINEES
In the event that an Italian national is arrested in South Africa, the Consulate can:
- carry out consular visits to the prisoner;
- provide contacts of legal professionals;
- maintain connection with family members in Italy;
- ensure that the prisoner receives, when necessary and permitted by the local regulations, medical assistance and basic necessities;
- intervene for the transfer to Italy, in compliance with the current regulations or ad hoc bilateral agreements.
The Consulate is not authorized to:
- intervene in Court on behalf of the Italian citizen;
- pay the prisoner’s legal costs.
SEARCH FOR ITALIAN NATIONALS ABROAD
As per the provisions of Law 675/96 on the confidentiality of personal data, no public body can provide information about someone to private citizens without the consent of the interested party. Therefore, once the person sought has been identified, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation or the Diplomatic-Consular Representation must ask for the interested party’s consent to inform the person who forwarded the request for information.
Within these regulatory limits it is possible to activate a search in one of the following ways:
- by sending an email to this Consulate General (sociale.johannesburg@esteri.it);
- by sending an email to Office IV of the General Directorate for Italians Abroad and Migration Policies (dgit-04@esteri.it).
OTHER FORMS OF PROTECTION AND CONSULAR ASSISTANCE
This Consulate General can provide other forms of assistance to Italian citizens abroad, in the circumstances in which citizens who are temporarily or in transit, in this consular district may find themselves involved, such as:
- accidents abroad;
- assistance to Italian citizens victims of theft/loss of documents or other personal belongings;
- assistance to Italian parents from whom a foreign spouse or dual citizen has stolen a child and taken him/her with him/her abroad.
For accidents that occur abroad, the Diplomatic-Consular Representations ensure that citizens receive adequate medical treatment on site, that family members are duly informed and that all the possible assistance is provided in the event of the need to be transferred to Italy.
In the event of theft/loss of documents or other personal effects, the Social Office directs the compatriot to the competent local authorities to receive the affidavit or other type of documentation.
Contacts
Tel. +27 11 728 1392/3 ext. 2110
e-mail: sociale.johannesburg@esteri.it